Does someone know any website or organisation where i can find reliable information about a legal marriage contract in Egypt?

I already know that when a European and Egyptian want to get married legally they must go to the Ministry of Justice in Egypt. Now I would like to know about the conditions that can be mentioned in the contract. Maybe it matters: both Muslim

I hope someone can provide me information because i already searched a lot but didn't find any RELIABLE info yet.

you are right, the matter is quite comples. As I know from experience you have 3 choices:

1. marriage over the embassy of your country in Egypt, which is very costly (e.g. all legal docuements need to be translated, stamped by the foreign and the interior ministry etc.)

2. orfi contract, which is simply a piece of paper saying that you marry each other according to the islamic law, in front of two witnesses. A lot of women have bad experiences from this kind of marriage, because it does not guarrantee and safeguard the rights of the woman like a standard marriage contract. That means e.g. if a man has both original contracts, he can just tear them, throw them away, and it is as if there had been no marriage at all! for others it may work well. Personelly I think the much better solution is

3. muslims normally get married in front of a maazun with their families as witnesses etc. Because you are foreigner, but a muslim you can both get married at the marriage office for foreigners (the exact address I don't recall, 9 years ago it was not the Ministry of Justice, but another local office), some paperwork (from your side your passport and your certificate from Al Azhar that you are a muslim) has to be finished, and you need witnesses. With the original contract you get you marry also according to the Islamic/Egyptian law, but it is official. In the contract your mahr and muakhar is fixed, and as far as I know, you can also add a clause, that you won't allow your husband to marry another wife, or that the word of divorce be with you) wa Allahu alam. This marriage contract as such will be registered officially in Egypt and if you have the document translated by the embassy and stamped as required, it will be also a legal and registered marriage in Europe. To be Islamic also, don't forget the marriage celebration, in order to make your marriage known to the family and neighbors!

I checked with my husband, where we got married was indeed el shark el arqari, but back then it was in another place.

I thought about it; if two Muslims are getting married (the foreigner being the woman, if the opposite, other rules apply), they can do it at el shark el arqari, like I said with your passport and 'conversion' paper from Al Azhar. What the embassy would like to happen, is that everything runs over them incl. the paper, that clears your personal status as to single/married/widowed/divorced, the translation and certification etc... all of this is very expensive, and I think this is the main reason why they insist!

If the marriage involves a foreign non-muslim woman, as far as I know the easy way without the embassy is not possible (accept we mention orfi again.. which I would really not consider)

Also it depends on your nationality,if your native country will accept your marriage in this way, I am Austrian, for me it worked.

Check your embassy website.

Here is the link to the British Embassy website http://www.britishembassy.org.eg/consular/civil%20marrage.htm

MARRYING AN EGYPTIAN / NON-BRITISH MAN OR WOMAN
When a British citizen wishes to marry an Egyptian man or woman, only the British party needs to make a statutory declaration at the Embassy. The other party needs to show that they are not in any subsisting marriage: i.e. are single, widowed or divorced. In Egypt there are varying degrees or types of divorce. The only one acceptable to a consular officer is an irrevocable divorce. Where either party has been married more than once they must show termination of each marriage. The Egyptian party should also present a current Egyptian ID card. Otherwise, the procedures are the same.

Statutory declarations next have to be taken to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Gameat El Dowal El Arabia Street, Mohandessin, Giza, for the consular officer's signature and stamp to be legalised (the fee is approximately 22 Egyptian pounds per document). Once this has been done, the couple can go to the Notary Public's Office at Ministry of Justice Annex, Lazoghly Square, 4th Floor, Cairo, for a civil marriage. They will need to take with them their passports and evidence of termination of any previous marriage or change of name (as described in the preceding paragraph), 2 male witnesses (with proof of identity) and an interpreter (the proceedings will be conducted in Arabic). Please note that the Notary Public's Office may retain the original of any documentary evidence that you are required to produce to them eg a marriage or divorce certificate. The above proceedings may normally be completed within 2/3 working days (i.e. not Fridays or Saturdays or public holidays). There is no residency requirement but the parties must have valid immigration conditions in their passports.

And the same for the American http://www.usembassy.egnet.net/consular/marriage.htm

The only legal marriage in Egypt is a civil ceremony performed at the local marriage court, which is in accordance with Islamic practice. Persons wishing a religious ceremony may arrange for one separately, but it is the civil ceremony that establishes the legality of the marriage.

Forms and questionnaires to be completed at the marriage court. These can only be obtained on the spot on the wedding day or the day before. Applicants should have original versions and photocopies of all documents, as well as notarized Arabic translations for all documents not in the Arabic language. (Translations should be done and certified by the Egyptian Embassy or Consulates in the U.S. or the Egyptian Ministry of Justice in Cairo.)

Civil Marriage Registration Office: Ministry of Justice Annex (Office of Marriage of Foreigners), 4th floor, Lazoughly Square, Abdin, Cairo. Open Saturday to Wednesday from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m.; Thursday from 9:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Karinfarid:
I have already this ORFI paper but now the 'real' marriage is coming:-)). We now know eachother for a while and we want to share our live together. I already have the papers from Al Azhar saying that i'm Muslim. I just needed to know about the conditions and exactely how you mentioned: one example that my husband is not allowed to marry someone else BESIDE me. About these kind of conditions i would like to know more. The Embassies don't give the required info. I'll send you an e-mail.

Aruba: Thanks for mentioning this because i really thought (that's what everyone says) that you can only marry there.

Also this statury declaration is complicated if your are divorced you have to get it authencated by the Foreign and Commonwealth office in the UK before the Embassy in Egypt can use it. So your judge was wrong but it is not suprising how many of us understand Egyptian law and why should expect a English judge too. The Foreign and Commonwealth office could have confirmed this for you. Drawing up the fictious contract doesn't prove your point because as far as the judge was concerned you were married in Egypt and that was the way things were done out there. What he needed to be told by F&CO was that there are degrees of marriage and unless the Embassy was involved in providing the statury decalration you were not married according to English law.

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Originally posted by redsea:
I would just like to say all the women that think these Orfi papers are not legal in England are wrong. I started my divorce proceedings before coming to live here, met someone here who told me he was not allowed to come to my flat unless he had these papers. I refused saying I was already married, he informed me he could do the papers without me having to sign and they would not be legal only to protect him. I did not sign these papers, I was not with him when he did them. Later he faxed them to my husband in England, who used them in our divorce. My divorce then took four years due to this.... the judge said if they are legal in Egypt then we respect their law and we consider you married! I had to get a barrister to fight this, I even went to another lawyer here and drew up a contract with Elizabeth Taylor and Omar Sheriff to prove how ridiculous it was, also bearing in mind I had not signed anything. The Judge still ruled that I was married here in Egypt, I lost my divorce and a considerable amount of money due to this. Luckily the Judge did not mention bygamy or I could have ended up in prison. So think again if you think it is not legal in England. Needless to say I do not speak to this person anymore LOL.

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