# How To Notorize & Attest Documents from Third Countries for Immigration



## hksgp

Hi, there,

We are going to start the process of visa application but have no clue how we can get our documents (namely university diploma, marriage certificate, children's birth certificates) issued outside our current country of residence notorized and attested in the US and Singapore where they were issued.

Would anyone have any experience in this and be able to point us in the right direction? Can't they all be notorized and attested in the country where we are residing now?

Thank you for all your help!


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## hksgp

Hi, there,

We did a little more research on the net and found that Emirates Post is now the only official agency that can carry out attestation of university diplomas. However, it appears that they will only accept physical typewritten forms on site and we cannot do this through the internet. This means we may just need to do this during our look-see. Anyone with experience in this? (Remember that we are not living in the country in which the degree was confered and will not be able to have the diploma notorized and attested personally there.)

It also looks like embassies of various countries in Dubai do have notorization services for documents issued in their respective countries. Has anyone tried that before?

Thank you again!


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## nellie

hksgp said:


> Hi, there,
> 
> We did a little more research on the net and found that Emirates Post is now the only official agency that can carry out attestation of university diplomas. However, it appears that they will only accept physical typewritten forms on site and we cannot do this through the internet. This means we may just need to do this during our look-see. Anyone with experience in this? (Remember that we are not living in the country in which the degree was confered and will not be able to have the diploma notorized and attested personally there.)
> 
> It also looks like embassies of various countries in Dubai do have notorization services for documents issued in their respective countries. Has anyone tried that before?
> 
> Thank you again!


It will be great to have an answer on this. Me and my husband are South African that lives in France. We were married in SA as well. Where do we need to attestate our documents. 
Thanks


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## MichelleAlison

Is attestation the same as apostilled? If so, we had to send all our documents back to the UK, to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. I did ask at the British Embassy in Buenos Aires and all they do is charge a big fee for sending the documents back to the UK on our behalf. It was cheaper to do it myself, although we still had to pay a fee of $48 per document.

Unfortunately, this was the only avenue we could take 

Michelle


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## nellie

Thank you. I will try to find out where in South Africa I need to send it.


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## Irish Ivy

nellie said:


> It will be great to have an answer on this. Me and my husband are South African that lives in France. We were married in SA as well. Where do we need to attestate our documents.
> Thanks


Nellie,

We are also South Africans (living in Ireland) and hoping to move out to Abu Dhabi soon. My understanding of the process is that the documents need to be certified/attested by both the issuing country and the UAE officialdom. 

We had our documents attested by the South African Embassy over here in Ireland. Take the originals along with a copy and they will stamp it all. You then need to take this copy, again along with the original, to the 'Home Office' in the UAE and they will certifiy it as well. We had birth certs, marraige certs, passport page copies done. 

If you are going on a 'scouting mission' it would be the ideal time to do this. We left it to the last day without relaising that the government offices are only open till luch time. So we will just have to do it next time.


We did not realise at the time we had to have the Educational things done so I'm not too sure how this works

Hope this helps,


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## 54248

I know this is a silly question, but ;

1) What is meant by "Notorizing & Attesting Documents"?
2) Why do you need to do it?
3) What forms of Notorize documents are accepted?
4) Whats the difference between Notorizing & Attesting?


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## pooji

I am totally confused at this point ..
we are from pakistan, studied and got married there, moved to Canada 10 yrs back..
now for us do we have to go to pakistan to get our marriage and educational documents attested , or can we take it to the embassy of pakistan here in toronto and then get them attested. also after the part 1 attestation do i have to take them to UAE embassy for attestation....

please let me know if you have an idea of the process .we only have 1 month to wind up and do all that .....
Thanks so much


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## MichelleAlison

worchyld said:


> I know this is a silly question, but ;
> 
> 1) What is meant by "Notorizing & Attesting Documents"?
> 2) Why do you need to do it?
> 3) What forms of Notorize documents are accepted?
> 4) Whats the difference between Notorizing & Attesting?


