Q: My wife and I are in the process of going into a divorce. After receiving a hate email from her family, I decided to protect our daughter's rights and file for the divorce in my home country (in Europe). My wife (Indian national) and daughter (European national, 2.5 years old) are both living in Dubai. Over the past 48 hours, she is acting very strangely in our communication, and with some borders reopening, I would like to know if I can protect my daughter from leaving the U.A.E. without my permission. My wife is not responding to any of my messages, nor is she cooperating with the divorce procedure itself. She does not want to disclose with me where she is and who is taking care of our daughter right now. Is it possible to ask for a travel ban for (at least) my daughter?

Q: I have separated from my husband for almost 12 months. Our daughter lives with me. He sees her a few hours a week when he wants. He is her sponsor, I am on a work visa. He is holding her passport. I am concerned that he may take her and leave the country without my permission.

Q: Hi, I need your help, please. My wife wants to travel abroad for studies but we are not financially able to cover the studies and accommodation cost. I don’t want her to go for the studies and I want to stop her. She is stubborn and she wanted to leave as I know it will make trouble for both of us and I don’t want to see her surviving abroad and we don’t have anyone there. She already got the visa and she is planning to travel soon. She even said if you stop me then I will leave you. I want to know my legal rights, please. I want to stop her and I want to keep her here in the UAE. Am I legally authorized to do so? I am just concerned that it will not be a problem for me if I will keep her here forcefully. Please let me know if I stop her forcefully, will it be acceptable as per the UAE law. Please let me know as I am so tense mentally and I am doing this for the sake of her betterment. Thanks

Q: Hi Ahmed, I saw you mentioned in a previous post that it is possible for a father to issue a travel ban on his daughter until she is married. Does this rule apply to ex-pats in the UAE?

Q: Hello, I'm a 23-year-old Emirati woman who wants to leave the country. I have several questions, regarding leaving the country. If I leave without my parents' approval, will there be any issues at the airport particularly with the border control? If my family files a missing report, will my passport become invalid while I'm abroad, or will I face arrest upon my return? Also, if I marry someone from abroad, will obtaining documents like a single status certificate or marrying someone legally here be affected without support from my parents? Thank you for your answers!

Q: Dear Lawyers, I’m a divorced mother with custody of my 4-year-old son from Dubai Courts. My colleague recently traveled to Turkey, and she was asked to provide an NOC from the child's father. Do I need an NOC from my son’s father to travel? I don’t have a travel ban. I traveled with him once two years ago without any NOC and didn’t face any issues. Would I face any problems if I travel? My son’s father isn’t involved in his life and doesn’t really care. Do divorced parents ever get stopped at airports if they don’t have a travel ban?

Q: Husband and wife are expats from Pakistan. The marriage gave 2 minor daughters first one is 3 years age, the second is 1 year age. Now the husband has given a divorce to the wife two shots first in 2024 and second in 2025. If the husband puts a travel ban on minor kids, how long and when can the wife get the removal of the travel ban? If my wife has to travel abroad in an emergency, how can she take her minor children on a long trip? After divorce confirmation by the UAE court and custody awarded to the mother, please advise and clarify in detail.

An interview-format article covering the topic of custody and guardianship in the UAE. This is from the legal podcast of lawyer Ludmila Yamalova, the founder of Lawgical with LYLAW.

UAE Personal Status Law (also known as Personal Affairs Law) governs marriage, divorce, inheritance and other personal affairs in the United Arab Emirates. The law equally applies to citizens of the UAE and non-citizens unless one of them asks for the application of his home country law.