UAE Law and Practice Contributed by: Awatif Al Khouri and Hassan Elhais, Awatif Mohammad Shoqi Advocates & Legal Consultancy
after the age of 18 in the Emirate of Dubai; in other Emirates, this age is 21 at the time of writing. It is important to note that Federal Law No. 5 of 1985 on the Civil Transactions Law of the United Arab Emir ‑ ates will be replaced by Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025 Issuing the Civil Transactions Law effective from 1 June 2026. Accordingly, as per Article 84 of Federal Decree-Law No. 25 of 2025, the age of majority will be 18 years. 3.3 Other Matters Both parents have the right to impose a travel ban on the children to prevent them from travelling outside the UAE. This is explicitly provided under Article 22 of Cabinet Decision No. 122 of 2023 on the implemen ‑ tation of Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Status, and Article 38 of Abu Dhabi Decision No. 8 of 2022 on the Approval of the Regulation of Civil Marriage and Divorce Procedures in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. If either parent is apprehensive that the other party may flee the UAE with the children, without their consent, they may submit an urgent travel ban application to the UAE courts. Once such a ban is in effect, if a parent wishes to travel outside the UAE with the child, then they may approach the court requesting the court to allow travel with the child. Short-Term Travel Consent is essential in case of short-term travel with children. The UAE law, under Article 116 of the Fed ‑ eral Decree-Law No. 41 of 2024, Article 21 of Cabinet Decision No. 122/2023 on the implementation of Fed ‑ eral Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 on Civil Personal Sta ‑ tus, and Article 37 of Abu Dhabi Decision No. 8/2022 on the Approval of the Regulation of Civil Marriage and Divorce Procedures in the Emirate of Abu Dhabi, allows travel with children after obtaining the written consent of the other parent. If the parents are unable to reach an agreement regarding travel or its duration, they may seek an order from the court. Article 116 of Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2024 grants both parents the right to travel alone with their children on one or more occasions per year, provided that the total travel period does not exceed 60 days for either parent. This period may be extended if the travel is in
the best interest of the children, for medical treatment, or for an urgent necessity. Federal Decree-Law No. 41 of 2022 (applicable for non-Muslims in all Emirates except Abu Dhabi) and Abu Dhabi Law No. 14 of 2021 (applicable for non- Muslims in Abu Dhabi) give joint custody to the par ‑ ents. Therefore, if the parents do not agree over any of the joint custody matters, either of them has the right to submit a request to the competent court to intervene and decide upon the disputed issue. The court will have the discretion to decide on these mat ‑ ters based on the best interests of the child and will endeavour, as far as possible, to maintain the stability of the child’s education and sports life. Within the joint custody period, if the joint custodian is unable to travel alone with the child because the other parent has refused to provide their consent, then the requesting parent may approach the court for a deci ‑ sion on this matter. The request will be subject to the court’s discretion. UAE laws prohibit parental alienation or the distancing of the children from one parent. Federal Law No. 3 of 2016 on Child Rights (also known as Wadeema’s Law) provides that the child shall have the right to meet with their parents and maintain direct contact with them. If one parent has sole custody of the child, and if they breach the non-custodial parent’s visitation rights, then the execution judge has the discretion to enforce these rights by ordering penalties/a fine or detention. The judge may also prepare a report indicating the number of times the custodian has breached the visi ‑ tation contract, with the time and date of each breach. This report could be used by the other parent to claim custody at a later stage. The testimony of children is not directly heard by the judge. The court may appoint a social worker to meet with the children and prepare a report for the court’s review and consideration. 3.4 ADR in Child Law Matters Please see 2.9 ADR in Financial Matters .
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