In the UAE you will need to get documents and certificates attested before applying for your visa.
Attestation is a procedure of authenticating a document by an authorised person, a department or an authority using their seal and signature to guarantee it’s authenticity.
Whilst it is possible to do this from the UAE it will take time and will cost you more money. Therefore, we strongly advise you do this in your home country as it will speed up the process once you are in the UAE.
The process can vary depending on which country the documents are issued from however the steps are as follows:.
- Attestation in the home country
- Solicitor/Notary – Most documents such as an education certificate, will need to be attested first by a solicitor or notary, once done, this then needs to be taken to the relevant Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the country where the document originated for attesting.
- Documents such as birth certificates and marriage certificates – issued by the public registry or government department do not need attesting by a notary – they can go straight to the relevant Ministry/FCO for attestation.
- Certificate attestation by UAE embassy
- The attested document is then submitted to the UAE embassy /consulate in the country of origin for certification. The UAE embassy checks if the documents have been correctly verified by the relevant ministry before stamping it.
- Certification by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
- Once the document is brought to UAE it is submitted to MOFA (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs) for certification. Once submitted it is checked by MOFA to ensure that it has been notarized, attested and certified.
Documents that may need attesting before they can be used for a visa application include:
- Marriage Certificate
- Birth Certificate
- Adoption Certificate
- Divorce Certificate
- Death Certificate
- Diploma Certificate
- Degree Certificate
- School Certificate
- Transfer Certificate
For those already in the UAE without attested documents or if the process seems to onerous there are companies that will do this on your behalf for a fee such as:
