Guidance

Yemen: Knowledge Base profile

Published 6 May 2025

About: Yemen

This document contains useful information about Yemen which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

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Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

• version 2.0
• published for Home Office staff on 1 May 2025

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with formatting changes.

Yemen: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Yemen.

Names in Yemen usually consist of:

• 1 forename
• father’s name
• grandfather’s name
• family name (surname)

A child may also carry an alias name of:

• their great grandfather’s name
• a tribe name

Change of name

Married women will keep their birth name after marriage.

Name changes can only take place under urgent and justified circumstances that have to be agreed by the court.

Yemen: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Yemen.

Dual nationality is recognised in Yemen.

Yemen: legitimacy and parental responsibility

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy and parental responsibility in Yemen.

Yemen recognises a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

A child will be considered:

• legitimate if the parents were married for at least 6 months at the time of the birth
• Illegitimate if the parents:
  • never marry
  • were not married for at least 6 months prior to the child’s birth

Parental responsibility

The father is considered to be the legal guardian of children in Yemen. In Yemen, the person who has guardianship of a child has parental responsibility for them. He will remain the legal guardian of the child after divorce.

Custody is separate to guardianship, whilst a court can grant a mother full custody of the children, the father will retain guardianship (the power to make decisions regarding the child).

In the event of a divorce:

• a woman may be granted custody of the children until they reach a certain age (9 years old for a boy, 12 years old for a girl)
• the father will remain legal guardian of the children and provide financial support

Where the father of the children is deceased, guardianship of the children will be passed to the paternal grandfather.

If the paternal grandfather is also deceased, guardianship will be passed to the mother.

Yemen: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Yemen.

Adoption is legal in Yemen.

Yemen: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Yemen.

Surrogacy is illegal in Yemen.

Yemen: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Yemen.

Transgender citizens are not recognised in Yemen.

Yemen: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about marriage in Yemen.

Same sex relationships, same sex marriages and civil partnerships are not legal in Yemen.

Both religious and civil marriages are allowed in Yemen, but a religious marriage is considered mandatory.

Polygamy is legal in Yemen.

Proxy marriages are also allowed and accepted in Yemen.

There is no legal minimum age for marriage in Yemen.

Yemen: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Yemen.

Birth certificates

Births must be registered with the Civil Status Department within 60 days of the birth, for a birth certificate to be issued.

Most births in Yemen take place at home and many Yemen citizens do not apply for a birth certificate.

Marriage certificates

Marriages are registered by the Ministry of Justice in Yemen, where the information is processed by the Department of Civil Status.

When the marriage has been registered, a marriage certificate and family book will be issued to the couple.

Proxy marriage certificates are accepted in Yemen.

Death certificates

Death certificates are issued by the Department of Civil Status in Yemen, following the registration of a death.

Identity documents

Identity documents are issued in Yemen, but they are not mandatory. These documents include:

• identity cards
• driving licenses
• passports

These identity documents are issued at a national level by the Department of Civil Status.