Can I marry in Kuwait for second time to a non-Muslim?

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I would like to seek your valuable opinion on the procedure of a second marriage in Kuwait. I’m an Indian Muslim, staying in Kuwait for the last 13 years and already married once in India. I was staying with my wife here until 2013 before serious medical reasons (related to my wife) made me permanently shift my first wife to India so that she could remain under her parents’ care.

My question is: can I marry in Kuwait for second time? What is the procedure of marrying in Kuwait to a non-Muslim Indian lady as she is willing to embrace Islam to become my second wife.

Name withheld
Answer: There are two ways to get married in Kuwait: in Kuwait courts / Justice Palace or at your embassy. But before we detail the procedure for the marriage, please be informed that according to Sharia (Islamic law) and Kuwait laws you can easily marry a second time without having to get permission from anyone.

In fact you can keep four wives at the same time as long as you treat them equally. There is also no problem with marriage with a woman “of the book” … Christian or Jewish … but if she wishes to convert, the same can be done easily at the Justice Palace.

Also according to Sharia and Kuwait laws you don’t need permission for the second marriage from your first wife but according to our information such a permission is required in some countries, including India and Pakistan.

So, please confirm the same with your embassy first because if the requirement is essential your country’s embassy’s won’t perform the marriage or even register the marriage unless this permission is produced. Following are the procedures for marriage (both at the Justice Palace and embassy and subsequent registration at the embassy).

Marriage at Justice Palace
If you are an expatriate and planning to get married in Kuwait you must first place an advertisement in a local newspaper declaring your intention of getting married and after a few days, armed with a copy of a newspaper in which this advertisement has appeared, apply for a Certificate of No Impediment (CNI) from your embassy.

The CNI is aimed at confirming that you have not contracted an earlier marriage and if so your previous marriage has been legally terminated. If you are a Muslim and going in for a second marriage, you must obtain permission from your first wife if your country’s laws require you to do so.

Please remember that Kuwait laws and Sharia do not require you to get this permission but unless you do so, your marriage will not be accepted in your own country nor be registered by your embassy in Kuwait. After you have acquired the CNIs, you must get these documents ( in Arabic) attested by the Kuwait Ministry of Foreign Affairs located in Shuwaikh, opposite the Kuwait Sports Club.

You can then contact the Ministry of Justice, Tel : 22465600 or go there personally, to get a date for your marriage because all such Muslim marriages are held at the Palace of Justice, Fahad Al Salem Street, Kuwait City.

To get a time and date you will require the following documents:

1. Original and photocopies of civil IDs of the bridegroom, bride and two witnesses.

2. Original and photocopies of passport of the bridegroom, bride and the two witnesses.

3. And finally the CNIs (in Arabic), acquired from your embassies and attested by the Kuwait Foreign Ministry. After this you should not have any problems in getting married.

Please, however, remember that embassies take at least a few weeks in giving the CNIs. Some take much longer, so check with your embassy and apply quickly.

Marriage in embassy
As you are an Indian, here is the procedure for Indian nationals wishing to marry in Kuwait under the Foreign Marriage Act, 1969.

This procedure has been detailed by your embassy on its website.

1. One of the two individuals intending to marry
a. Should be an Indian national.
b. Should be resident of Kuwait.

2. Both of them are required to submit a “Notice of Intended Marriage” on a prescribed Form, in person, to the Marriage Officer,

3. They are required to bring the following documents with them when they approach the Marriage Officer for submission of “Notice of Intended Marriage”:
a) Original passport
b) Copies of the passport and Civil Identity Card
c) 4 Photographs (each party) and
d) In case, one of the individual is a national of another country, a no objection certificate from his/her embassy is required

4. Consular fees of KD 15.300 to be paid at the counter at the time of submission of the Notice of Intended Marriage

5. To collect a copy of a “notice” from the embassy for publication in a local newspapers and an Indian newspaper (published from their place of permanent residence)

6. To publish the notice in the same format in the newspapers in Kuwait, in India, (the place of their permanent residence) and in the third country in case one of the parties is a national of another country (in his / her country of permanent residence, as the case may be

7. To submit one copy of the clipping from the newspapers in which the notice was published, to the embassy

8. To approach the Marriage Officer, to fix the date and time for the ceremony of the marriage

9. The marriage can be solemnized after 30 days from the date of last publication of the notice in the newspapers

10. On the day of the ceremony of marriage, both the individuals are required to present with their passport and three Indians, as witnesses to their marriage, with a copy their passports and civil identity cards

11. The couple is required to submit a prescribed affidavit declaring themselves as free to marry and a declaration accepting each other as their spouse

12. They are required to pay the consular fee of KD 13.000

13. The Marriage Officer, after satisfying himself that all the documents are in order, will issue a marriage certificate.

Registration of marriage
In case you get married at the Justice Palace, you will still have to register the marriage at the Indian Embassy (so that it is legally accepted in your country) and this is what you have to do: Both the individuals are required to submit an application addressed to the Marriage Officer, Embassy of India, Kuwait, requesting for registration of their marriage, along with a copy of their passport, ceremony of marriage and civil identity card, and 4 photographs (each). The application should include the facts that

1. A ceremony of marriage has been performed between the parties and they are living together as husband and wife ever since

2. Neither party has at the time of registration more than one living spouse; neither party is idiot or a lunatic at the time of registration

3. The parties have completed the age of twenty one years at the time of registration;

4. The parties are not within the degrees of prohibited relationship

5. The parties are residing within the jurisdiction of the Marriage Officer (i.e. Kuwait) They must then approach the marriage officer, to fix the date and time for the registration of the marriage

The marriage can be registered after 30 days from the date of last publication of the notice in the newspapers. On the day of registration of marriage, both the parties are required to be present with their passports and three Indian nationals, as witnesses to the registration of their marriage, with a copy of their passport and civil identity card.

They are required to pay the requisite consular fee. While we have detailed everything that you are required to do but we still recommend that you also check with your embassy to see whether there are any additional requirements.

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