How can foreigners get married in Saudi Arabia?

Two foreigners/expats can get married in Saudi Arabia if both of them have a valid Iqama. Here is the detailed process.

Who can get married in KSA?

Anyone with a valid visa and an Absher account can get married in Saudi Arabia which includes;

• Iqama holder.
• Dependents of an Iqama holder.
• Family Visit Visa Holders.
• Umrah/Hajj visa holders.
• Tourist Visa Holders.
• Transit Visa.
• How to register and activate Absher account?

Marriage Official Search

If you are a foreigner or an expat, I would urge you to find a marriage official (sheikh) who would fill out your application, fulfill other requirements and complete the process of getting married in Saudi Arabia.

• Open this link.
• Select the city you want to convene your Nikah.
• The MOJ website will give you the list of marriage officials.
• You can call them to check if they can speak the English language or how difficult/easy it is to communicate with them.

Saudi Arabia’s marriage requirements

The marriage official will require the following information to fill out the application form on the Ministry of Justice website; 

• Saudi SIM cards registered in your name to create the Absher accounts.
• Absher accounts for the bride, groom, and witnesses.
• Iqama copy for residents.
• Passport copy for tourists or visit visa holders.
• Iqama copy of the two witnesses.
• The amount of Mahr.

Fill out the Marriage Form

The selected marriage official will create a marriage contract through the Ministry of Justice website to get married in Saudi Arabia;

• Open the MOJ website: https://inhaatportal.moj.gov.sa/tabsnew.aspx
• Click on إنشاء عقد زواج.
• Select the region according to your area.
• Enter the details as described below.

The bride, groom, and witnesses will receive OTPs several times while the marriage official is filling out the application. You will have to provide them to the official.

Once the application is approved by the Ministry of Justice, you have 10 days to convene your marriage. 

The formal Marriage

You can request the Sheikh to come to your hotel or any other place to convene the marriage/Nikah. Make sure that the following people are available there.

• Groom.
• Bride.
• 2 Witnesses.

Experience: The sheikh was able to come to our hotel and did the nikah there. He called my wife on the phone and confirmed that she wanted to get married (men and women were in different hotel rooms) and asked me the same question. After that was done, he confirmed the nikah was complete.

We paid him SR 2,000 for the entire process. You may agree with him the price before starting the process.

The marriage certificate

We received a PDF of the marriage contract. In order to use your marriage certificate in a foreign country, make sure to do the following attestations;

• Ministry of Justice attestation.
• MOFA attestation.
• Get it translated into English and attest to from your country’s embassy/consulate in Saudi Arabia.

Transfer sponsorship

Once you are done with this, you will have to go through the process of “Transfer of Wife’s Sponsorship to your Name“.