These changes will be welcomed by many who will now avoid any delays and additional expenses that might have been incurred undertaking a civil ceremony in order to relocate to Qatar as an officially-recognised married couple.
Who will these changes affect?
Previously, those couples who had only celebrated a nikah, or Islamic wedding, were unable to use their existing marriage certificate for legalisation in Qatar. Instead, they would need to take part in a civil ceremony in order to obtain an official General Registry Office (GRO) certificate, issued by the UK government. This government-issued certificate would then be recognised by the Qatari Embassy in London and could be legalised.
Now, the nikah itself will be recognised by the Qatari Embassy, though the document must be in English, or dual-language in order to be accepted. We have however been advised that in some instances, if the document is in English only, you may be required to have this translated into Arabic once it has been verified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) when you reach Qatar. This is decided on a case-by-case basis – for more information please get in touch with us.
To read more about Islamic Marriage Certificates and where they will be accepted for legalisation please see our previous blog post here.
If you have documents you require legalising for use in Qatar, we can help. Simply visit our site and request a personalised quotation based on your requirements. You can also give us a call directly on +44 (0) 330 088 1142, send us a message via WhatsApp, or e-mail us at sales@vitalconsular.com. Our friendly team of specialists are on hand to answer all of your queries.