# Documents that need attesting



## dallan (Oct 24, 2008)

Hi there

Did a search on this and understand that marriage and birth certificates need attesting. Is it your own birth certificates as well as your childrens? Also would my husbands exam certificates need to be done - they are only school qualifications not university. I am not planning to work while I am out in dubai so I presume I don't need any of my educational certificates done!!

Also do they need to be attested before my husband's company can start his residents visa application?

Thanks loads for your help as usual you are all so helpful


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## Andy Capp (Oct 5, 2008)

Make sure you bring all your paperwork even your cycling proficiency test result sheet, you need that if you want to buy a push bike here.... And your swimming badges, you need them to use the hotel pools.....


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## dallan (Oct 24, 2008)

Andy Capp said:


> Make sure you bring all your paperwork even your cycling proficiency test result sheet, you need that if you want to buy a push bike here.... And your swimming badges, you need them to use the hotel pools.....


I presume you are having a laugh But can you tell me if docs need to be attested before visas can be applied for??

Thanks again


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## Andy Capp (Oct 5, 2008)

Just his, as he will sponsor you and the kids, - I don't have any formal qualifications so that wasn't needed but marriage and kids birth that sort of stuff yes.

And I wasn't joking about the swimming badges.....


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

dallan said:


> I presume you are having a laugh But can you tell me if docs need to be attested before visas can be applied for??
> 
> Thanks again



Yes, they do (depending on the job he will be taking up and where he will be working!). If his company has asked for them, then yes, they will be required before the employment (they normally accept scanned copies in this case) & residency (originals required) visas can be applied for.


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## dallan (Oct 24, 2008)

Tnx loads for your help


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## 54248 (Jul 21, 2007)

I have an urgent question regarding attesting documents.

I've had a job offer, but they said they need my documents attested from the UAE/British embassy in Dubai -- I explained that my documents have already been apostiled and notarised from the UK side -- but they were adamant that it still needs to be attested on this side.

Can anyone confirm this?
Can anyone confirm whether you need to go to both embassies, or just one (IE: the UAE one?)

Thanks


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

worchyld said:


> I have an urgent question regarding attesting documents.
> 
> I've had a job offer, but they said they need my documents attested from the UAE/British embassy in Dubai -- I explained that my documents have already been apostiled and notarised from the UK side -- but they were adamant that it still needs to be attested on this side.
> 
> ...


Depends which docs you're talking about. If it's degree certs, everything needs to be done in the UK. If it's a marriage certificate, then there is another step that needs to be completed in Dubai.


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## stevieboy1980 (Sep 9, 2008)

degree/education certs need to be done in home country, if uk or irish its london (2 places)
marriage cert needs to be done ideally in uk, but it was easy enough for us to get it done over here in dubai, only 2 days and cheap...
As far as I am aware, and from our experience we didnt need any birth certs done.
my wife doesnt work, she didnt need to get anything attested at all.....


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## 54248 (Jul 21, 2007)

> Depends which docs you're talking about. If it's degree certs, everything needs to be done in the UK. If it's a marriage certificate, then there is another step that needs to be completed in Dubai.


I've emailed my notary public but probably won't get a reply until mid tomorrow.

My documents, including education papers, have already been stamped by the Notary Public, FCO and UAE embassy in the UK. 

The prospective employer is telling me I must get, specifically, my education papers attested/stamped in the UAE embassy here in Dubai.


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## stevieboy1980 (Sep 9, 2008)

yeah, i had to post my documents (attested) to company in dubai for them to sort my employment visa out.. so yes you need to get that done, either post them over, make sure you do recorded delivery or do it soon as your here...
what type of company is it


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

worchyld said:


> I've emailed my notary public but probably won't get a reply until mid tomorrow.
> 
> My documents, including education papers, have already been stamped by the Notary Public, FCO and UAE embassy in the UK.
> 
> The prospective employer is telling me I must get, specifically, my education papers attested/stamped in the UAE embassy here in Dubai.


