One of the world's most attractive expat destinations, especially for foreign professionals and investors, the United Arab Emirates recently amended some of their laws in light of the Dubai Expo which has been postponed to next year due to the global health crisis. What are these changes, and how will they affect the lives of expats?
Unmarried couples can now live under the same roof
This change aims at improving the standard of living of expatriates in the United Arab Emirates. They also apply to roommates of the opposite sex. Previously, the Sharia or Islamic law, made it illegal for people of different sexes to share the same room or a car without kinship or marriage ties. It is also forbidden to kiss and hold hands in public. In the past, many expats caught in the act have been imprisoned and deported. The Emirati police were authorised to carry out surprise checks at the place of unmarried couples suspected of living under the same roof illegally. It's worth noting that complicated marriage procedures discouraged many expat couples from getting married in the UAE.
Saudi Arabia recently adopted a similar policy. From now on, unmarried couples looking to spend their vacation in Saudi Arabia are allowed to share the same hotel room. They no longer have to present a marriage certificate. Besides, with these changes, women can now travel alone to Saudi Arabia and book a hotel room.
Maximum protection for women's rights
Over the past few years, the UAE made a lot of efforts to ensure the rights of women who have been victims of abuse. These new amendments now include different types of abuse, such as repetitive harassment, both verbal and physical, regardless of the place where it has been committed, and stalking. They also make a distinction between abuses “honour crimes” which are typically committed by men in order to “save their face”. “Honour crimes” comprise of punishments inflicted on girls and women who elope, to bond with men without being married or who transgress the country's conservative values. Henceforth, these cases will be treated as assault or homicide. There will be higher penalties for men found guilty, with fines of up to 100,000 dirhams, that is around $ 27,000.
Divorce as per your home country's laws
If you're are expat in the United Arab Emirates who is looking to divorce, there's nothing to worry about. Previously divorces were conducted according to the laws of the husband's country of origin. From now on, the laws of the country where you got married will apply. Besides, when one of the spouses dies, inheritance issues will be treated according to the laws of the country of origin of the deceased. Previously, heirs could seek for things to be resolved according to the laws of their country of origin.
Drinking alcohol becomes legal
Previously, the sale and consumption of alcohol were prohibited in many emirates, such as Sharjah. In Dubai, on the other hand, tourists and expatriates were required to obtain a temporary license from one of the two distributors to be allowed to consume alcohol. Also, they were only allowed to drink alcohol in designated places, such as clubs, bars and restaurants. Besides, drinking in public used to be punishable by law. However, you must be over 21 to buy and consume alcohol in the UAE.
With these reforms, the United Arab Emirates are trying to prove their tolerance towards foreigners from all over the world and their openness, both socially and economically. For Jérôme, a French expat in Abu Dhabi, “This is excellent news for the French expats. One of the objectives of these measures is to attract even more expatriates while limiting legal constraints ”. But Jamila, who lives in France, doesn't share the same views. "Expats should be respecting the laws in their host country, as everywhere else", she says.
XTang, a Pakistani expat in Saudi Arabia, has a different view on all this. "Practically speaking, all it does is remove the risk and fear. In reality, this has always been happening, and the overwhelming majority of people were not penalised. For example, people have alcohol delivered at home through online orders or buy from duty-free (you could always drink in a bar but to purchase legally in the country, you needed a liquor license), unmarried couples were living together, etc."
Regarding divorce, according to him, "non-Muslims, always had a choice, i.e. your own country laws. The only change now is that the law of the country where the marriage took place will be applied vs nationality. Because in the past, if both parties were different nationals and didn't agree on which country, then it used to lead to Shariah law being applied".
XTang also points out that the biggest change which most people missed is the applicability of a "will" for Muslims. "In the past, even if a Muslim had a will and died, Shariah law was applied. Now, you can draft a will and specify which country's law you want to be applied in the event of your death."
