What to do with the unexpected pregnancy if you are not married living in the UAE?

There is a certain order of things. We find the one, get married, get pregnant and have a baby. Unfortunately life has its own way sometimes and the order of the milestones get messed up.

Unexpected pregnancy doesn’t really mean unwanted but it certainly becomes an emergency if you live in the UAE and are yet to be married.

What does the UAE law say about the pregnancy out of marriage?

The UAE for many years used to follow a very strict Islamic Sharia Law. Until very recent changes, according to the UAE Penal Code: anyone convicted of engaging in consensual sex outside of marriage, or even just living together, and if caught under such circumstances, was likely to be punished with a jail sentence, followed by deportation. Most of the time the couples were getting fined as well.

So technically speaking being pregnant out of the wedlock was not a crime in the UAE, but having a sexual relationship was. You do the math. Hence one is not possible without another it made both actions – sex and pregnancy out of marriage illegal. 

In November 2020 the UAE government introduced a few quite important updates, announcing that consensual sex is not going to be punished by law anymore. However generally speaking for pregnant women it didn’t really change much. Because until this day in the UAE a baby can only be delivered in a marriage. Even with the new laws.

What used to happen to pregnant and unmarried women in real life before the new law? 

There were many cases of unmarried mothers who ended up in jail in the UAE with their baby right after the delivery and got deported once they served their sentence.

The 28-year-old American employee and his 22-year-old Pakistani girlfriend, who later became his wife after she delivered their baby, were caught on the wrong side of the law after it was discovered that the woman had become pregnant out-of-wedlock in May. Both were deported.

– Gulfnews

A man and his pregnant girlfriend have been sentenced to three months in prison and were each fined Dh1,000 on the charges of consensual sex.

– The national

To everyones’ relief those terrible ways of punishment are not going to take place anymore. But once again: yes, to deliver a baby in the UAE you still need to be married.

So now when the laws in the UAE are clear (and we still strongly advise you against breaking them) there comes the next question.

What is the solution for the pregnant but unmarried couples?

Luckily, there is an absolutely legal way to avoid all the problems.

If done on the early stage of the pregnancy (within the first 3 months), a couple can get married out of the UAE and fly back in having their wedding certificate.

There are two reasons why the wedding certificate has to be done on the early stage:

1. From a certain pregnancy stage there are restrictions imposed on women for their safety by most of the airlines.
2. Paperwork is being checked in the UAE hospitals upon the delivery of the baby. Not only your marriage certificate has to be present and legalized but the date of it will be checked as well. Rumors have it nobody counts exactly 9 months, after all there can be some complications during the pregnancy and early-term delivery as a result. But having the two dates too close one to another is risky and once again, against the law. 

If you face an unexpected pregnancy and the need of an “emergency” wedding, you will clearly be looking for some very simple and fast options. And in this case Georgia is a perfect solution for you.

The country of Georgia is only three hours away by flight, it is very cheap and paperwork-friendly. 

And we are here to help you with the organizational moments and those few documents that are required. You won’t be asked any extra and inconvenient questions. Please do keep your private life private if it makes you feel safe and secure.

All you are going to need for your express marriage is your passport, your future husband and your flight ticket. Check out Full paperwork wedding package tailored for such cases.

Did you know how strict the UAE laws are? Share this article to warn your friends beforehand!