Saudi–Egyptian marriage: the permit and registration in Egypt

What Saudi Arabia requires

Under Council of Ministers Decision 824, a Saudi man needs the approval of the Minister of Interior, or his delegate, to marry a non-Saudi woman, and a Saudi woman needs the same approval to marry a non-Saudi man. Diplomats, military and security staff, employees posted abroad and students abroad face tighter limits. Without the approval the marriage is not documented in Saudi Arabia and the wife can be refused entry. On the Egyptian side, when the husband is more than 25 years older than his Egyptian bride, Justice Minister Decree 9200/2015 requires him to buy National Bank of Egypt investment certificates worth EGP 50,000 in her name.

Papers a citizen of Saudi Arabia usually brings

• Saudi passport and an Egyptian residence card: a tourist visa or visa on arrival is not enough, and we arrange the residence card with you
• The marriage approval from the Saudi Ministry of Interior
• A certificate on your marital status and religion with no objection to the marriage, attested by Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• The Egyptian partner’s national ID, and the divorce or death certificate if either of you was married before
• Medical examination certificates from a government hospital, for both of you
• Five recent photos and two witnesses
• If a Saudi husband is more than 25 years older than his Egyptian bride: EGP 50,000 in NBE investment certificates in her name

Making the marriage count in Saudi Arabia

To have the marriage recognised in the Kingdom, the Egyptian contract is attested by Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, documented at the Saudi embassy in Cairo, attested by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs after your return, and then your marital status is updated at Civil Affairs. Saudi Arabia joined the apostille system in December 2022, but Egypt has not, so the full legalisation chain still applies. Children of an Egyptian mother hold Egyptian nationality through her under Law 154/2004.

Problems we see often

• Marrying first and asking for the permit later. Since December 2025 Saudi courts hear a case to prove such a marriage only if the Ministry of Interior approves, and if it refuses, the case is dismissed for good.
• An urfi (unregistered) contract is documented by neither state. In 2017 Egypt’s State Council had to rule before the daughter of an Egyptian mother and a Saudi father from an urfi marriage was granted Egyptian nationality.
• The age-gap deposit is often discovered at the office itself. Check both ages and buy the certificates before the appointment.
• Saudi nationality for the wife is not automatic. It is discretionary under Article 16 of the Nationality Law, and applications were frozen for years.
• If your embassy refuses or stalls the no-objection certificate, you can still marry in Egypt: we have another route, used for dozens of couples of every nationality, and the marriage ends up officially registered in Egypt, not urfi. What is said above about a marriage without the Ministry of Interior permit still applies in the Kingdom.

Questions couples ask