The United Arab Emirates also referred to as UAE is a nation which specifically recognized for its economic advancement, rich and racial blend, and geographical positioning. Due to rapid development of business all over UAE there are plenty of business opportunities and people and companies from all over the world invest in this country. But it should be noted that getting the relevant documents and confirmations can be quite a nefarious and lengthy process across the board.

Foreign Affairs Attestation is the certification or the legalization of documents in a foreign country, which is mainly useful when the documents have to be made legally acceptable in the country which they are produced in. In the UAE there is a process of Foreign Affairs Attestation which is required for different types of documents such as Non-Educational Certificate Attestation, educational certificates Attestation, commercial documents Attestation and others.

Let us have an overview on the reasons of using Foreign Affairs Attestation for documents in UAE. In order to confirm the conformity of the necessary documents to the existing legislation and the absence of violations in their preparation and execution, it is functioning in the UAE. Such certificate attestation processes make the documents to be accurate and reliable thus facilitating legal business transaction or immigration process.

The documents that commonly require MOFA attestation

in the UAE include: 

Educational Documents: All the academic related documents like Diplomas, Degrees, Transcripts and other certificates.
Non-Educational Certificate or Personal Documents: All the personal documents like Birth certificate, marriage certificate, Divorce certificate, and affidavits.
Commercial Documents: Documents related to business purposes includes the power of attorney signed by the members of the company, board’s resolutions and the invoices.

The process followed for MOFA attestation is as follows:

Initial Verification: Before the document is attested it has to be authenticated from the concerned authority in UAE such as university for educational certificate attestation or any government department for personal and commercial certificate attestation.

Notarization: It is also necessary for some of the documents to be legalized by the UAE public notary as a confirmation of the genuineness of the documents to further the process.

Attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC): After most of the notary and verification processes are done there is the last procedure of attesting the document by MOFAIC. This step tends to ensure that the document that one has is authentic and has been issued by the right authorities.

Embassy or Consulate Attestation: If the document is to be further used in a country that is not a member to Hague Apostille Convention, then the document must be attested by the Embassy or consulate of that country in the UAE after MOFAIC attestation.

Fees and charges

The costs of service for the Foreign Affairs Attestation in the UAE will also differ with any additional charges or even depends on the embassy fee. Further details regarding fees can also be sourced from the relevant authorities or the consular services.

However, Foreign Affairs Attestation can therefore be a very helpful issue to anybody, company, or organization that intends to do businesses or has operations in the UAE. With help of right attestations, you provide the assurance of documents’ authenticity and compliance with laws and requirements of the United Arab Emirates. This information gives an idea of how the process work and what is required, however, it is always advisable to seek the services of the local authorities, or any other authorized bodies to produce more details and the most recent procedures to follow.