Eloping Abroad
Couples who meet the Abu Dhabi court’s conditions can elope to the UAE and marry in law on the trip. On our express route it completes in 1–2 working days once your papers are in order, and the court needs no witnesses, so it can be just the two of you.
Our Fastest Civil Route
Abu Dhabi Express: 1–2 working days.
Married in Law
In the UAE, yes. A common answer for eloping abroad is the legal part at home and a symbolic ceremony overseas, because some countries ask for local witnesses or a certificate of no impediment. The Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court, the route we arrange, asks for neither. It takes applications from anywhere in the world and needs you in Abu Dhabi only for the ceremony.
The court requires no witnesses. Family and friends are welcome, and the ceremony goes ahead with or without them.
Neither of you needs to live in the UAE. The application is prepared before you travel, and you fly in for the ceremony itself.
The court asks for no certificate of no impediment, whichever country you come from. Each of you declares on its form that you are not married.
On express, the court lets you pick the date and time within its opening hours. We see it complete in 1–2 working days once the papers are in order.
The court aims to finish within fifteen minutes. Rings and vows of your own are welcome if you tell the officiating team on arrival.
The certificate is issued in Arabic and English. MOFA then attests it, the first step towards using it at home.
The Shape of the Day
Both work at the Abu Dhabi court. It requires no witnesses, so the two of you are enough, and it welcomes family and friends if you want a few people there. The ceremony is brief either way. What changes is the day around it: a quiet table for two, or a long dinner for the people who flew in.
The court needs nobody but the two of you, and the day can stay that small.
Family or close friends beside you at the court, and a long dinner for the people who made the trip.
Is there already a date you cannot move? Express marriage for a date that is already fixed
The Trip
Express if your dates are fixed; on the regular route we see court dates about three months ahead. Passports, and a decree or death certificate if either of you was married before.
We prepare the application with you. After approval and the court’s fee, the date and time are confirmed by email.
Booked for the confirmed date, with your passports, the only papers the court asks for on the day.
The Civil Family Court beside Zayed Sports City. Inside, photographs come from your guests’ phones or the studio in its Civil Marriage Section.
Afterwards, with a photographer we offer, somewhere the light and the setting suit the two of you.
MOFA attests the certificate. If your country needs an embassy step as well, we tell you before you plan your stay.
The Photographs
Inside the Civil Family Court, photographs are taken on phones only; professional cameras are not allowed. Your guests may take pictures, and a provider runs a photography studio in the Civil Marriage Section under an agreement with the court. The portraits come afterwards, in the light and the place you choose. For those, we offer you a photographer who suits your day, from the partners we work with.
Photography in our Circle
Afterwards
An elopement has few people who saw it. Our Editorial Feature, the 20-page Edition, is made for civil marriages, elopements and intimate celebrations: the day told in words and photographs, printed and kept as a digital archive. It is a separate order, made from the photographs once they exist.
The Editorial Feature in detailFrequently Asked Questions
Tell us your nationalities, whether either of you was married before and the week you have in mind. We come back with the route, the papers and whether express can work for your dates.
Chat on WhatsApp
The Next Step
Your nationalities, any earlier marriage and the week you have in mind are enough to start. We reply within 48 hours, with the route that fits your dates.
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