"Abu Dhabi Judiciary" Its leadership in the civil family system is consolidated with 53,000 civil marriages and 21,000 wills

ABU DHABI, 19 JANUARY / WAM / The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department revealed the exceptional results of the statistical report of the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court, which showed a record surge in the registration of about 53,000 civil marriage contracts for foreigners and 21,000 civil wills since the entry into force of Civil Marriage Law No. 14 of 2021 in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, which reflects the effectiveness of the pioneering experience of the first court specializing in the personal status of foreigners in the region, and its judicial model that addresses the international community in legal language. Modern and flexible digital procedures.

With regard to civil marriage, the court registered 19,000 contracts during the year 2025, an increase of 17% compared to the previous year, while the number increased from 5,400 marriage contracts in 2022 to 12,000 contracts in 2023, reaching 16,200 contracts in 2024, recording a total of applications of approximately 53,000 civil marriage contracts since the law began to be implemented.

Statistics also showed that the average registration of civil marriage contracts amounts to about 1,600 contracts per month, at a rate of 70 contracts per day, which is equivalent to completing 13 civil marriage contracts per hour.

This service is available to all foreign residents and visitors, as applications can be submitted via the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department’s website, with flexible options provided, including the distinguished “Express” service that allows the marriage application to be registered and completed on the same day, in addition to the service of documenting pre-nuptial agreements within an integrated system of civil family services.

With regard to civil wills, the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court achieved a qualitative leap by registering 11,000 wills during the year 2025, an increase of more than 100% compared to 2024, bringing the cumulative total to 21,000 wills within 4 years of the court’s establishment, which reflects the high level of awareness of the importance of advance legal planning and organizing inheritance affairs.

This demand is due to the simplification of procedures and the adoption of an integrated digital system that allows the registration of wills entirely remotely via video communication technology, in addition to the provision of approved legal forms in Arabic and English, which made organizing wills an easy process that does not necessarily require the use of a law firm, in addition to providing financial facilities that include paying fees in installments via credit cards without interest.

As for the civil divorce process, the number of cases reached 640 in 2025, in light of the application of the “civil divorce without harm” system as a legal option for foreigners that allows obtaining the ruling in the first session within 30 days from the date of filing the case, while protecting financial rights by assigning an accounting expert to evaluate the financial assets of both the husband and wife, in addition to the automatic ruling of joint custody of the children, in a way that guarantees their best interests and the continued role of both parents in care.

• For more: Follow Khaleejion 24 Arabic, Khaleejion 24 English, Khaleejion 24 Live, and for social media follow us on Facebook and Twitter