Justice Ministry sources in Saudi Arabia have revealed the recent trend of Saudi women marrying foreign husbands.
According to the sources, 34 Saudi women got married to Afghans and Bangladeshis last year.
However, the country's rules state that a Saudi woman can marry a foreign husband only if she is at least 25 years old, and if she is 21 years old, she needs to prove that she is a close relative of the groom, Gulf News reports.
Meanwhile, a Saudi man has to be at least 30 years old to marry a foreigner and the age can be brought down to 25 if there is a close family relation between them.
The law also requires the man to prove that he has a job and that he has a steady income, to marry outside nationality.
The sources revealed that 55 Saudi men took Afghan wives and 27 married Bangladeshi women.
Social experts cited gradually changing local mindsets through contacts with other cultures behind more Saudis taking non-Saudi spouses.
One expert Fuad Al Mushaikhas said that marriages used to be confined to family members, then to neighbours, but now they have stretched outside the Saudi kingdom.
He further said that the fact that women go out to work could be one of the major reasons for taking up foreign husbands adding that under the law, Saudi mothers could not pass on their nationality to their children.
