Attestation of Documents in UAE

In UAE document attestation is an essential part of the company incorporation. Also, for any government approvals for the business having attested company documents are a requirement as part of compliance.

For every company operating in the UAE, there are a set of company documents that require to be attested by government authorities. It will help in determining the authenticity of the documents.

In UAE, the documents are attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). it will help in verifying seal and signature on documents.

Why Document Attestation is essential?

The document attestation in the UAE is an essential requirement by the Government. The main aim is to verify whether the documents provided by the foreign individual or company are genuine.

Generally, the attestation process in UAE require notary and authentication from home country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UAE Embassy. Then, this document must be counter-attested from the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

So, individuals and businesses that are looking for an entry into the UAE business landscape must be aware of the attestation requirements.

Educational documents of the individuals such as their last degree certificate must go through the attestation process. Only, then the employment visa can be obtained by the individual.

Similarly, for a company in UAE they must have the company documents notarized by Dubai Court (Public Notary) and attested from MOFA.

Steps in Document Attestation in UAE

For businesses to complete the document attestation in UAE they must follow the below steps. Business Consultants will help to facilitate the process of document attestation and ensures the business gets their documents back on time after the attestation process in the UAE.

1. Attestation Outside the UAE

Businesses must attest their documents that is issued by the home country in the following way.

Notary Public – The company document including Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum of Association, shareholder resolution, etc., must be notarized by a local public notary.

State/Ministry Authentication – The documents must be verified by the state Ministry or respective Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the home country.

UAE Embassy/Consulate – Provide the documents to the UAE Embassy of the home country. They will verify the authenticity and do a final round of checks.

So, after the overseas verification, the attested document must be send to UAE for a counter attestation by the MOFA.

2. UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Attestation

Once the company documents and educational certificates are inside the UAE. They must be verified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

For digital documents that has a verifiable QR Code/barcode can be processed by the digital platform of MOFA’s official platform.

Similarly, for non-digital documents, the courier for collection and drop is to be arranged to complete the attestation process.

Also,if your documents are not in English or Arabic, you must have them translated by a Ministry of Foreign Affairs -approved legal translator in the UAE before MOFA attestation

How to Attest Documents from MOFA?

The MOFA attestation process involves several steps. The documents that are attested from their home country reach UAE for MOFA attestation. By doing MOFA Attestation the verification process will be complete in the UAE.

Step 1 – Registration

The attestation request has to be created in MOFA Portal via website or mobile app. Aurion Business Consultant will support by raising the request on your behalf.

The individuals or businesses can check the status of their application through the MOFA website portal. Also, individuals can login through the UAE pass to apply for numerous services available under MOFA.

Step 2 – Application Submission

Submit the notarized documents for verification from MOFA. Provide any supporting documents from the home country such as an QR Code or link if any to verify the authenticity.

Step 3 – MOFA Attestation Fee Payment

The MOFA Attestation Fee for individual certificates is around AED 150 and for commercial documents it ranges to AE 2,000 approximately.

Step 4 Confirmation

Once, the payment is made and documents are submitted for review, after 3 Working Days the attestation and verification will be complete.

So, now the Ministry will arrange for delivery of the original attested documents to the individual or businesses via a courier.

What are the Common Documents that are Attested in UAE?

Ideally, the following documents are several categories require an attestation as per UAE Government. Also, depending on specific business requirement or case-to case basis, the document type varies.

Educational Certificates – Degrees, diploma, academic transcripts and school reports ( mainly for Golden Visa and Employment Visa processing)

Personal Documents – Birth and marriage certificates, divorce certificate, police clearance certificate, etc. (for Golden Visas and Employment and Dependent Visa processing)

Commercial Documents – Trade Licenses, Power of Attorney (POA), Memorandum of Association (MOA), board resolution, etc. (For branch/subsidiary opening)

Legal Documents – Any court issued documents for businesses.

What are the Documents Required for Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) Attestation?

Following documents are required to start the process of attestation from MOFA. They include:

• The original document you wish to attest
• Translated Copies – Required for non-English and non-Arabic documents
• Supporting Documents – Spouse passport copy for marriage certificate attestation, Passport copy of parents and child for birth certificate attestation

So, document attestation from MOFA in the UAE helps in validating the authenticity of a document. Thus, every business and individual residing here must attest their degree certificate and company documents to stay complaint and genuine.

To know more about document attestation in UAE, connect with our team right away!