Attesting UK Documents for the UAE
Before you can use your UK-issued documents in the UAE, they will need to be attested. We can handle this for you. Whether it is an educational qualification, a birth, marriage or death certificate, or in fact any other British personal or company document, let us take the hassle away for you and save you time and money.
Phone
Office
Hours
8am – 5pm
How does it work?
Attesting a UK document can be complicated, especially as the process is different depending upon the type of document you have, and who you need to present it to. To make things easier for you, we’ve outlined below the process that each document needs to go through, but bear in mind that the process for certain documents can vary from this. To be certain that we can provide you with fully accurate information, get in touch for your free personalised quotation.
Initial
Certification
Solicitor Certification
For most documents, the first step is to have your document certified by a lawyer. To keep your document in its original state, our solicitor will usually take a copy of your document, certify it as a true copy of the original document, and the attestation will take place on that. If you prefer, you can have the original processed instead.
Foreign, CommonWealth, and
Development Office (FCDO)
Apostille Legalisation
Before documents can be presented to the UAE Embassy in London, they need to have an Apostille certificate attached and sealed. This is a white A5 piece of paper that confirms the legitimacy of the seal or signature used to certify the document being processed. In the UK this can only be applied by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO).
UAE Embassy
in London
UAE Embassy Attestation
The final step in the UK is to have the document stamped, known as attested, by the UAE Embassy in London. During this stage an official UAE-government sticker and seal is applied to the document. This confirms to the authorities in the UAE that the document has completed all the required steps in the UK.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (UAE)
MoFA Attestation (UAE)
Once the document has reached the UAE, it requires a further attestation stamp by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE which validates that your document has been processed correctly in the UK. Some employers make arrangements to handle this for you, so you should check whether this needs completing by you or not. If you prefer to complete this process yourself, we can arrange for the required PCR test to be carried out before you attend. If your document does not require translation (see the next section), then once this stamp has been applied you can then use the document in the UAE.
Translation
Translation from English into Arabic
In certain circumstances, your document may also require translation into Arabic. Again, your employer may handle this for you so best to check. If required, the whole document and its relevant stamps are translated from English into Arabic by a recognised certified translator. Once the translation has been done, then everything has been completed to make it fully useable within the UAE.
Reminders
- Birth, marriage or death certificates, and some other documents such as an ACRO certificate do not require the initial certification process as they MUST be processed on the original document.
- You may be advised that these documents have to be notarised by a Notary Public rather than a solicitor. This information is incorrect. We choose to use a solicitor for client documents as this is cheaper for you. If you prefer a notary to carry this out then we can arrange this for an additional fee. Whichever solicitor or notary is used, they must be registered with the FCDO otherwise there will be a delay processing the Apostille. Our solicitors and notaries are all correctly registered for your convenience.
- The UK legalisation office name changed from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) to the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in 2020. It was previously also known simply as the Foreign Office.
- Arabic translation is usually required for use in all emirates other than Dubai, and also if the document is to be used within one of the Dubai Free Zone authorities including (but not limited to) the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) and the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre (DMCC).
- The UAE Embassy in London will reject any documents that have been bound behind a Notarial cover sheet.
- When processing a UK birth certificate, it must be the long-form (A4) version that includes parent names on it otherwise it will be rejected.
- For any Power of Attorney (PoA) to be attested, these must be signed in the presence of an FCDO-registered solicitor or notary public to be valid. They cannot be witnessed by anyone else.
Documents from any Country.
We’re able to attest a range of documents for use in the UAE, no matter where you’re from. You can rest assured that by using our service, your attested documents will be accepted within the UAE.
United Kingdom
Italy
German
France
Portugal
Netherlands
Spain
Ireland
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