To notorize and to attest documents is a legal way of confirming that the signatures are true and the person(s) has to sign in front of the notary who also signs as a witness.

I checked the meanings of both words and they appear to be the same. 

Don't forget some people need to apostile and legalise documents. The difference here is that this is a way of confirming that an existing original document signature is true i.e. a birth/marriage certificate and the quickest and cheapest way is at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London.

I hope this helps. 

Michelle


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## pooji

i called the pak embassy in toronto today and to my surprise they said if you want to get any document attested go to the ministry of foreign affairs in islamabad pakistan,i was shocked as i am in Canada for the last 15 yrs no family back home and the person on the phone is telling me to go back and get them attested.
with regret i have to say that our consulate is rude doesnt want to help and simply do not want to spend any time to explain...


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## sgilli3

Pooji
You may need to have the documents couriered to Pakistan to be attested then


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## hksgp

It is indeed a very tedious process. We found that embassies and university officials are not very helpful, not so much because they are rude, but because they simply do not have any experience in and process for managing this requirement. UAE is probably one of the few countries, if any, that are so meticulous about authentication of documents.

You may want to check if the Embassy of Pakistan in the UAE will be able to notarize your birth and marriage certificates, as some countries can. You can then get those attested by the Foreign Ministry of the UAE before you apply for Residence Permits.

The key is to get the degree attested and apostiled asap since it is required for the job holder's work visa application. Spouse and dependent children with passports from certain countries should be able to enter on a visitor visa and then converted to Residents.

To attest and apostile the degree, the fastest way may be to go through the university directly if you can. Otherwise, Index Group or IntegraScreen can both handle that on your behalf but it may take weeks. You may want to approach your company's PRO and ask them for help.


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## GSK

*Attestation of Documents*

My husband and I are Indian Nationals moving to Dubai, but have been in UK or the past 6 years. Our kids were born in UK. My ques is 
1)where do I send their Birth Certs to be notarised. 
2)Also what about other certs that we have got here in UK (eg: My teaching Diploma cert from a college in london)
3)I guess the marraige cert will have to be done from India as we were married here? Or is the Indian embassy allowed to do this?
What other certs are we needed to have notarised?


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## MichelleAlison

GSK said:


> My husband and I are Indian Nationals moving to Dubai, but have been in UK or the past 6 years. Our kids were born in UK. My ques is
> 1)where do I send their Birth Certs to be notarised.
> 2)Also what about other certs that we have got here in UK (eg: My teaching Diploma cert from a college in london)
> 3)I guess the marraige cert will have to be done from India as we were married here? Or is the Indian embassy allowed to do this?
> What other certs are we needed to have notarised?


British birth and marriage certificates can be legalised at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office either in person or by post and I think that they can also legalise teaching qualifications obtained in the UK. Here is the FCO website regarding Legalisation. You might be able to find out information there regarding other documents.

Good luck

Michelle


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## nellie

Irish Ivy said:


> Nellie,
> 
> We are also South Africans (living in Ireland) and hoping to move out to Abu Dhabi soon. My understanding of the process is that the documents need to be certified/attested by both the issuing country and the UAE officialdom.
> 
> We had our documents attested by the South African Embassy over here in Ireland. Take the originals along with a copy and they will stamp it all. You then need to take this copy, again along with the original, to the 'Home Office' in the UAE and they will certifiy it as well. We had birth certs, marraige certs, passport page copies done.
> 
> If you are going on a 'scouting mission' it would be the ideal time to do this. We left it to the last day without relaising that the government offices are only open till luch time. So we will just have to do it next time.
> 
> 
> We did not realise at the time we had to have the Educational things done so I'm not too sure how this works
> 
> Hope this helps,


hi Irish Ivy
I went to the SA consulate here in Geneva and they said they cannot appostile any docs for me. They are happy to do it for me but to be honest I think I will be in Dubai by then. I need to re apply for all our certificates and ask the foreign office in South Africa to appostile it for us the same time. I will ask them to send it to my husbands office for we dont have an address there yet. 
Thanks for the help


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## hope

Hi,

I've been following this thread over the last few days and was glad when 'worchyld' posted the 'unsilly' question! I am coming from the UK with my husband and three kids in August. Should I be getting any of our documents notorized or attested before coming over? Why would I need notorized documents? The only silly question is the one that remains unanswered!

