During the resolution of divorce and custody disputes

“Personal Status” grants residents the right to rely on the laws of their country

Youssef Al-Sharif: "A resident can file a case in the UAE, and claim custody of his children according to the law of the country of his nationality."

Legal Adviser, Dr. Youssef Al-Sharif, confirmed that the legislator gave non-citizens the right to rely on the personal status laws issued in their countries, when considering marriage and divorce tendencies between them, as long as this is in their interest.

Al-Sharif said that Article (1) states, “The provisions of this law - personal status - apply to non-citizens, unless one of them adheres to the application of his law.”

A reader said that he married a Sudanese girl in 2009, and they lived in the Emirates, and had a son and a daughter (8 and 10 years old), and her marriage continued until he divorced her at the end of 2020.

The young man added that he learned that the UAE Personal Status Law gives custody to the mother in a boy up to 11 years old, and it can be extended until puberty, and a girl is 13 years old, and it can be extended until she gets married, while the Sudanese Personal Status Law gives custody to the mother in a boy up to seven years And the girl until nine years old.

The reader asked, does he have the right to rely on the law of his country in requesting custody of his children before the Emirati judiciary, or does he have to go to Sudan and file the case there?

Al-Sharif confirmed in his response to the reader, in a video episode broadcast by "Emirates Today" through its platforms, on social networking sites, that he can adhere to the application of the Sudanese Personal Status Law, if he deems it to be of benefit to him, and submits a copy of it certified by the Sudanese embassy and the UAE Foreign Ministry to the court. And the judgment will be in his favour, after the judge studies all the facts of the case in terms of his suitability and eligibility, not for the mother, and that he fulfills the conditions required by the Personal Status Law.

Al-Sharif stressed that residents can file a personal status issue, such as custody issues and others, and that they should adhere to the application of the laws of their countries in these cases, if that is in their interest.

Therefore, the reader can file his case in the UAE, and claim custody of his children, according to the Sudanese law of which he is a citizen.

Al-Sharif cautioned that it is not permissible to apply two personal status laws in the same case, but a specific law is applied in each case.

Follow our latest local and sports news and the latest political and economic developments via Google news