Job Discussion Forums

MyTrunkshow · Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 5:17 pm Post subject: Proof of marriage.

How do western couples prove they are married when going through a checkpoint? Do they carry around a marriage cert.? Or is there a local card issued?

When sitting in restaurants, is it just assumed that a western couple are married...or could any man and woman go from the compound and no one be the wiser?

mts.

trapezius · Posted: Wed Apr 01, 2009 6:16 pm Post subject:

Proof of marriage is hardly asked of Westerners.

That enables unmarried Westerners working in Saudi to go out in groups (and even as couples) to restaurants, to malls, and even on overnight nature expeditions. Unmarried Arabs and Asians could and do get into a lot of trouble if they did that. They could be jailed, lashed, and deported. And mixed enthnicity couples (esp Western + Arab/Asian) attract even more attention of the 'morality' police.

However, to avoid any confrontation, any married couple should follow this advice:

If the wife is on the husband's iqama, there is no need to carry around the marriage certificate. The wife's iqama will list her husband as her sponsor.

If the wife and the husband are both on the iqamas of their respective employers, then the couple should always carry an adequately attested copy of the marriage certificate around with them whenever they go out. A photocopy of the one that was used when applying for the Saudi visa is enough. This means a stamp from the Foreign Ministry of the country where the marriage took place, and a stamp from the Saudi Embassy in that country. And ideally, a stamp from the Foreign Ministry in Saudi as well. And needless to say, the marriage certificate should be translated into Arabic.

matthew156 · Joined: 30 Jan 2009 Posts: 140 Location: The Majik Kindom

Thanks for the info Trap. I was assuming that our wedding bands would've been enough proof that we were married. But being the cold, hard, calculating mathamatician that you are you do come up with some really invaluable information. We have a marriage certificate that is bilingual, Turkish-French. Is French a popular language here in KSA?

Regards

Matt

redeyes · Joined: 21 Jun 2007 Posts: 254

Trapezius wrote -- " And mixed enthnicity couples (esp Western + Arab/Asian) attract even more attention of the 'morality' police."

Just out of interest, is that Asian partners in general ( EG everyone from say, Bangladeshis to Pakistanis, to Sri Lankans, to Taiwanese ,to Singaporean,Chinese and Malay), or is it any specific Asian group? Also, why is that the case? Because Asians are looked down upon as menial workers and so on? Or, is it a religious focus? EG if the wife is Asian (Malay,Indonesian etc ) she may well be Muslim, so she should be behaving herself , and is thus a focus for the morality police? And why is she with a Westerner anyway?

Is it that kind of mental process we are talking about?

I am curious to know.

Thanks very much Trapezius.

veiledsentiments · Joined: 20 Feb 2003 Posts: 17644 Location: USA

This problem comes up in every Gulf country. It is mostly because the majority of local families have servants (maids, cooks, drivers) who are invariably Asian. They - like most people who have not lived in Asia for many years - are unable to tell one Asian from another. Another detail is that being a servant in the Gulf is only a tiny tiny step from slavery and treatment tends to range from not-so-good to fatal. They treat the Muslim servants as badly as the non-Muslim. Sexual abuse of the women is widespread and there are also those who supplement their paltry salary by prostitution.

If they see a Western male with an Asian woman and children, they tend to assume that she is the maid/nanny. If there are no children, they may assume that she is a hooker. A mixed race couple should carry the documentation that Trap suggests.

VS

Seoul2Dhahran · Joined: 14 Apr 2009 Posts: 2

Neil McBeath · Joined: 01 Dec 2005 Posts: 277 Location: Saudi Arabia

Seole2dhahran,

You should have no trouble at all in Bahrain. Nor, I would suggest, would you have any trouble in Oman or the UAE either.

It is technically possible that you could have difficulties in Saudi Arabia, but it is less likely in the Eastern Province. I worked with a man who was married to a Malaysian woman. They never reported any problem with the morality police, primnarily because the morality police are deeply unpopular in the Dammam, Khobar area and have learned to keep their distance.

scot47 · Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Posts: 15343

The Commission for the Promotion of Vuirtue and Prevention of Vice are not especially active in Eastern Province. Asian women are more likely to be hassled by passers-by. The assumption will be that they are housemaids or servants and hence low status.
When out as a couiple not much is going to happen. Your KSA ID's give details of wife/wives and children. (The "Igama")

Many employers(eg KFUPM) and compounds provide free transport for dependants to shopping malls during the working day. If your wife uses these she will run little risk of being harrassed.

Mia Xanthi · Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 8:17 pm Post subject:

On my compound, we have a number of American/British/Australian men with Asian wives. I have never heard of any of them being harassed by the morality police. As the previous poster said, the Commission is not popular here, and although your wife is likely to be told occasionally to cover her hair, it is unlikely that the person who tells her that has any legal authority to do so.

I wouldn't worry for even a second about the morality police scenario if I were you. You'll probably never even think about it once you are in the EP.

Seoul2Dhahran · Joined: 14 Apr 2009 Posts: 2

Thanks for the additional information guys. We will be living on a compound and the employer does provide free transportation to shopping areas.

It is good to hear the morality police aren't as prevalent in the Eastern province.