Thanks for your help!


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## MichelleAlison

hope said:


> Hi,
> 
> I've been following this thread over the last few days and was glad when 'worchyld' posted the 'unsilly' question! I am coming from the UK with my husband and three kids in August. Should I be getting any of our documents notorized or attested before coming over? Why would I need notorized documents? The only silly question is the one that remains unanswered!
> 
> Thanks for your help!


The reason we need to legalise, apostile, attest and notorize documents is to show another government that they are legal documents and that the signatures are true and/or have been witnessed by an appropriate person. Saying that, they can only confirm the signature and not the contents. For example, if you have your university degree legalised, they are only confirming the signature and not the contents.

Here in Argentina everything, including police checks and school documents had to be legalised in the UK. They were then translated and legalised in Argentina before they were accepted. 

I suggest that the following documents are legalised before you leave:

Birth certificates 
Marriage certificates
Police checks 
All qualifications (if relevant)
Letters from schools stating which year your child completed 

Make sure you have letters/statements showing where your money has come from i.e. sale of property, insurance policy, savings, pensions etc.

Translation of documents can be done in the relevant country.

I hope this is more helpful.

Regards

Michelle


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## 54248

Please clarify the following with regards to certifying, nortaising and attested (CNA);

1) Can the the notaries society (Welcome to the Notaries Society) do CNA?

2) Can a magistrate office perform CNA?

3) According to the UK FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth office) they charge £27 for each signature/stamp/seal that they legalise. Do they not charge by bulk, otherwise it'll cost you well over £100 for all the documents, stamps you might need.

4) On "http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/what-we-do/docs-and-legal-services/legalisation/legalising" what is a British Council -- do they mean you local authority?

5) On the FCO site (All educational documents must be signed by a UK solicitor or notary) -- can this be done in bulk?

6) Do any documents you get CNA'd, do they have to be CNAed again by the UAE office?

7) Is it better/cheaper to go to the UAE office, magistrate, FCO, or someone else?


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## MichelleAlison

worchyld said:


> Please clarify the following with regards to certifying, nortaising and attested (CNA);
> 
> 1) Can the the notaries society (Welcome to the Notaries Society) do CNA?
> 
> What do you mean by CNA? From what I read, even if a signature is notorised, it still has to be apostilled at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office as is stated on your link. Some countries also require documents to be legalised at the appropriate Embassy.
> 
> 2) Can a magistrate office perform CNA?
> 
> Don't think so, although not sure what you mean by CNA?
> 
> 3) According to the UK FCO (Foreign and Commonwealth office) they charge £27 for each signature/stamp/seal that they legalise. Do they not charge by bulk, otherwise it'll cost you well over £100 for all the documents, stamps you might need.
> 
> Two years ago I paid £19 a document, last April (07) this went up to £24 per document - I can't belive it has now gone up to £27 a document - 40% increase and there's no inflation!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! With regard to legalising in bulk, I don't think this exists, well it didn't two years ago and I doubt it does now. They know people have no choice, so we have to pay.
> 
> 
> 4) On "http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/about-the-fco/what-we-do/docs-and-legal-services/legalisation/legalising" what is a British Council -- do they mean you local authority?
> 
> No it's not your local council. The British Council helps to form relationships with other countries regarding all types of things such as jobs etc. This link will help you understand British Council corporate website
> 
> 
> 5) On the FCO site (All educational documents must be signed by a UK solicitor or notary) -- can this be done in bulk?
> 
> You should phone a local solicitor or notary and ask. In my opinion they will charge per document.
> 
> 6) Do any documents you get CNA'd, do they have to be CNAed again by the UAE office?
> 
> As I said above, some countries require the Embassy of the country to also legalise the document as well as the FCO. If I remember rightly, UAE require both, but please check the Dubai forum.
> 
> 7) Is it better/cheaper to go to the UAE office, magistrate, FCO, or someone else?


