# Notorisation Process



## Crammyman (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi All,

Can anybody tell me what is involved in the notorisation process of certificates with the UAE Embassy?


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## Crammyman (Jun 17, 2008)

Hi All,

Following a long scan about this site and elsewhere on the internet, I have answered my own question. I found that I have to get them signed by a solicitor and this was set to cost me £200+, however; further reading revealed that you can get any number of copies signed at your local magistrates court for £8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I then have to get it stamped at the FCO and then again at the UAE Council.

I hope this helps others too.


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## Sunshine101 (Jun 11, 2008)

Hi Crammyman

Is the attestation on a copy of the original or on the original itself? If the former, how many copies are we talking about?

THanks


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## ihatejam (May 9, 2008)

*visit to court is not necessary...*

apologies for the late response - you didn't indicate which country you were doing this in, so ignored ya - sorry...

I skipped the courts. and took my originals to the Foreign Office near Traf Square where they "legalised" them in around an hour and then took them around to the UAE Embassy near the Science Museum who processed them on the same day.



Crammyman said:


> Hi All,
> 
> Following a long scan about this site and elsewhere on the internet, I have answered my own question. I found that I have to get them signed by a solicitor and this was set to cost me £200+, however; further reading revealed that you can get any number of copies signed at your local magistrates court for £8!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
> I then have to get it stamped at the FCO and then again at the UAE Council.
> ...


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

I had all my documents legalised at the FCO and they cost 24 pounds per document................................. It can takes hours depending on how many people are there. You can do it by post, just go to their website Documents and legal services 

Michelle


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## Crammyman (Jun 17, 2008)

Sunshine101 said:


> Hi Crammyman
> 
> Is the attestation on a copy of the original or on the original itself? If the former, how many copies are we talking about?
> 
> THanks


Hi,

I'm not sure to be honest - I'm going to take copies and originals but not clear how many are needed yet.

The cost of the courts will be £25 per document, not £8 as I was quoted. 

How can you get away with not getting a solicitor to legalise it? The process says that is what you have to do. I would love to save the hassle and money of not having to do this but don't want to turn up in London and be told that I need them legalised first!

Now I'm well confused!


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## sgilli3 (Mar 23, 2008)

Documents that are to be notorised /attested...it is always the originals..its to show that the documents are real/not fake.


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## ihatejam (May 9, 2008)

If its an official original UK document (i.e. marriage cert, kid's birth certificate, etc) then FCO legalises it ( see Legalisation ) so you don't need a solicitor or court to do it. The UAE embassy in London will then attest it. I did this 2 months back without going to the courts and everythings now been processed.


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## Crammyman (Jun 17, 2008)

My cerificates are educational ones and these need to be signed by a solicitor or the courts before going to the FCO.

Photocopies can be used but the solicitor or the magistrate court will need to see the original.


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## Mocha (Jul 26, 2008)

*Photocopies accepted by Embassy?*

Hi Crammyman

Have you got your educational certificates notorised and attested already? Did the UAE Embassy accept your photocopies as legalised by the FCO or did they insist on the original documents?

Cheers


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

Mocha said:


> Hi Crammyman
> 
> Have you got your educational certificates notorised and attested already? Did the UAE Embassy accept your photocopies as legalised by the FCO or did they insist on the original documents?
> 
> Cheers


1. Copies of the originals are taken by the notary, who then notarises the *copies*. Do not notarise the originals as in certain countries, this will be regarded as defacing the documents and they will hence no longer be valid. I believe that the US has that rule!
2. Take the copies to FCO, who will certify that the signature of the notary is genuine
3. Take notarised and certified copies to UAE embassy, who will legalise them. For an extra £10 per document, you can get them on the same day!


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## cairogal (Aug 11, 2007)

The word "notarise" is tricky w/in the US context. All a notary does in the US if verify that something is your signature. By law, you cannot notarise birth and marriage certificates. I know a lot of UAE employers give a list to their new employers advising them to get documents notarised. In reality, if you're coming from the US, the official copies of birth and marriage certificates get sent to the sec. of state in the state in which they were issued. Then they get sent to the State Dept in D.C. Finally, they get sent to the UAE embassy to complete the process. If you are coming from the US, it's best to start w/ the UAE embassy's website which gives clear instructions on what's required. The US State Dept's site on authentications is the next place to stop.


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## hopeful (Jul 29, 2008)

ihatejam said:


> If its an official original UK document (i.e. marriage cert, kid's birth certificate, etc) then FCO legalises it ( see Legalisation ) so you don't need a solicitor or court to do it. The UAE embassy in London will then attest it. I did this 2 months back without going to the courts and everythings now been processed.


I found this whole thread really confusing.....maybe I'm just silly  But thanks to ihatejam, the link you posted has ALL the info anyone could need  Thank You


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## MichelleAlison (Aug 25, 2007)

hopeful said:


> I found this whole thread really confusing.....maybe I'm just silly  But thanks to ihatejam, the link you posted has ALL the info anyone could need  Thank You


You obviously couldn't follow this thread, as I posted the link to the FCO right near the beginning.


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## Mocha (Jul 26, 2008)

*Thanks!*

Thanks! I am a Newbie expecting a job offer in the next few days - I found this forum very helpful. Cheers!


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## hopeful (Jul 29, 2008)

MichelleAlison said:


> You obviously couldn't follow this thread, as I posted the link to the FCO right near the beginning.


I mite be silly but I'm not dumb, I did see your link but chose to click the other one

It's just because we're all from different places isn't it, one person is talking about the way to do things in the uk and then someone jumps to talking about the us, just to much for my brain at 7 in the morning.


