Child Custody in Saudi Arabia: Who Has Custody After Divorce and When It Ends
Official sources cited: 6
On this page
Under the Personal Status Law, custody means protecting a person who cannot manage on their own from harm, raising them and looking after their interests, including education and medical treatment (Article 124). It is a duty of both parents while the marriage lasts, and if they separate, custody follows an order set by the Law (Article 127). This guide sets out the rules on child custody after parents separate, by divorce or otherwise, as the official text states them.
Who Has Custody After Divorce
When parents separate, custody goes to the mother, then the father, then the mother's mother, then the father's mother, and after them the court decides what is in the child's interest, provided the custodian meets the conditions set out below (Article 127). The court may depart from this order in the child's interest. A mother does not lose custody because she left the marital home over a dispute or for another reason, unless the child's interest requires otherwise (Article 133).
If no one entitled to custody asks for it and the child is two years old or younger, the mother is required to take custody if she is available, and otherwise the father. If the child is older than two, the father is required to take custody if he is available, and otherwise the mother (Article 131). If neither parent is available and no one entitled to custody accepts it, the court chooses someone it considers suitable from the child's relatives or others, or a body qualified for this purpose (Article 132).
Conditions a Custodian Must Meet
- General conditions for every custodian: full legal capacity, the ability to raise, protect and care for the child, and freedom from serious infectious diseases (Article 125).
- If the custodian is a woman, she must not be married to a man who is a stranger (ajnabi) to the child, unless the child's interest requires otherwise (Article 126).
- If the custodian is a man, he must be a close relative of the child within the prohibited degrees (mahram) if the child is a girl, and a woman fit for custody must live with him (Article 126).
When Custody Is Lost or Ends
Subject to the relevant laws, the right to custody is lost if one of the custodian's conditions is no longer met, or if the custodian moves to another place to live in a way that defeats the child's interest. It is also lost if the person entitled to custody does not claim it for more than a year without an excuse, unless the child's interest requires otherwise (Article 128). A person who has lost custody may apply to the court for it again once the reason for the loss has ended (Article 130). The compensation in a khula may not be the waiver of any of the children's rights or of their custody (Article 100).
When the child completes fifteen years of age, they may choose which parent to live with, unless their interest requires otherwise, and custody ends when the child completes eighteen years (Article 135). If the child is of unsound mind (majnun), mentally impaired (ma'tuh) or disabled by illness, in the Law's terms, custody continues in the order of entitlement set out above (Article 135).
Visitation and Travel With the Child
If the child is in one parent's custody, the other parent may visit the child, have the child visit them and take the child out, as the two parents agree, and if they disagree, the court decides (Article 134). If one parent has died or is absent, or the child lives with someone other than the parents, the court may name a relative of the child entitled to visit, in the child's interest (Article 134). Under the Law, the guardian is the father or a person the court appoints (Article 137), and guardianship over the person means general supervision of the minor without conflicting with the custodian's authority to manage the child's affairs (Article 138).
A custodian who is one of the parents may not travel with the child outside the Kingdom for more than ninety days a year without the consent of the other parent, and of the guardian of the person where the parent has died. A custodian who is not a parent may not do so for more than thirty days a year without the consent of both parents, or of one of them where the other has died, and of the guardian of the person where both have died (Article 129). These rules apply subject to the other relevant legal provisions, and the Personal Status Law counts its periods by the Hijri calendar (Article 247).
Child Maintenance After Separation
The father alone must maintain a child who has no property of their own, if the father is well off or able to earn, and maintenance is due for a son until he reaches the point at which others like him can earn, and for a daughter until she marries (Article 58). Maintenance covers food, clothing, housing and basic needs according to custom and the relevant legal provisions, and it is assessed according to the circumstances of the person maintained and the means of the person paying (Articles 45 and 46). The father must pay for the nursing of his young child during the first two years where the mother cannot nurse the child or is no longer his wife, and this counts as maintenance (Article 61). Continuing maintenance for children is due from the date a claim for it is filed (Article 49).
Which Court Hears Custody Disputes
Personal status courts hear all personal status matters, including custody, maintenance and visitation, and the claims that arise from them (Article 33 of the Law of Civil Procedure). As a general rule, a claim is filed in the court for the area where the defendant lives (Article 36), and in custody and visitation matters a woman may choose to file in her own town or in the defendant's town (Article 39). A person claiming maintenance may file in the court for the area where either the defendant or the claimant lives (Article 39).
This is general information based on the cited laws when this page was prepared. It may change, and it is not legal advice on a specific case.
Frequently asked questions
When parents separate, custody goes to the mother, then the father, then the mother's mother, then the father's mother, and after them the court decides what is in the child's interest, provided the custodian's conditions are met (Article 127). The court may depart from this order in the child's interest.
A mother loses custody if she marries a man who is a stranger (ajnabi) to the child, unless the child's interest requires otherwise. The Law requires that a woman who has custody not be married to a man who is a stranger to the child (Article 126), and, subject to the relevant laws, the right to custody is lost if one of the custodian's conditions is no longer met (Article 128). A person who has lost custody may apply to the court for it again once the reason for the loss has ended (Article 130).
Subject to the relevant laws, the right to custody is lost if one of the custodian's conditions is no longer met, if the custodian moves to another place to live in a way that defeats the child's interest, or if the person entitled to custody does not claim it for more than a year without an excuse, unless the child's interest requires otherwise (Article 128). The general conditions for every custodian are full legal capacity, the ability to raise, protect and care for the child, and freedom from serious infectious diseases, and a woman who has custody must also not be married to a man who is a stranger to the child, unless the child's interest requires otherwise (Articles 125 and 126). A mother does not lose custody because she left the marital home over a dispute or for another reason, unless the child's interest requires otherwise (Article 133).
Custody ends when the child completes eighteen years of age (Article 135). When the child completes fifteen years of age, they may choose which parent to live with, unless their interest requires otherwise. If the child is of unsound mind (majnun), mentally impaired (ma'tuh) or disabled by illness, in the Law's terms, custody continues in the order of entitlement (Article 135).
The Law restricts a custodial mother's travel with the child outside the Kingdom: she may not travel with the child for more than ninety days a year without the father's consent, and that of the guardian of the person where the father has died (Article 129). These rules apply subject to the other relevant legal provisions, and the Personal Status Law counts its periods by the Hijri calendar (Article 247).
Custody means protecting a person who cannot manage on their own from harm, raising them and looking after their interests, including education and medical treatment (Article 124), while the guardian under the Law is the father or a person the court appoints (Article 137). Guardianship over the person means general supervision of the minor without conflicting with the custodian's authority to manage the child's affairs (Article 138).