There are some valuable documents that you hold with you throughout your life with utmost care more than anything else. These could be your birth certificate, marriage certificate, custody papers of your child/ren (if you’re a single parent), school migration certificate of your offspring, your spouse’s death certificate, identity proofs, passport, and of course your hard-earned educational degrees, amongst many others. You won’t trade them even for all the tea in China! But unfortunately, these are not valid (in most cases) in countries other than your home country (or the country of origin) until they are duly attested in line with the rules and regulations of the host country you are planning to visit. Especially when you are migrating to another country for whatsoever purpose. By and large, vital and legal documents are required to be verified by the authority of their reliability before they are used for legal purposes in countries other than the country they originated from. And attestation just does that! We are glad that Google landed you on our page in the wake of your quest. It simply means that you are planning to relocate to Dubai and looking for some precise information regarding documents attestation in the emirate. We assure you that this blog will answer all your queries regarding document attestation services in Dubai, UAE and make your endeavours a complete success.
What is UAE Document Attestation
Document attestation (also known as document certification, authentication or legalisation) comes into the picture when you have to travel abroad, making the documents good for international usage. UAE Attestation of the documents, telling your stories, is a procedure that makes them lawful in the United Arab Emirates. It is a mandatory approach for every individual when applying for a visa to move to the country, no matter the reason. Simply put, UAE Attestation is the process of verifying overseas documents carried by immigrants, so they can be utilised by the government for the issuance of various permits and licences you need to stay and work in the states.
Role of Document Attestation in Setting up a business in Dubai
Just saying that your documents, whether educational, non-educational or commercial documents or certificates, are legitimate and trustworthy doesn’t suffice when it comes to international usage of the same. The UAE is no exception! Every individual travelling outside their home country for setting up a company in any of the emirates of the United Arab Emirates must undergo certificate attestation as a part of the business setup process to make the documents valid for use in the UAE. They verify all the documents that originate from other countries including academic certificates of employees, company licenses, articles of incorporation and many more. This attestation process ensures that those documents are authentic and can be used for legal purposes. The process of business formation in the UAE and obtaining a trade licence involves myriad paperwork and legal formalities, and it is not advisable to present the required documents without having them attested.
Benefits of UAE Document Attestation?
More often than not, a government, no matter from which country, requires attested documents from individuals seeking any sort of permission or approval from them, such as a visa, residence permit, work permit, and other documents relevant to fulfill various needs and purposes such as school admission, higher education, business establishment, etc. UAE Attestation is also performed for similar reasons. Once attested duly from your home country and MOFA here, your assertions are good enough to be presented before the UAE government for the below-mentioned benefits:
Protects You in a Foreign Country
All your attested paperwork tells your home country that you are going to obtain the status of a foreigner in a so-and-so country, and their embassy in the host country protects you when you are in trouble. For instance, if you are from India, the Indian Embassy in the UAE will fully protect and supervise you. You don’t have to worry about any illegal entrance charges as well. Plus, if you stumble upon any sort of emergency, you without any hesitation can approach the Indian Embassy. On the other hand, if not for document attestation, you won’t be able to use all these conveniences.
Access Residence and Other Facilities
Document attestation is one of the prerequisites to acquiring a residence visa, work permit or business licences to be able to work in a foreign country legally. You will be able to use all services in Dubai or any other UAE emirate of your choice as an expatriate once you are done with the UAE attestation and visa process. Such services include driving licence, residence, education, and other essential facilities. You must know that entering the UAE or any other country illegally can show you legal consequences.
Explains the Purpose of Visiting the Country
The government of both the home country and the host country must know your purpose of visit. By attesting your documents, you honestly communicate the same to the governments of both nations. If you have all the proven documents required for your visit to the UAE, the government will not question your intentions and will not withhold your papers. In addition, you feel confident and utilise the UAE attestation for trade, travel, education, immigration, and any other pursuit.
Things to Know When Getting Your Documents Attested for UAE
First off, any document that was dispensed outside the UAE must be attested from the country of their origin. The certificates can be submitted by hand or sent to the required location i.e., UAE Embassy in your city/country or in any neighbouring city/country if there is no UAE Embassy in your city/country. The envelope sent must be prepaid. Money orders also are accepted by companies. Plus, it should be self-addressed which means you have to put your name and address on it NOT UAE Embassy’s name or address not even on the airway bill, as it may cause unnecessary delays. Usually, the document processing time is 3 business days but the timeframe can change as well depending upon the country where the UAE Embassy is situated. You may also get in touch with the UAE Embassy consular section if you want.
The Document Legalization Process
The procedure to get documents attested by the respective department of state and the process of handling the documents can vary from department to department and country. Make sure the documents are already attested by the respective department of state before you send them to the UAE Embassy for further attestation. In most countries including UAE, the final attestation is done by the respective Ministry of Foreign affairs (MoFA).
- Have all the documents attested independently
- Send the documents to the authentication division or department
- Collect the documents after they are attested by the department of state and send them to the UAE Embassy for the final authentication in your country
- Receive them once UAE Embassy attestation is done
A shortcut for document attestation: Visit an Embassy authorised document attestation agency in your city and hand over the documents to them for attestation. Pay the full fee at the time of document submission and simply collect them after 3 working days or as told by them.
