Dubai and Abu Dhabi have a substantial French community. Since 2021, the UAE has extensively modernised family law, particularly for non-Muslim foreigners, and adopted a new Civil Transactions Code effective from 1 June 2026. It is nevertheless party to none of the Hague conventions on children or maintenance.
An initial overview, not a consultation
This page outlines Emirati law and its connections with French law. It is an initial overview, not a consultation: every situation depends on specific facts and local law changes. For each case, I work with a colleague based in the United Arab Emirates, who confirms these initial details for your circumstances and acts before local courts when necessary.
0 — Your situation
You are French expatriates in Dubai considering separation. One wants to return to France with the children. Your Emirati or other-nationality spouse has begun local proceedings. You fear the children may not be allowed to leave or may be retained there.
Applicable law in the UAE depends largely on the spouses’ religion: non-Muslim couples and couples with a Muslim spouse follow different rules.
1 — Which court?
In the UAE. Courts have jurisdiction over foreigners domiciled or resident there, and sometimes when only the applicant lives there; contrary clauses have no effect. Non-Muslim foreigners come under Federal Decree-Law No 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status. Abu Dhabi’s Civil Family Court, sitting in English and Arabic, has applied its civil marriage law since late 2021. Muslim couples, or those with an Emirati Muslim spouse, follow Federal Decree-Law No 41 of 2024 on Personal Status.
Parallel proceedings. French courts may, without obligation, defer to the Emirati court seised first only if its future judgment can be recognized in France. The 1991 bilateral convention refuses recognition when a dispute between the same parties is pending or decided in the country where recognition is sought: filing first matters.
2 — Which law?
Before the Emirati court. Since 1 June 2026, divorce follows the law governing marriage conditions and effects; only Emirati law applies if either spouse is Emirati. Maintenance follows the debtor’s law.
For non-Muslims. The 2022 federal civil law allows foreigners to insist on their own law, and spouses to agree on another law in force in the UAE.
3 — Recognition
A bilateral convention. France and the UAE are bound by the Convention of 9 September 1991 on judicial assistance and recognition and enforcement in civil and commercial matters. It expressly covers maintenance, custody and contact, without mentioning or excluding divorce itself.
Recognition requires jurisdiction of the original court, proper service, finality and compliance with public policy. Notably, the applied law must be the one designated by the recognizing country’s conflict rules or produce the same result.
French decisions are recognized under the 1991 Convention and Emirati civil procedure, requiring notably French jurisdiction, proper service, finality and Emirati public policy.
Divorce without a judge. The Convention covers only judicial decisions and arbitral awards. French divorce signed by lawyers falls outside it and UAE recognition is highly uncertain. A French judicial divorce approving your agreement is much safer.
4 — Your relationship
For non-Muslims. The 2022 federal civil law allows unilateral divorce requested in court without justification or proof of fault. A court may award the former wife maintenance, setting amount and duration by marriage length, her age, both finances, the husband’s responsibility for breakdown and her involvement with children. It ends on remarriage.
5 — Your children
For couples under the 2024 law. Rules draw on Muslim law: child custody (hadana) differs from guardianship (wilaya), including property management, held by the father. Custody ends at eighteen; from fifteen, the child may choose which parent to live with.
The UAE is party to neither the 1980 Child Abduction nor the 1996 Child Protection Convention. No immediate-return procedure exists for removals to or from the UAE. Local proceedings, negotiation, mediation and intervention by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs’ minors and family protection office are the available tools.
For non-Muslims, the 2022 law presumes joint and equal custody after divorce unless the court decides otherwise in the child’s interests. For couples under the 2024 law, foreign travel requires the other parent’s written consent or court permission.
Prevention is essential. In France, a concerned parent may obtain an emergency objection to departure lasting fifteen days, followed by a family-court prohibition. Abu Dhabi’s Civil Family Court may make a prohibited steps order. A parenting agreement approved in France and recognized locally provides the best protection.
6 — Your assets
Dubai real estate, accounts and businesses across countries require a country-by-country inventory. Emirati law provides no community property regime: assets generally remain with the spouse acquiring them, subject to financial claims to the court.
Non-Muslims may register wills with dedicated registries. Dubai’s DIFC Courts Wills Service covers assets throughout the UAE and abroad; Abu Dhabi’s civil wills section registers wills for any non-Emirati. Without a will, Abu Dhabi law gives half the succession to the spouse and half to the children. Succession follows the deceased’s national law, but an alien’s will concerning UAE real estate follows Emirati law. Coordinate it with French provisions and the European Succession Regulation.
The UAE is not party to the 2007 Hague Convention. French maintenance decisions are enforced through the 1991 Convention, which accepts enforceable decisions and jurisdiction based on the creditor’s residence, and proceedings before Emirati courts.
Points to watch
Without a choice of law, two French nationals living in Dubai would divorce in France under Emirati law.
French divorce without a judge is outside the bilateral convention: prefer judicial divorce.
No immediate-return procedure exists: act before a risk of departure or non-return materialises.
Disputes, especially financial ones, may lead to a UAE travel ban: plan before separating.
7 — My support
An international consultation, preferably before local steps. My Dubai colleague confirms Emirati-law analysis and acts locally. Negotiation or international family mediation in French or English seeks an agreement designed for recognition in both countries.
Official texts and sources
Abu Dhabi Judicial Department: Civil Family Court
Official UAE portal: personal status of non-Muslims
France–UAE Convention of 9 September 1991 (French Senate text)
French Ministry of Justice: UAE civil-assistance factsheet
Federal Decree-Law No 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status
Federal Decree-Law No 41 of 2024 on Personal Status
Federal Decree-Law No 25 of 2025, Civil Transactions Code
Hague Conference: status of the 1980 Child Abduction Convention
Hague Conference: status of the 1996 Child Protection Convention