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29 March 2024

Saudi waits 5 years for nod to have foreign wife

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By Staff

A Saudi man seeking to have a foreign wife has been waiting for nearly five years to get government approval despite scores of visits to various departments to get his application cleared, a newspaper in the Gulf kingdom has reported.

Abdul Aziz Al Ojairi said he applied to the Ministry of interior to marry an expatriate woman in the capital Riyadh five years ago and is still waiting for response, adding that he had met most of their conditions, some of which he described as ridiculous.

He said his application has been moving between three departments, including the Ministry of interior, the Emir’s office and the Riyadh police.

“I am a public servant who has no police record or debt…all the conditions set by the Ministry of Interior for Saudi men seeking foreign spouses are applicable to me,” he said, quoted by the Arabic language daily Sabq.

“Every time I go to those departments, I am given more conditions…I have met many men who applied years after I applied and all of them have their applications approved…I don’t know why they are doing this to me.”

Ojairi said his application had seen two interior ministers—the late Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz al Saud and the current Interior Minister Prince Ahmed bin Abdul Aziz. “I appeal for the Minister to intervene to end my suffering,” he said.

In 2011, Saudi Arabia approved a law regulating marriage between its citizens and foreigners after several years of haggling because of rifts among law makers.

The law, the first in the oil-rich Gulf, allowed Saudis to have foreign spouses but stipulated that they need prior approval by the government.

A Saudi man or woman seeking to marry from outside the Kingdom or the GCC must submit an application to a government committee created by the ministries of interior, foreign affairs, justice and social affairs. The committee also comprises representatives from the Saudi Human Rights Commission.

“Those who violate the new rules on the marriage of Saudis to non-Saudis or non-GCC citizens will be fined a maximum SR100,000 to be deposited with the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency and credited to the ministry of social affairs, which will allocate the funds to help Saudi men seeking to marry,” the official Saudi press agency said.

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