Saudi Arabia: the Personal Status Law 2022, polygyny and marriage registration

1Overview: the applicable law

Saudi Arabia had no written family law until 2022. Before that, judges decided cases of marriage, divorce and custody directly from the fiqh texts, mainly of the Hanbali school, with wide discretion. Musawah records that judges referred to hundreds of Hanbali fiqh texts and rarely to other schools (Musawah 2022).

• Constitutional basis. The Basic Law of Governance 1992 (Article 1) provides that the country's constitution is the Qur'an and the Sunnah. Articles 8 and 10 address justice and the family as the core of society.
• The Personal Status Law (Nizam al-Ahwal al-Shakhsiyyah). Passed by Royal Decree M/73 dated 6/8/1443H (8 March 2022) and in force from 18 June 2022. It contains 252 articles in eight chapters: engagement, the marriage contract, the rights of husband and wife, lineage, dissolution of marriage, custody, wills and inheritance (Amnesty 2023; official Arabic text at the Bureau of Experts, Council of Ministers).
• Implementing regulations are prepared by the Minister of Justice and issued by order of the Prime Minister (Article 250). The Personal Status Law Regulation was approved by circular no. 59641 dated 17/8/1446H and published in the official gazette Umm al-Qura on 21 February 2025 (Umm al-Qura). The Medical Reports Regulation was issued by Minister of Justice Decision no. 3411 dated 16/11/1444H (Umm al-Qura).
• Matters the law does not address are decided by the rulings of the Shariah most consistent with the positions the law has preferred (tarjihat) (Article 251). The article does not name the Hanbali school specifically.

2The marriage contract: pillars, wali and minimum age

• Pillars of the contract (Article 12): two parties (a man and a woman) and offer and acceptance (Musawah 2022).
• Wali (Articles 13, 15–20): the bride's contract must be concluded by a male wali, regardless of her age or whether she was previously married. The order of guardians begins with the father, then the male paternal relatives, and finally the judge (Article 17). If the wali refuses without reason ('adhl), the guardianship passes to the court (Article 20) (HRW 2023; Amnesty 2023). This is in line with the majority, including the Shafi'is and Hanbalis. The Hanafi school, by contrast, allows an adult woman to marry herself off.
• Consent of the bride and groom: the law requires the consent of both parties, and a wali may not marry off a woman without her consent. Since 2016, the Ministry of Justice has also directed that a copy of the contract be given to the wife (Musawah 2022).
• Minimum age (Article 9): 18 years for men and women. The court may permit marriage under 18 if the party has reached puberty and the marriage is shown to bring benefit (maslahah). The April 2022 draft regulations require an application, an acknowledgement of consent in court, the mother's view to be heard, and a medical or social report (Amnesty 2023; HRW 2023).
• Premarital health screening (genetic blood disorders such as sickle-cell anaemia and thalassaemia, and infectious diseases such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV) is compulsory: the screening certificate must be submitted before the marriage contract is signed, but the couple remain free to marry whatever the result (Council of Ministers Decision no. 4/B/45404 dated 15/11/1424H; Ministry of Health).

3The wife's conditions in the contract, including a 'no second wife' condition

This is the most important feature of Saudi law for a wife who does not want a co-wife. Under the Hanbali school, a condition that benefits the wife and does not conflict with the purpose of the contract is valid and binding. The evidence is the hadith: "The conditions most deserving of fulfilment are those by which you made lawful the private parts" (Sahih al-Bukhari 2721; Sahih Muslim, Kitab an-Nikah).

• Article 27: the spouses are bound by the conditions they agree. A condition gives a right to fasakh only if it is written in the contract document or admitted by both parties (Article 27(2)).
• Article 28 (remedy): if one party does not fulfil a condition, the party who set the condition may seek fasakh at any time so long as they have not clearly waived the right. If it is the husband who breaches the condition, the fasakh takes place without compensation from the wife. If it is the wife who breaches it, she pays compensation not exceeding the mahr (Musawah 2022, translation of Art. 27–28).
• Article 29: a condition that conflicts with the continuation of the contract, or a contract made in exchange for another contract (shighar marriage), is void. The contract remains valid but a condition contrary to the nature of the contract is void.

Is a condition that "the husband will not marry another" valid in law? In Hanbali fiqh the answer is yes, and the wife may choose fasakh if the husband marries again. However, Musawah (2022) records that some Saudi scholars argue that such a condition forbids what is lawful and may be voided under Article 29. An older report (2017–2018) states that women usually use other forms, for example "the wife is divorced if the husband marries another" or a right to a separate home (Musawah 2018). How far the courts enforce no-polygyny conditions after 2022 (check with the authorities of the country concerned).

