There are a variety of ways in which students manage to bring their wives with them to Madinah. Each approach has a set of advantages and setbacks. Below, a few of the numerous methods are explored briefly – but keep in mind that depending on their situation, students can come to know of alternative strategies once they settle in the city.
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Getting an Iqaama
In Saudi Arabia, if you can get your wife a residence permit or ‘rukhsat-ul-Iqaama’ then it becomes legal for her to live with you in Madinah. There are a few ways in which this can be done, all of which have their own specific requirements as well as positive and negative points to consider.
- Make a deal with a registered business so that your wife can procure a work visa through their company. On paper, she would be considered as an employee, but in reality she would be living with you as normal, with legal clearance. This can be expensive, and it is difficult to find trustworthy people with whom to cut a deal.
- Get a special letter from a prince or another member of the royal family in Riyaadh. It is difficult to do this, nothing is guaranteed, and Saudi officials have caught onto this method and have therefore made it much more difficult to do.
- If your wife has a university degree, she can apply for a job and acquire her own residence permit via a work visa. It must be noted, however, that working as a woman in Saudi Arabia has its own set of hardships to consider.
NOTE: For a limited unspecified length of time, the university is allowing students to apply for residence visas for their wives and children. The application process is slightly complicated, and is subject to change. Regardless, newly accepted married students should bring the following documents with them to Madinah:
- Notarized copy of your government-issued marriage certificate.
- Photocopy of your wife’s passport.
- Notarized copy of your child(ren)’s government-issued birth certificate.
- Photocopy of your child(ren)’s passport [if applicable].
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Illegal Wives
When students can not obtain a valid visa for their wife to live with them – which is usually very difficult from an administrative point of view as well as financially-speaking – some of them end up bringing their wives to stay in Madinah illegally. This is done by bringing them into the country on a Hajj or Umrah visa, and then making them overstay their visit.
This method used to be relatively safe in the past – but it is becoming increasingly dangerous and stressful. There is always the possibility that the police will learn of illegal residents and take action by making arrests without warning. Anyone stuck in that situation must face the full consequences of the law, which can be quite brutal sometimes. If perchance your family is not apprehended by the police, then when you eventually graduate, you and your family will have to face a plethora of hardships. This could include imprisonment, fines, mistreatment, and deportation. Sadly, in Saudi Arabia, the strict laws have no qualms with imprisoning women and children in poor conditions for undetermined lengths of time. And, when they are finally released and forced to return home, they would be photographed and fingerprinted like criminals and banned from Saudi Arabia for up to FIVE (5) years. It is not a pleasant ordeal for any family to face.
In more recent times, students who have been caught using this strategy have been expelled from the university as well. Thus, for some, their marriages and their studies in Madinah were completely destroyed.
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Stay-at-Home Strategy
Some married students have no other option but to leave their families in their home countries throughout the duration of their studies, only coming back to visit them during the annual summer breaks. Without a doubt, this infrequent contact is very trying for families – and sadly, it has resulted in a number of divorces amongst other issues. Alhamdulillah, there are some families whom Allah has blessed with the ability to tolerate such a lifestyle, but it can still be quite harmful to the overall well-being of the family.
May Allah accept our sacrifices, and give us strength to do what is most pleasing to Him.
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Canadian Students in Madinah 