Dubai has eased rules for divorced parents to travel outside the country with their children.
The new procedure, announced by Dubai Courts on Thursday, permanently cancels a travel ban after the sponsor’s approval. This makes it easier for the parent and his/her child to enter and exit the UAE.
“This process … accelerates the procedures of cancelling the travel ban in the system immediately after it is signed by the judge,” the authority said on Thursday.
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Salem Mohammed Al Misfri, head of the Personal Status Execution Department at the Dubai Courts, said the procedure previously involved several time-consuming steps. First, a judge had to issue a decision after the sponsor’s approval, after which a letter was sent to the Criminal Investigation Department to temporarily cancel the travel ban.
According to the official UAE government portal website, in cases of divorce, custody is usually granted to the mothers. The father, meanwhile, serves as the ‘guardian’, who is responsible for providing for the child financially.
Exiting the country with the child without the consent of the other parent could earlier amount to ‘child abduction’, according to the website. “The parent abducting the child can face serious legal consequences … If either parent has concerns, they can obtain a travel ban preventing the child from leaving the airport.”