List of Documents that Need UAE Attestation
Before you decide to move to the UAE, you must have all the documents required for UAE attestation. This smoothens the attestation process. Depending on which country you are moving to and the purpose of your stay in that country, you may require document attestation services for the following documents:
- Marriage certification
- Birth certificate
- Divorce certificate
- Academic, Educational, Vocational Training Certificates, degrees and diplomas
- Commercial documents & business contracts
- Religious documents
- Medical reports
- “To Whom It May Concern” certificates
- Employment contracts
- Certificate of Dependency and Determination of Heirs (estate)
- General and Special Power of Attorney
- Contracts and trade agreements
- Minutes of the Board of Directors meeting resolutions
- Commercial licences
- Commercial contracts and agreements
- Company Memorandum & Articles of Association
- Certificate of pledge to open or close a company
- Commercial register
- Financial budget approval
- Registration of a new product
- Registration of a Trademark
- Establishing commercial agent
- Withdrawal of partnership
- Clearance certificates
- Individual’s maid contracts with some consulates
- Other formal government documentation from your home country
Some of the documents that you will need to submit are as follows:
- Original certificates
- Passport copies
- Two passport-size photographs
The documents vary as per your purpose for moving to the UAE. The professionals at the Adam Global Dubai branch can provide you with a comprehensive list of the required documents based on your purpose for the move.
Process of UAE Attestation
All the documents that originate from other countries must be verified by various authorities in the home country and host country for international usage. If your documents are not attested, then you may run into problems should you ever need them in your time living and working in the UAE. Whether you do it yourself or outsource it to attestation agencies in your home country or the UAE, it is important that you are well acquainted with the UAE document attestation procedure.
The UAE attestation process is not direct and goes through different levels of government for authorisation. From notary, SHD (or HRD) and the MEA to the Embassy, and occasionally the SDM. Here’s a general overview of UAE attestation process at various levels:
Regional Level
The attestation process starts from regional level where attestation can be done either by the notary or the University from where the documents were issued. In the case of commercial documents, the Chamber of Commerce must be contacted.
State Level
At this stage, documents are sent to three distinct entities for verification viz. the State Home Department (SHD), Human Resource Department (HRD), and Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) as per requirements of the document type.
MEA Stamp
Now comes into the picture, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). The authority gives a final check to the document and authenticate them with MEA stamp.
Embassy Attestation
Although for a majority of countries this is the last phase of certification, for the UAE it’s not. Embassy Attestation is conducted by the host country’s representatives working in the document issuing country. Furthermore, apart from these stages, sometimes, gulf attestation is also required. The document legalisation process for UAE is not over until MoFA attestation is pending.
MoFA Attestation
The UAE attestation process completes in the UAE only after obtaining a stamp from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the embassy-attested documents. All the previous attestations are only a prerequisite for MoFA to authenticate, attest and stamp your documents. Fret not, if you couldn’t perform attestations in your home country and have reached UAE already. There are agents in the UAE who are authorised to get the attestations done from your home country as well as UAE at nominal rates. You may also directly courier them to your acquaintances for the same as well but that might cost you more considering the to-fro courier charges.
Note: Be informed that the certificate attestation procedure for UAE may vary depending on the origin or type of the certificates to be attested and of course on the intention behind UAE migration.
The Total Cost of Getting UAE Attestation
As the cost of UAE attestation depends on the type, purpose, number and origin of documents, giving you even a ballpark figure of UAE attestation service cost is not possible for us. However, you can have an idea from this example. Say, if you want to get all the attestations done on your highest education diploma or degree from India while being in the UAE, it will cost you just AED 500 (including MOFA attestation from UAE & courier charges) through an affordable document attestation service company or typing center in UAE. If your document is fully attested from the home country with only MOFA stamp pending then you can outsource it for just AED 200 for the single MOFA attestation. At the time of writing this article (2022) MOFA attestation fee in Dubai is AED 160 for a normal/personal document if you directly walk into the nearest center. You don’t have to undergo an RT-PCR test to visit MOFAIC now. Getting your important certificates attested without expert assistance can be tiring.
Need Professional Assistance in the UAE Document Attestation?
It’s pretty visible, how daunting and time-consuming the certificate attestation process is from beginning to end. You won’t want to go through this gruesome experience. However, you can always outsource the task to experts in the field to get the certifications attested without any issues. We, at Adam Global Dubai, are well-acquainted in the field and can help you with the entire process as well as precise cost of attestation services. No matter where you are, we are equipped with field specialists to provide you with support in formal attestation from authorities.
Start Your Business in Dubai with Adam Global
The qualified and experienced business formation specialists at Adam Global can assist you in acquiring all the resources needed to incorporate a company in Dubai or any part of the UAE, whether mainland or free zone. What is more, we can expedite the attestation and notarisation of your documents. For individuals, documents are often notarised when giving or providing consent for a minor to travel abroad. For business persons, when setting up a company in Dubai, you also are required to attest and notarise MoA (Memorandum of Association), AoA (Articles of Association), PoA (Power of Attorney), given to the Manager/Director, Board Resolution appointing Manager/Director and Specimen Signature of Manager/Director, etc. Document notarisation in Dubai is the procedure of ensuring that a document is reliable and verifiable. This verification is generally requested by government officials or prospective employers. From the notary to the Embassy, we can help you legalise your documents at every level of authorisation. Our UAE attestation services ensure your documents are authentically and completely attested. We are committed to providing you with a straightforward procedure while upholding truthfulness. All you need to do is just share your needs with us!