Well, never heard of that before! I did the 3 steps you mentioned and that was it. I didn't even need to send the originals through to the company to get my employment visa - only scanned copies. They gave me 14 days from the day I started work to produce the originals in order to get the residence visa. Seems like scanned copies were good enough for the employment visa.


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## 54248 (Jul 21, 2007)

Yes. I'm finding it confusing too. I thought doing 3 steps would be it.

From searching Google a lot of people went to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or MOFA) to get attested, but I still don't know if this is the right office to go to, or not.

Knowing my luck they'll say its already attested, or something.

Another weird thing... the company was asking me why I didn't get my original education papers stamped by the FCO/UAE embassy -- even though I have notarised copies stamped by both embassies?

Its all very confusing.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

worchyld said:


> Yes. I'm finding it confusing too. I thought doing 3 steps would be it.
> 
> From searching Google a lot of people went to Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or MOFA) to get attested, but I still don't know if this is the right office to go to, or not.
> 
> ...



You notarise the copies and not the original. I know that in the US if you started putting all sorts of stamps on your cert, it would make it invalid. Not sure about UK degrees but considering that degrees in my opinion are rather expensive pieces of paper, I would not allow anyone to write on or put a stamp mine! Imagine you decided to work in a few different countries and they all required this process to be completed - after a while I think it would become a struggle to even tell what degree you've got if everyone decided to stamp it!

Is this company employing any other foreigners by any chance and are they in the free zone? I would be confused as well (and I am actually confused!) cause I did all the things you mentioned above and I've got my residence visa in hand, so either the law has changed in the last 2 months or they're not really sure what they require from you to get your visa!


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## 54248 (Jul 21, 2007)

> You notarise the copies and not the original. I know that in the US if you started putting all sorts of stamps on your cert, it would make it invalid.


This is what I was told too. So I got notarised copies. The employer was showing me their other employess (mostly from India) where they have got the original notarised, stamped, etc and I was trying to explain that it would make my degree invalid if I did the same -- but they seemed not to agree with this.

I tried getting clarification from the Dubai Red Tape book. It says;



> From "Page 11 (Notarised and attesting documents)";
> 
> In all cases a copy of the documents must be stamped by a Notary Public, then endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the UAE embassy in that country.
> ...
> ...


I don't know what it means by "in that country". Is it talking about your country (UK) or UAE?

My employer has specifically asked me to "attest the degree as they said that is the only major thing that the MOFA or labour department looks at".

I am going to the MOFA today to try and find out if they can attest the documents, even though I'm still convinced they've already been attested by the UAE embassy in the UK, and I'm taking the number of the HR person... just in case.

I'll post what happens for future reference.


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## mallen79 (Jul 29, 2008)

Hi, I recently got married in Cyprus and I need to get my marriage certificate attested. Does anyone know if there is a UAE embassy in Cyprus to where this can be completed?


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## dubaivillas (Nov 24, 2008)

Andy cap is right Dallan. Only your husband's certificates are necessary. not your childeren or yours


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## 54248 (Jul 21, 2007)

Okay here's an update.

I got to the MOFA (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) and they were able to attest the documents. 

This costs 150d per document and is done straight away. The employer was happy with the stamp and are now going ahead with necessary paperwork.

I've talked to a few people and the process seems slightly different depending on who you ask, some did the Notarisation, Apositile from UK and that was enough, whilst others were asked to go to MOFA to get another stamp.

Just some notes on MOFA.

It is located near Burjaman Shopping Centre and is situated in the Consulate section. You can see a Consulate section marked on the Dubai Bus Map. 

Go there early because when I was there the gates closed around noon, or one (I can't remember the exact time).

My situation is now resolved. Thanks to all those who helped.


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## saya123 (Dec 11, 2008)

Hi all,

I dont know if this question has been answered before or not but im still not clear.. im planning to bring my family to dubai and i have been told that i have to get my marriage certificate attested. 

Now im done with the attestation in my home country through Ministry of Foreign Affairs and UAE counsalte in my home country (Pakistan). However i have been told that i also have to get it attested in dubai. 