When I researched this, the FCO was the cheapest place. It doesn't matter who does the job for you, they will just charge you an extra fee for sending the documents to the FCO. I found this out in Argentina. I asked the British Embassy to get my documents legalised at the FCO and they charged a huge fee on top of the above fee of £27. I just did it myself via the post.

I hope the information I have given you is correct, but it is from my own experience and this is a very common question and it can be very daunting and EXPENSIVE.

Regards

Michelle


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## 54248

I'm going to be calling:
* Local magistrate office
* Local notary office
* FCO
* UAE embassy 

to get to the bottom of what is needed, who can do it, etc.

"what you mean by CNA?"

In Dubai Red Tape Explorer, 3rd Edition on page 11 it says;



> "Ensure all documents have been notarised (and attested if applicable) before moving to Dubai.... Notarisation procedures vary from country to country... it's best to contact your embassy in the UAE for precise instructions regarding authentication and costs. In all cases, a copy of the documents must be stamped by a Notary Public, then endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affiars and the UAE embassy"


The terms it gives are:



> *Certified*
> = A copy of the original document, certified by the issuing authority.
> = Certifies that the document is genuine.
> 
> *Notarised*
> = A certified copy of an original document duly notraised by a Notary Public or other authorised person.
> = Certfies that the signature is geninue.
> 
> *Attested*
> = A certified, notarised copy of an original document bearing the stamp of a UAE embassy abroad.
> = The issuing institution is geniune.


It does not say anything about gettiing documents apostilled. 

It does say that you can ask the Notary to bind documents together with a cover page - to classify it as one document; thus reducing costs.

But I'm still going to get a few things confirmed with the FCO, UAE embassy and a local notary service to see what's what.


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## MichelleAlison

worchyld said:


> I'm going to be calling:
> * Local magistrate office
> * Local notary office
> * FCO
> * UAE embassy
> 
> to get to the bottom of what is needed, who can do it, etc.
> 
> "what you mean by CNA?"
> 
> In Dubai Red Tape Explorer, 3rd Edition on page 11 it says;
> 
> 
> 
> The terms it gives are:
> 
> 
> 
> It does not say anything about gettiing documents apostilled.
> 
> It does say that you can ask the Notary to bind documents together with a cover page - to classify it as one document; thus reducing costs.
> 
> But I'm still going to get a few things confirmed with the FCO, UAE embassy and a local notary service to see what's what.


Please keep us informed of what happens.

Good luck

Michelle


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## 54248

After calling, I've confirmed the following (for UK only).

1. Documents must first be signed by a UK solititor or notary public. Magistrates cannot act as notary public. My local one says they "can" sign things, but they aren't a notary public.

2. Documents must then be legalised by the FCO. There is no workaround. This can be done in person, or post. It costs £27 per document.

3. Documents must then be legalised by the UAE embassy. There is no workaround. This can be done in person, or post.

I've only called 1 Notary public at the moment and they quoted: £80+VAT for first signature and £20+VAT per signature after that. If there is a family of 4 - you're looking at £800+. 

I've not checked with solititors or other notary publics yet, but I assume you can shop around to get the best price.

I've also not confirmed whether a notary public would classify a collection of education papers (AKA: National Record of Achievement) would be classed as 1 document or not. Also the Notary public I called could not tell me which of the documents would be stamped -- would it be the original, the copy, or both? (you're talking double/triple the cost).... though it would seem a bit odd to do a copy and then NOT stamp it.