4Polygyny: permitted without court permission

• The limit of four wives follows Surah an-Nisa' 4:3. Saudi law does not require court permission and does not require the consent of the existing wife (HRW 2023; Musawah 2022).
• Notifying the wife: according to Musawah (2022), the law does not require a husband to inform an existing wife of a new marriage. The official text of the 2022 law contains no such provision either. The claim that wives are now notified automatically through an electronic system when the husband marries again could not be verified: in January 2019 it was reported as a proposal by specialists, not official policy, while the Ministry of Justice announced that marital status is updated automatically in the civil status register (Absher) once the contract is ratified (Okaz 2019) (consult the local authorities).
• Registration: every contract, including second and later marriages, must be registered like any other contract (Article 8). The text of the law contains no polygamy-specific procedure; the only provision specific to multiple wives is the duty of fairness (Article 42). Check the forms in Najiz with the embassy or the authorities of that country.
• Fairness between wives: the husband must provide maintenance on reasonable terms and treat his wives fairly in nights spent and maintenance. This duty is in Article 42 (Musawah cites it as Article 44). Fairness is not examined before the marriage and can only be enforced through the wife's complaint to the court.
• Harm as a ground for fasakh: a wife who is wronged may seek fasakh on the ground of harm (Article 103–115). Polygyny alone is not a ground for fasakh unless there is a condition in the contract.
• Misyar marriage (where the wife gives up her right to maintenance or housing) is recognised through fatwas and is commonly practised, but is not mentioned in the 2022 law (Musawah 2022).

5Marriage registration: the Ministry of Justice and Najiz

• Registration is compulsory (Article 8). The contract is carried out by a ma'dhun (a licensed marriage officiant) under the Ministry of Justice. A contract linked electronically directly to the court need not be registered again. Either spouse may apply to the court to confirm the marriage (Musawah 2022).
• Najiz (najiz.sa) is the Ministry of Justice e-services portal for booking a ma'dhun, obtaining an electronic contract, documenting talaq and filing family cases.
• Civil status: after the contract, the marriage is recorded in the Ministry of Interior's civil status register. Since the 2019 amendments, women may register marriages, divorces and births themselves (Amnesty 2023; check the details with the authorities of the country concerned).
• The standard contract records the amount of the mahr and has space for conditions, and the wife is entitled to receive a copy.

6Talaq, khulʿ and fasakh

• Talaq (Article 77): dissolution of the contract at the husband's will by pronouncing talaq. The husband does not need the court's permission.
• Documenting talaq (Articles 90–91): the husband must document the talaq within 15 days of the separation becoming final (baynunah). The wife has the right to be informed, and if the husband fails to register or inform her, she is entitled to compensation at least equal to the maintenance owed (HRW 2023; Amnesty 2023).
• Triple talaq in one utterance: under the official text of Article 83, any talaq coupled with a number, whether in words or by a sign, or repeated in one sitting, counts as only one talaq. This follows the view of Ibn Taymiyyah and confirms the LSE report (2024); Amnesty's statement (2023) that a threefold pronouncement is still treated as final does not match the text.
• Khul' (Articles 95–102): initiated by the wife in return for compensation ('iwad). Khul' can take place without a court order if the husband agrees (Article 96). The compensation may not consist of waiving the children's rights or their custody (Article 100); where the compensation is the mahr, only the part of the mahr already received must be returned (Article 101) (LSE 2024). The law defines khul' as separation at the wife's request with the husband's consent (Article 95), so it has no provision for khul' decreed by a court without the husband's consent. If the husband refuses, before consummation or seclusion the court annuls the contract once the wife returns the mahr received and reconciliation fails (Article 112); after that, the wife may seek annulment for harm (Article 108) or through two arbiters, who may separate the couple with or without compensation not exceeding the mahr (Articles 109–111).
• Fasakh (Article 103–115): on grounds such as illness, unpaid mahr, no maintenance, proven harm, desertion and breach of a condition of the contract. A process of arbitrators (hakam) from both families (Article 109, based on Surah an-Nisa' 4:35) (Musawah 2022).
• ʿIddah maintenance is given for the duration of the ʿiddah (usually three quru' or until childbirth). The law does not divide jointly acquired matrimonial property (Amnesty 2023).

