Family matters Q&As: 'cheating husband' threatens to report wife if she visits him without a UAE visa

A reader asks how to get an ex-husband to send original divorce papers to her and another asks if she can file a case against her cheating husband

My husband lives in the UAE while Our son and I live in our home country, we don't have a resident visa anymore as we stayed out of UAE for more than six months. If I come back to the UAE with my son, can we stay in our rented apartment? My husband says we cannot come and stay in the apartment and if we do he will call the police. He also now has girlfriend that he has told me about. Can I file a case against them? If I can, do I have to come personally to the UAE or can I do it from my home country? If he files for divorce in my home country, we are still married in the UAE?
If you have a new visa, even if the apartment is owned by him, you can come and stay as you have a child with him and you are still married.

You can file a criminal case against them if you have sufficient evidence. Please bear in mind that you might be asked to attend the hearing.

To answer your last question, if the foreign court grants the divorce, you would be divorced everywhere.

I am an Asian woman. My ex-husband has emailed me a scanned translated copy of our divorce documents, which were processed through one of the UAE Courts. However, in order for the divorce to be acknowledged in Asia, we need an authenticated copy of the original one which my ex-husband refuses to provide me with. Can you guide me on how I can get what is required by the government in my country?

You are strongly advised to authorize somebody - this person could be a lawyer - based in the UAE, who could attend the courts on your behalf after they receive a legalized Power of Attorney. Then they can get a true copy of the divorce certificate on your behalf and attest it from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE and send it back to you.

The process is not time consuming at all. It might take one or two days to obtain the divorce certificate and to attest it.

If you have a question for our legal consultant, email [e-mail] with the subject line "Family Matters".