Marriage valid in Egypt?

Kaeda New member

6POSTS

7 years ago

I plan on traveling to Cairo Egypt.聽 I am married in the USA via civil marriage (both us native USA citizens) and have some concerns as I plan on traveling there solo.聽 I鈥檝e read Egypt doesn鈥檛 recognize civil marriages legally.聽 Is this just in regards to Egypt鈥檚 legal citizens?聽 My concern, being a woman, is that my marriage won鈥檛 be recognized and I could inadvertently sign or agree to a situation I wouldn鈥檛 have otherwise due to social/language barriers.聽 I realize this circumstance is far fetched and probably not on a list of things I should worry about, yet I would rather be safe and was curious if any others would have knowledge on the hypothetical situation.

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GuestPoster43712 Guest

0POSTS

7 years ago

Hey Kaeda,
I didn't quite understand what the problem is! Is it that you are married and traveling solo? I don't see any problem with that. I am single and I travelled solo from North to South and East to West of Egypt and i never had any problem. I always book tour with a guide simply because there's a lot of fluent english speaking Egyptologist in Egypt. One thing you will noticed is that people will look at you wherever you go because they are curious but for me, I don't look back. I don't flirt and I tried to be not to friendly and I always dress modestly. I believe that adopting the conservative dress code will deflect unwanted attention from men. Travel light and simple.

1 member reacted to this post

Kaeda New member

6POSTS

7 years ago

Thanks for the reply!聽 No, I鈥檓 not concerned about my physical safety, but I just want to double check that my marriage is still valid while traveling in Egypt.聽 To be honest, it stems from the controversial articles talking about women(particularly Christian women) being forced into marriage.聽 I鈥檓 doing all I can to research language and Muslim beliefs so as not to offend during my stay.聽 While I don鈥檛 believe I will encounter such an issue, I also at the same time don鈥檛 want to leave myself vulnerable in a legality sense.

mgseyam Member

15POSTS

7 years ago

Hi Kaeda,

Hope you're well,

As per your concerns stated above, Allow me to assure you not to worry about this.
What you鈥檝e read that Egypt doesn鈥檛 recognize civil marriages legally, please note that, this applicable on Egyptians only. And according to Egyptian Laws the rules and laws of marital status not to be applicable on foreigners, unless in certain cases specified by law, yours isn't among them.

You are both native USA citizens and your marriage is approved according to your native legal system whether its civil else you.and your official documents states that you are married.

So this just in regards to Egypt鈥檚 legal citizens.

Enjoy your trip,

Kaeda New member

6POSTS

7 years ago

Thank you very much for your reply, I鈥檓 relieved to know my marriage will be honored while in Egypt.

1 member reacted to this post

tomcovasara1711 Member

1POSTS

last year

I know that there is a draft law for Egyptian men who want to take second wives, which involves notifying the first wife by mail about the marriage. In my understanding, since it is a draft law, it is not fully in effect or applicable yet. Also, the law applies to Egyptian men who marry Egyptian women as second wives, as I understand.

So what I am trying to find out is, if a married Egyptian man wants to take any foreigner as a second wife, will the guys in laghzouly follow the draft law and send notification via mail to the first wife? Or will they just reject the request to marry altogether? Or will they allow the marriage of the couple normally and not even follow the draft law at all? I really want to know how this would go.

Also want to mention that the foreign bride is of a nationality whose country doesn't recognize polygamy, but she lives in Egypt permanently with no desire or intention to leave. So could this also potentially block a marriage at laghzouly? Because the marriage won't be "valid" in her country of origin?