7Foreign wives: approval and documents

• Government approval is required. Saudi nationals, men or women, who marry a foreign national need special permission from the Ministry of Interior. For Saudi women, permission is given only with the wali's consent (Musawah 2018). The Ministry of Justice guidelines are Ministerial Order no. 6874 dated 2/12/1422H (MOJ).
• Usual conditions (for example age limits, age differences and bans for military or diplomatic personnel) have been reported and amended from time to time (current details please check through Absher or the regional Emirate office).
• A ma'dhun may not conduct a mixed marriage without that approval letter. A contract concluded without the required approval needs a specific court procedure to be proven: the order approving the 2025 Personal Status Law Regulation asked the Minister of Justice to set arrangements for courts to hear claims to prove such contracts (Umm al-Qura 2025). The effect on residence permits for a foreign wife and children (check with the authorities of the country concerned).
• A foreign wife's residence permit depends on her husband as sponsor. Amnesty (2023) warns that a foreign wife risks deportation if her husband does not renew her residence permit after a complaint of domestic violence.
• Citizenship: Saudi women cannot automatically pass their citizenship to a foreign husband or to children by a foreign husband (Musawah 2018).

8Statistics: polygyny, marriage and divorce

Saudi Arabia does not publish an official annual rate of polygynous marriage. The best polygyny data come from household surveys. Marriage and divorce figures are published by GASTAT (the General Authority for Statistics of Saudi Arabia), based on the Ministry of Justice's administrative records.

9Current issues and the Vision 2030 reforms

• The February 2021 legislative package. Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman announced four laws: Personal Status, Civil Transactions, a Penal Code for discretionary (taʿzir) punishments, and Evidence. The aim was to reduce judicial discretion and increase transparency (Amnesty 2023).
• The 2019 guardianship amendments: women aged 21 and over may obtain a passport and travel without the wali's permission, and register marriages, divorces and births. The wali's permission is still required for a woman's marriage contract.
• Electronic divorce notification: the Minister of Justice directed all courts, from 30 Rabi' al-Akhir 1440H (January 2019), to notify women by SMS to the mobile number registered in Absher when a divorce deed is issued (Okaz 2019; a media report, the Ministry's own statement not yet checked). It is now reinforced by the documentation duty in Articles 90–91.
• Differing views: the Saudi authorities describe the 2022 law as a leap forward in protecting women and the family. Amnesty, HRW and Musawah criticise the retention of male guardianship, the duty of obedience (Article 42), conditional maintenance (Articles 45, 55) and the exception for those under 18.
• Cost of marriage and divorce rates: the media report that the Social Development Bank's marriage loan programme was reactivated in October 2024, along with mass weddings, in response to the rate of divorce early in marriage (Arab News 2024).

10Guidance for Malaysians and Indonesians

• Marrying a Saudi national: the Saudi spouse must first obtain the permission of the Ministry of Interior. A Malaysian bride needs a valid wali (her father or a wali by lineage, or a judge as wali (wali hakim) through a recognised procedure). Bring a birth certificate, a legalised letter of single or divorced status, and a certified Arabic translation.
• Re-registration in Malaysia: Malaysian citizens who marry abroad must register the marriage with the State Islamic Religious Office or the Embassy/Consulate within the set period, for example within six months under Act 303 s.31 (Federal Territories) or the equivalent state enactment. For a Malaysian husband who already has a wife, marrying again in Saudi Arabia without the Syariah Court's permission is still an offence in Malaysia. See Cross-border.
• Indonesian citizens: a marriage abroad must be reported to the KUA/Dukcapil after returning home (Law No. 1/1974 Article 56(2): the marriage certificate must be registered at the marriage registry office of the couple's place of residence within one year of their return to Indonesia) and recorded at the Indonesian Embassy or Consulate in Riyadh or Jeddah.
• Domestic workers: marriage to an employer or a member of the employer's family still requires official approval and registration. A "private" (unregistered) or undocumented misyar marriage leaves the wife and children unprotected: no residence permit, no official lineage, and a risk of deportation. Indonesia stopped placing domestic workers with individual employers in the Middle East by Minister of Manpower Decree No. 260 of 2015. According to a Ministry of Manpower press release reported by the media on 23 August 2023, that decree was revoked and placement reopened under Law No. 18 of 2017 (current implementation please check with an official source). Contact the Indonesian or Malaysian Embassy if coerced.
• Hajj and umrah myths:
  • "Marrying during umrah to get a mahram" is unnecessary. The Saudi Minister of Hajj and Umrah announced in October 2022 that women may perform Hajj and umrah without a mahram if accompanied by trustworthy women or a safe group (Arab News 2022, citing SPA). Package conditions and Tabung Haji policy for Malaysian pilgrims (consult the local authorities).
  • According to the majority of scholars, including the Shafi'is and Hanbalis, a marriage contract is not valid while in ihram (Sahih Muslim, Kitab an-Nikah).
  • An umrah or tourist visa is not a route to settling. A marriage without approval gives no residence permit.
• Keep your documents: make sure you hold a copy of the marriage contract (from Najiz), the foreign-marriage approval letter and any talaq documents. Make sure too that any conditions of the contract (for example no second wife, or a separate home) are written into the contract.

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