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## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

cairogal said:


> The word "notarise" is tricky w/in the US context. All a notary does in the US if verify that something is your signature. By law, you cannot notarise birth and marriage certificates. I know a lot of UAE employers give a list to their new employers advising them to get documents notarised. In reality, if you're coming from the US, the official copies of birth and marriage certificates get sent to the sec. of state in the state in which they were issued. Then they get sent to the State Dept in D.C. Finally, they get sent to the UAE embassy to complete the process. If you are coming from the US, it's best to start w/ the UAE embassy's website which gives clear instructions on what's required. The US State Dept's site on authentications is the next place to stop.


It is a bit more complicated than that. 

The documents need to be first notorized by the notary public of the state where the documents were issued. The signature of the notary have to be then attested by the legal system (don't know exact name) who confirm that the signature of Notory public is genuine. It is only after that the Secretary of State with authorize. There are agents who do the entire process - i was quoted a price of $350 per document. I gave up!


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## cairogal (Aug 11, 2007)

> It is a bit more complicated than that.
> 
> The documents need to be first notorized by the notary public of the state where the documents were issued. The signature of the notary have to be then attested by the legal system (don't know exact name) who confirm that the signature of Notory public is genuine. It is only after that the Secretary of State with authorize. There are agents who do the entire process - i was quoted a price of $350 per document. I gave up!


I had to get a birth cert authenticated in Ohio and a marriage cert authenticated in Washington state. Ohio's sec of state web site states very clearly that is illegal to notarise state issued documents like birth and marriage certificates. A notary's job is to acknowledge that you signed a doc in front of him/her. Now, if you want to attach an additional piece of paper stating that this is an official copy and sign that paper in front of the notary, I suppose you can. It's actually unnecessary. I've just completely this process beginning to end w/o a notary of any kind.

Step 1: I sent an official copy to the Sec. of State in Ohio
Step 2: Once I got it back w/ their stamp, I sent it to the State dept in DC
Step 3: The UAE embassy in Washington D.C. put their final stamp on things.

Postage excluded, this entire process cost me about $50 USD (I didn't have to order an original, though) per document. 

Educational documents seem to have one additional step to the process that state-issued personal documents do not. I did this for my first degree so long ago, so I can't recall that process specifically. It does differ.

The UAE embassy's website for the D.C. location specifically instructs that personal documents (educational, birth, marriage status) be authenticated by the State Dept and that you follow the state dept's instructions for doing so. The only documents that require a notary, according to the UAE embassy, are commercial docs. The State dept site makes no mention of a notary in their process, either.


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## qwert97 (Jun 2, 2008)

I was trying to get my CPA (educational degree) authenticated. I was told that somehow I need to get the signature of the person who signed on my degree authenticated to confirm that it is original. You are right - it may be a different process. Also the process differs from State to State. I was dealing with the State of Delaware.

Since I hold another Canadian degree, I started working on that. I had to get it notorized, then foreign affairs and then UAE embassy in Canada.


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## Trusty (Sep 10, 2008)

Maz25 said:


> 1. Copies of the originals are taken by the notary, who then notarises the *copies*. Do not notarise the originals as in certain countries, this will be regarded as defacing the documents and they will hence no longer be valid. I believe that the US has that rule!
> 2. Take the copies to FCO, who will certify that the signature of the notary is genuine
> 3. Take notarised and certified copies to UAE embassy, who will legalise them. For an extra £10 per document, you can get them on the same day!


Sorry to be a pain, I have to get mine done whilst living in New York...So the photocopies get the signature on them (going to try and get this from the British consulate office) and the signed COPIES go to the FCO/UAE Embassy?!? 

One thing I am unclear on is how many copies I need to send to FCO/UAE Embassy?


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## Shinjuku (Jul 12, 2008)

Trusty said:


> Sorry to be a pain, I have to get mine done whilst living in New York...So the photocopies get the signature on them (going to try and get this from the British consulate office) and the signed COPIES go to the FCO/UAE Embassy?!?
> 
> One thing I am unclear on is how many copies I need to send to FCO/UAE Embassy?


For Brits overseas, i believe the British Council (if available) can help.
Not certain of the exact procedures, but its been discussed before in the forum so try doing a search.

You'll typically only require 1 copy of each document to be attested.


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## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

Crammyman said:


> Hi,
> 
> I'm not sure to be honest - I'm going to take copies and originals but not clear how many are needed yet.
> 
> ...


Mate, 

This is not worth trying to take the short cut over because if there is any problems when it gets over here you're going to have a tonne more hassle. Follow the steps below:

1. Get Solicitor to Notarise your HIGHEST Education Cert only. It has to be a Notary Public Solicitor - not all solicitors are!! They will Notarise a copy, don't let them touch the originals!!! £60+VAT
2. Go to Legalisation office - This has recently moved and is now in Milton Keynes, NOT London. £27 per document. They will not accept them if they haven't been notarised!!
3. Go to UAE Embassy in Knightsbridge, get there before 1300 if you want same day service £30 per document (£20 if you want them to post it on)
4. UPS or DHL them (Notarised copies AND originals) to your company in UAE to process the Visa with anything else needed by your company to process your Visa (cost me £50 but can be cheaper)

You won't be able to do it all in one day now that you have to go to Milton Keynes first - unless you're the first in the queue - for that aim to get there before 0800. Queue was well out of the door before 0845 when I went. Then get on the first available train to London, then tube to Knightsbridge, they won't Legalise at UAE Embassy same day UNLESS you're there before 1300.

Companies usually won't bear this cost, guess this is down to them not taking the hit on someone having fake qualifications but don't really know. Mine never. If the job is worth it then you'll recoup the cost in your massive new salary 

HTH


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