When you intend to use personal, educational or commercial documents in other countries, you are to know that certificate apostille UAE has limitations. Although most countries are accepted to apostille attestation under the Hage Convention, UAE is not a member country, which implies that apostille certificate cannot be used in Emirates by itself. Various people who seek the services of an apostille office near me or those who research about apostille services in Dubai have no idea that the apostille services offered do not validate for UAE.
The Apostille services do not exist in Dubai usually, even this document can be apostilled in other countries, in the UAE case, a complete process of consular attestation of this document is followed along with Ministry of External Affairs and UAE Embassy. Before moving on with it, always consult with the authorized attestation specialists because using the apostille services only can lead to the denial of the application or delay in the delivery of the documents.
Apostille attestation is a simplified document legalization between the countries which are Hague Convention of 1961 members. After a document has been given an apostille stamp or sticker by the competent authority in the issuing country, it is automatically acknowledged by all other member countries the further attestation either at the embassy or at a consulate is not needed. This eases the procedure of academic, commercial or civil documents used in foreign countries.
Why Apostille is not Acceptable in UAE
UAE does not take apostille, since the country is not a member of Hague Convention. Whereas, UAE needs a complete consular attestation process and it takes many more steps as compared to apostille process. Showing an apostille certificate in the UAE (be it a degree, marriage certificate, or a power of attorney) to the government office, employers, or educational institutions will in most cases be rejected.
The Proper Attestation Procedure in UAE
In the case of documents that were issued in countries other than UAE, then the correct attestation path follows:
A local notary or other related authority in the issuing country would notarize the document.
Departmental attestation by the state or region, eg State Home Department or Education Board.
Ministry of external Affairs (MEA) Attestation in your home country.
Consulate or Embassy attestation of UAE.
UAE Ministry of foreign Affairs (MOFA) final attestation.
This is a multi-stage procedure through which documents are checked on each level before being admitted in the UAE to receive a visa, work, study, or be accepted in legal matters.
The Reason Behind the Confusion
Most online sources or those of international attestation agents or perhaps generic legal blogs do not explain the difference and applicants think that apostille certificate is a worldwide solution. Others go to the extent of selling apostille services as being acceptable on activities destined to the UAE without clarifying how the country is not part of the Hague system.
The UAE does not accept apostille attestation. In the cases of relocating to work, making application of family visa, enrolling in a university, or legal documents that are to be submitted in the UAE, a complete process of the visa attestation must be done through the full embassy and MOFA attestation process. The sole use of apostille may result in denial of work permit, delay in the issuance of a visa and a lot of inconvenience. Consistently, you should check the most up to date requirements of the attestation with the UAE Embassy or some reliable attestation company to make sure that all your documents are proper according to the proper legal standards.
