Two foreigners/expatriates can get married if they are in Saudi Arabia with an Iqama (residence permit) or a visitor visa. Here is the detailed process.
Who can get married in Saudi Arabia?
Anyone with a valid visa and a Saudi SIM card in their name can get married in Saudi Arabia, which includes:
- Holders of Iqama.
- Dependents of an Iqama holder.
- Holders of family visit visas.
- Holders of tourist visas.
- Holders of Hajj and Umrah visas cannot get married in Saudi Arabia.
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Looking for a wedding officiant
If you are a foreigner or expatriate, I encourage you to find a marriage officiant who will complete your application, meet other requirements, and carry out the marriage process in Saudi Arabia.
- Open this link.
- Select the city where you wish to celebrate your Nikah (Islamic marriage contract).
- The Ministry of Justice website will provide you with a list of marriage officers.
Marriage requirements in Saudi Arabia
The civil registrar will need the following information to complete the application form on the Ministry of Justice website;
- Saudi SIM cards in the name of each bride and groom, the groom, and 2 witnesses.
- Copy of the Iqama for residents.
- Copy of passport for tourists or visitor visa holders.
- Copy of the Iqama of the two witnesses.
- Amount of the Mahr (dowry).
Complete the marriage form. The selected marriage officer will create a marriage contract via the Ministry of Justice website to get married in Saudi Arabia;
- Open the website of the Ministry of Justice: https://inhaatportal.moj.gov.sa/tabsnew.aspx
- Click on إنشاء عقد زواج (Create marriage contract).
- Select the region according to your area.
- Enter the details as described below. Foreigners getting married in Saudi Arabia
Once the marriage officer has completed the online application, it will take a few days for the information to be verified, then text messages will be sent to all 5 SIM cards requesting confirmation within 24 hours.
Once the 5 confirmations have been obtained, the marriage officer can finalize the process and the marriage contract can be issued electronically.
The official wedding proceedings
You can ask the sheikh to come to your hotel or any other location to perform the marriage/Nikah ceremony. Please ensure the following people are present:
- The groom.
- The bride.
- The bride's tutor
- 2 witnesses.
The registrar called my wife to confirm she wished to marry (the men and women were in separate hotel rooms) and asked me the same question. Once that was done, he confirmed the Nikah was complete.
We paid him 2,000 Saudi riyals for the entire process. You can agree on a price with him before starting the process.
The marriage certificate
We have received a PDF of the marriage contract. To use your marriage certificate in a foreign country, please ensure you complete the following attestations;
- Certificate from the Ministry of Justice.
- Certificate from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).
- Have the certificate translated into English and have it certified by your country's embassy/consulate in Saudi Arabia.
