As an expat relocating to Dubai its not just the heat that one needs to get used to but also a different legal system and laws.

One of these laws that many new arrivals to the UAE are unaware of is that under Sharia law it is prohibited for unmarried and unrelated persons from the opposite sex to live together.

Gulf News, June 9th 2011

“As more and more couples in the UAE are testing the waters before jumping head first into the sea of marriage, XPRESS explores the dangers lurking behind live-in relationships

Dubai: You may be doing it to save money, you may be doing it out of love, or blindly and unknowingly… whatever the reason, sharing a roof with an unrelated person of the opposite sex can spell disaster in the UAE.

With a Sharia law that strictly punishes unmarried people living in the same house, and an international population used to living as per the rules in their own countries, the blend of different traditions and cultures often leads to uninformed decisions, some of which end in tears and tribulation..”…

…Continue reading on Gulf News…