Legalising My Khulla or other documents abroad

From time to time we are asked by our clients that they wish to register their khulla or talaq (islamic Divorce) document abroad, unfortunately this is not a straight forward simple process, however it can be done with a few simple steps, but before you begin you need to check the following:

1. Was your nikah done aboard and did either you or your spouse arrive in the UK via the spouse visa process?

If the answer is yes then you will need to apply for an a UK Civil Divorce through a solicitor or anyone who can assist you with this, you can go to this website  (https://www.gov.uk/divorce/file-for-divorce) and apply your self or email us help@theshariacouncil.org.uk to seek further assistance.

The Islamic divorce or nikah if done in this country are not legally recognised unless you have registered your marriage in the UK, if however you have obtained a spouse visa to enter the UK and your marriage was conducted abroad then it is recognised as legal marriage in the UK.

For example if you married (Islamic nikah only) your spouse in this country or abroad but did not apply for your spouse to enter the UK and are sure the marriage is not registered at the British Registrars office, then an Islamic Divorce (Tala  or Khulla)  is all you require to dissolve the Islamic Nikah, in this case you may only need to register it abroad at the local town or city in which you have resided in the country abroad, in South Asia these authorities are normally called Union Councils.

These are the steps that you would need to follow to register your Nikah, Talaq or Khulla abroad in most countries abroad.

Step 1: Take the original document that the Sharia Council has issued to you to a Notary Public in your locality with your Passport, Drivers License and Utility Bill that is less than 3 months old. Also make a call to the Notary Public to make sure that you are aware of the fees, they charge, their availability and any additional documentation they need from you before making the journey.

Step 2: Once your document (s) issued by us have been notarized then you need to apply to have your document(s) legalised, you need to follow this link and go through all the steps to do this (https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised/apply-for-legalisation)

Step 3: Once the document(s) have all been returned to you all legalised then you will need to take them to the respective embassy of the country you wish the document(s) to be registered with to have them attested.

Step 4: Now you will also need a power of attorney to be assigned to someone who is in the country that you would like the document registered in unless you are going abroad yourself. This power of attorney needs to be signed by the Country’s embassy in the UK giving authority to the person abroad to act for you.

Step 5: Either you or your respective representative take the Original Power of Attorney along with the Original Document(s) (all attested legalised & Notarized to the Local Union Council or similar authority dependent on the country that you are wanting to register the Document(s) and ask them to register the document.

It would be good practice to contact the local authority of the respective country that you wish to register your Islamic document with to make sure there are no extra steps to take before making any journeys and incurring any unexpected costs

It would also be a good idea to ask your self before going through this process whether or not it is actually that important that you have the document logged or registered abroad.

Jazakh Allah Khairun