The United Arab Emirates may begin background checks of foreign women (and foreigners) wishing to marry citizens (and citizens) of the country. This initiative was made by a member of the UAE Federal National Council Ahmed Abdullah Al Shehhi.
According to the deputy, checks are necessary in order to make sure that foreign women and foreigners have a good reputation and are not guided by extremist ideologies.
Ahmed Abdullah Al Shehhi proposed introducing security permits required for marriages between UAE citizens and foreign brides (foreign grooms).
“The security authorities should investigate and make sure that the future wife (or non-Emirati husband) does not spread destructive or extremist ideas,” said the member of parliament. He also proposed creating a Federal Council for Family Affairs and strengthening the role of family counselors.
The UAE Ministry of Community Development has reported to the Federal National Council on Strengthening Marriages and Families and outlined its recommendations on this issue. In particular, we are talking about tougher penalties for cruel treatment of children, their exploitation or filming in indecent videos.
The ministry has developed a comprehensive program to reduce genetic diseases, which includes passing genetic tests before marriage. In turn, the parliament proposed to change the rules for licensing family counseling centers in order to increase their efficiency.
It is worth recalling that in November 2020, the authorities of the United Arab Emirates made changes to the legislation on personal status and family law. The amendments, in particular, decriminalized the cohabitation of couples without marriage.
Previously, it was considered illegal even to live together of different sexes in the same apartment or house, but prosecution under this article was rare.