Can unmarried men and women be alone together in a apartment? Understanding the Khulwa Law in Saudi Arabia

If unmarried men and women are found alone together in private in Saudi Arabia , they can be investigated and, depending on the circumstances and evidence, face police questioning, short detention, criminal charges, fines or deportation for foreigners. Enforcement varies by case, location and the presence of aggravating evidence (explicit images, drugs, complaints), but the risk is real enough that people should not assume informal tolerance equals legal safety. In many Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, particularly Saudi Arabia, laws derived from Islamic Sharia prohibit khulwa, which refers to the unlawful seclusion of an unrelated man and woman in a private place without a lawful chaperone (mahram). While massive social reforms have recently eased restrictions on gender m