Supreme Judicial Council begins receiving applications for marriage of Omanis to foreigners

Muscat: The Supreme Judicial Council, represented by the notary public departments, begins to receive all applications for the issuance of marriage certificates of Omanis to foreigners electronically.

In a statement, the Supreme Judicial Council said that the departments of notaries will undertake the documentation and finalisation of procedures for the marriage of Omanis to foreigners in accordance with Royal Decree No. 23/2023 and the Civil Transactions Law (29/2013), and in accordance with the provisions of Islamic Sharia, in addition to the controls referred to in the decree for the issue of regulating marriage for some public functions of importance or special nature. The statement indicated the importance of observing the laws of other countries regarding the marriage of their citizens.

The statement of the Supreme Judicial Council indicated that the cases of marriage of Omanis to foreigners that took place before the issuance of the Royal Decree (23/2023) will be dealt with as follows:

First: For cases that have a marriage contract from a foreign country that is authenticated by the Omani Foreign Ministry, or those that have a marriage contract from a foreign country that is authenticated with the international seal APOSTILLE, they must fill out the electronic marriage form, attach the APOSTILLE contract, and the two parties to the marriage contract appear with the two witnesses before of the notary office.

Second: In cases that have a marriage contract from a foreign country that is not authenticated by the Omani Foreign Ministry, they must first have the contract authenticated by the Omani Foreign Ministry, then fill out the electronic marriage form and attach the marriage contract certified by the Omani Foreign Ministry or the internationally certified contract APOSTILLE, and the presence of both parties to the marriage contract with two witnesses before the notary office.

Third: In cases that have a judicial ruling, they must seal the ruling in the executive form, bring the approval of the embassy of the foreign party, fill out the electronic marriage form, attach the judicial ruling, and the presence of the two parties to the contract, the spouses, and the two witnesses before the notary office.

Fourth: Cases that have a customary marriage contract or do not have one must fill out the electronic marriage form and attach the approval of the embassy of the foreign party, along with the birth certificates of the children, if any, and prove that the customary marriage contract took place before the date of April 26, 2023, as well as the presence of the spouses with the two witnesses before the notary’s office.

As for the cases of marriage of Omanis to foreigners that took place after the Royal Decree (23/2023 AD), the contract will be issued directly if the marriage took place inside the Sultanate of Oman. In all cases, the foreign party must bring the approval of his country’s embassy in application of the provisions of Article 12 of the Civil Transactions Law.