Relocating to the United Arab Emirates for work, education, residence or planning to expand your business, you will need to legalize all requiredocuments.

Legalization is compulsory requirement as the UAE did not sign the agreement on Apostille procedure. Documents subject to official certification / legalization shall be approved by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Emirates, the consulate / embassy of the country in which they will be used, or the consulate / embassy of the state of documents origin.

What documents are subject to legalization in the Emirates?

• educational documents: diplomas, certificates, academic transcripts;
• constitutional documents: certificate of incorporation, the article of association, extracts, resolutions of directors and shareholders;
• marriage, birth, divorce, change of name certificates;
• contracts, financial covenants, agency, trade agreements;
• non-criminal record certificate, fingerprints;
• various certificates, licenses, certificates;
• customs clearance declarations, packing lists.

The procedure of legalization of documents in the UAE?

The procedure of official certification depends on document place of issue and recipient of the document: a person or a legal entity.

If the documents have been issued in other countries, then legalization is performed as follows:

• copy of document shall be certified by a notary public;
• document shall be translated into Arabic or English and also shall be certified by a notary public;
• certification in Ministry of Justice and relevant ministries, for example, diploma of higher education is certified by the Ministry of Education;
• certification in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country issuing the document;
• certification in the UAE consulate in the country that issued the document or in a nearby country.
• Certification in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Dubai.

Certification of documents that have been issued in the United Arab Emirates, is subject to different procedure:

• document shall be translated into English and certified by the issuing authority;
• certification in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the United Arab Emirates;
• document with the translation shall be certified by the consulate of the country where it is expected to be used;
• execution of certification copy of the document - for legal persons.

The costs and terms of legalization depend on the type of document. Official certification of documents for individuals usually costs less than legalization of documents for companies. Normally, legalization of documents in the UAE is done within 5-7 days.

• Checked / Updated: 07.25.2022
• Published on: 10.27.2014
• Author: Elizabeth Snezibor