The Dangers of British Women Marrying Millionaires in UAE

British women heading to the United Arab Emirates to marry millionaires have been warned of the dangers.

Experts have revealed a surge in complaints from women and men betrayed and dumped by wealthy partners after moving to the Middle East.

This comes amid a growing social media trend of British women sharing footage of their luxurious lifestyles funded by wealthy spouses.

Samara Iqbal, of Manchester-based Amaras International Lawyers, highlighted the “dark side” of the Middle East.

She said she has received calls for help from women and men wanting protection amid fears they have been, or could be, exploited by a partner.

The surge in cases has seen Ms Iqbal’s firm open branches in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Ms Iqbal explained: “We’ve got lots of British women who are attracted by these promises of a luxurious lifestyle, even though their own families aren’t happy about it – and not realising he can cut her off at any moment.

“People are literally being dumped on the street. It looks nice, but there’s a dark side to Dubai – it can be very scary out there.”

Increasingly, her firm is being approached for advice on potential pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements as more women become tempted by marriages to someone they’ve met here before moving together overseas.

Ms Iqbal continued: “We often deal with cases more and more on a daily basis in which lots of women have married and moved out to the UAE only to be left stranded without any source of money and essentially being ‘cut off’ by their rich partners.

“While these partners may be providing and funding their luxurious lifestyles – cars, designer items, expensive jewellery, holidays, meals out – none of this actually belongs to these women and there is nothing in their name.

“It’s all in their partner’s name.

“Women are thrown out of marital homes as they do not belong to them – credit cards cut off and they have no recourse to any of the possessions, houses, companies and assets the partner has solely in his own name.

“These assets come under Sharia law and belong to the person whose name it’s registered to and she would not be entitled to any of it if her name is not registered.”

The lawyer suggested potential husbands may approach women during university days together in a way they would no longer do when back in the UAE.

Men are also falling victim as they are being serenaded by sheikhs in London and promised a better life abroad.

In the past year, a civil court in Abu Dhabi has been approached which recognises British civil orders and tends to look more favourably on UK wives wanting a settlement or at least joint custody of any children.

But too many people remain unaware it exists.

Ms Iqbal told Daily Mail: “I see so many girls who say they’re going overseas with a rich prince, thinking nothing can now go wrong – more and more British women are doing so.

“But if he wants to suddenly cut her off, he can do – he can literally throw her on the streets.”

“We’re seeing more and more people who have married and moved out to the Middle East, thinking they’ve being given a luxury lifestyle, but it only lasts so long – and the courts will go against her.”

The concerns come amid influencers flaunting their lavish lifestyles in Dubai funded by their millionaire husbands.

These include Soudi, who is best known as SoudiofArabia on social media, and Dubai Bling star Safa Siddiqui.

Ms Iqbal highlighted such accounts on her TikTok. But she wants to issue a caution for people potentially tempted to pursue this avenue.

She said: “It might seem like a lovely life, with all these designer handbags and cars, but everything will invariably be registered under the husband’s name. 

“And if the relationship ends, the wife might struggle to get hold of any of her belongings – her husband could even get her deported if he wanted to, simply accusing her of cheating without any truth to it.”

She believes some clients are feeling more cautious, even as they embark on what they see as a new adventure.

Ms Iqbal added: “We’re doing a lot of pre-nuptial deals but also plenty of post-nuptials too – splits can get nasty.

“Over the past year, there’s a new civil court in Abu Dhabi which can follow UK no-fault divorce terms, splitting assets 50-50 and predominantly used by expats – but not enough people know about it.”