Khaberni - The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department disclosed the exceptional results of the statistical report of the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court, which demonstrated a record surge in registering approximately 53,000 civil marriage contracts for foreigners and 21,000 civil wills since the enactment of the Civil Marriage Law No. 14 of 2021 in Abu Dhabi, reflecting the effectiveness of the pioneering experience of the region’s first court specialized in personal status for foreigners, and its judicial model that addresses the international community in a modern legal language with flexible digital procedures.
Regarding civil marriage, the court recorded 19,000 contracts in 2025, an increase of 17% compared to the previous year, while the number rose from 5,400 marriage contracts in 2022 to 12,000 contracts in 2023, and reaching 16,200 contracts in 2024, recording a total of approximately 53,000 civil marriage contracts since the implementation of the law.
Statistics also showed that the average registration of civil marriage contracts is about 1,600 contracts monthly, with an average of 70 contracts per day, which corresponds to completing 13 civil marriage contracts per hour.
This service is available to all foreigners, both residents and visitors, where applications can be submitted through the website of the Abu Dhabi Judicial Department, providing flexible options including the "Express" premium service, which allows for the registration and completion of the marriage request on the same day, in addition to a pre-marriage agreement authentication service within an integrated system of civil family services.
Civil Wills
Regarding civil wills, the Abu Dhabi Civil Family Court achieved a significant leap by registering 11,000 wills in 2025, an increase of more than 100% compared to 2024, bringing the cumulative total to 21,000 wills over four years since the establishment of the court, reflecting a rise in awareness of the importance of prior legal planning and estate organization.
This popularity is due to simplifying procedures and adopting an integrated digital system that allows for the full remote registration of wills via video communication technology, alongside providing legal templates in both Arabic and English, which has made organizing wills a facilitated process not necessarily requiring legal counsel, in addition to offering financial facilities including installment of fees through credit cards without interest.
Civil Divorce
In the track of civil divorce, there were 640 cases in 2025, under the system of "Harm-Free Civil Divorce" as a legal option for foreigners that allows obtaining a judgment in the first session within 30 days from the date of filing the lawsuit, with financial rights protection through appointing an accounting expert to evaluate the financial status of both the husband and wife, in addition to the automatic ruling of joint custody for the children, ensuring their best interest and the continued involvement of both parents in caregiving.