But the problem is some ppl say that it is to be attested from Ministry of Foreign Affairs. (As you guys have also written up in other posts) but some ppl say that first it has to be attested by your country's embassy in dubai and then only it would goto Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

Can somebody please confirm which one is correct? And also if someone can please confirm the exact location of Ministry of Foriegn Affairs in dubai. I thoght its in burdubai, next to Pakistani counsalte, near burjuman. However i just googled to get the exact address and i found another location whcih was somewhere in deira near clock tower, towards airport road. Can somebody please confirm this aswell.

Also if somebody could clarify as to whether i will be needing my original passport for this attestation because i just submitted it to the driving school for RTA's learners permit and i dont think i will be gettin it back so soon.. it takes approx 7-10 days before they give u ur originals back.. I do have the photo copy but you never know with these guys! 

I would really appreciate a reply at earliest as I intended to go there Sunday morning. 

Thanks.


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## saya123 (Dec 11, 2008)

So nobody bothered helping out but i still went ahead with the plan based on watever information I had and I am penning down my experience so that others are clear about the location of Ministry. 

I asked the cabbie about Ministry of Foriegn Affairs while on my way to the embassy and he informed me that its in Deira near Etisalat building, on Makhtoom Road. 

I noted down the exact location and decided which route to take once im done with the attestation from embassy. However while getting my documents attested from embassy, the embassy staff told me that the Ministry of Foriegn Affairs is no longer in Deira, it has moved to Bur Dubai, since last one month, in the same area where all the counslates are located. 

So it wasnt much of a problem finding it over there. You can easily locate it when you reach the area. Its walking distance from Pakistani Embassy. The building has a UAE flag on it and Ministry of Foriegn Affairs written on it. Parking however will be an issue and taking a cab would the best option.

I hope the information will help out many of the new comers like myself.


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## crazymazy1980 (Aug 2, 2008)

saya123 said:


> So nobody bothered helping out but i still went ahead with the plan based on watever information I had and I am penning down my experience so that others are clear about the location of Ministry...
> 
> 
> ...I hope the information will help out many of the new comers like myself.


I'm sorry nobody was able to answer your question, I guess nobody knew the answer, I don't tend to reply myself unless I have a good idea about something.

How did you get on with the other questions in your post, have you found the answers out? I am sure there are others who may want to know your experiences. 

Thank you for posting when you did find out, it all adds up to improving the site.


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## saya123 (Dec 11, 2008)

Thank you for the appreciation and I wasnt blaming anybody... alls good as long as it went smoothly!

As for other questions in my post:

1) for bringing your family, you need to get the marriage / birth certificates attested from Ministry of Foriegn Affairs in your home country, UAE embassy in your home country, your country's embassy in Dubai, and Ministry of Foriegn Affairs in Dubai. 

They take a nominal fee, in my case they charged me 8 dirhams for attestation at Pakistani Embassy in Dubai, and 150 dirhams for attestation at Ministry of Foriegn Affairs.

2) No need for an original passport. Infact nobody bothered to look at the photocopies either, however its always safe to keep both cuz u never know what mood they are in on a particular day. And considering the laws over here keep on changing every now and then.

One important thing you need to note down however is that from today onwards, you are not allowed mobile phones inside the embassy. I dont know if its particular to Pakistani Embassy or generally applicable to all, however if you dont have a car (like it was in my case), then generally it is assumed that you wont have any place to keep a mobile outside if you are carrying one. Hence it is advisable to keep it at home or bring somebody who would keep your valuables outside because there is no counter provided by the embassy itself and hence I along with others had to face a lot of problems. 

There was a long queue even half an hour before the scheduled opening time of 8am... there were about 100 ppl ahead of me when i got there and when your turn comes, the guard outside will stop u and push you outside the queue cuz u r carrying a mobile phone. I was lucky to have found a nice guy outside who kept my valuables and they were safe when i got out but you wouldnt want to take that risk. I had no other option.


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