In Dubai Red Tape Explorer, 3rd Edition on page 11 it says;

This paragraph in the "Red Tape" book seems to clarify everything;

Quote:
"Ensure all documents have been notarised (and attested if applicable) before moving to Dubai.... Notarisation procedures vary from country to country... it's best to contact your embassy in the UAE for precise instructions regarding authentication and costs. In all cases, a copy of the documents must be stamped by a Notary Public, then endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affiars and the UAE embassy"


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## MichelleAlison

worchyld said:


> After calling, I've confirmed the following (for UK only).
> 
> 1. Documents must first be signed by a UK solititor or notary public. Magistrates cannot act as notary public. My local one says they "can" sign things, but they aren't a notary public.
> 
> 2. Documents must then be legalised by the FCO. There is no workaround. This can be done in person, or post. It costs £27 per document.
> 
> 3. Documents must then be legalised by the UAE embassy. There is no workaround. This can be done in person, or post.
> 
> I've only called 1 Notary public at the moment and they quoted: £80+VAT for first signature and £20+VAT per signature after that. If there is a family of 4 - you're looking at £800+.
> 
> I've not checked with solititors or other notary publics yet, but I assume you can shop around to get the best price.
> 
> I've also not confirmed whether a notary public would classify a collection of education papers (AKA: National Record of Achievement) would be classed as 1 document or not. Also the Notary public I called could not tell me which of the documents would be stamped -- would it be the original, the copy, or both? (you're talking double/triple the cost).... though it would seem a bit odd to do a copy and then NOT stamp it.
> 
> In Dubai Red Tape Explorer, 3rd Edition on page 11 it says;
> 
> This paragraph in the "Red Tape" book seems to clarify everything;
> 
> Quote:
> "Ensure all documents have been notarised (and attested if applicable) before moving to Dubai.... Notarisation procedures vary from country to country... it's best to contact your embassy in the UAE for precise instructions regarding authentication and costs. In all cases, a copy of the documents must be stamped by a Notary Public, then endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affiars and the UAE embassy"


Thanks for the clarification. I think this information will be helpful to a lot of people, epecially those going to Dubai. I suppose I have to count ourselves lucky that we only had to get our documents legalised at the FCO. Saying that, we still had to get them translated and legalised in Argentina, but the cost was minimal when converted to pounds.

I knew it would be expensive, but the notary fee is incredible. Talk about ripping of the public? I suppose they think if you are leaving the country, you can afford anything? 

Good luck and hopefully you can find a better price!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Michelle


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## 54248

i found a notary public that would charge £30 per document, with no VAT. The best thing to do is to ring around the UK members of the Notary Society in your area and get the best price and clarify with them what they do and what the process is. I found some to be very helpful.


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## 54248

I've been in contact with a notary public who said that the UAE embassy can be a bit fussy when it comes to combining whole documents together and classifiying them as one document.

I've already emailed the legailisation department, but just in case -- has anyone combined whole education documents, classifying them as one document and had issues with the UAE embassy UK?


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## pharmacyguy

Hey Pooji and GSK,
Can you please provide us more insights about your experinces with your respective embassies?
We are in a very much similar situation as yours. We would like to know more what we need to do whether to send all documenst back to the country where they were issued (India/Pakistan) or get them attached by the respective consulates here in the US.

Pleae advise!

Thanks.


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## Maz25

Worchyld

In regards to having your documents notarised and attested in bulk, please do not make that mistake. This process has to be done separately for each document. Yes, it costs an arm and a leg!!! But, if you fail to get this done correctly, the UAE embassy will point blank refuse to legalise anything until you get it done properly. After standing in a queue for well over an hour, you won't be a happy bunny after being told to go away and get it done again! Most notaries will do everything for you for about £100 (a rip-off if you ask me but I guess if you are pressed for time...).


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## Maz25

worchyld said:


> After calling, I've confirmed the following (for UK only).
> 
> 1. Documents must first be signed by a UK solititor or notary public. Magistrates cannot act as notary public. My local one says they "can" sign things, but they aren't a notary public.
> 
> 2. Documents must then be legalised by the FCO. There is no workaround. This can be done in person, or post. It costs £27 per document.
> 
> 3. Documents must then be legalised by the UAE embassy. There is no workaround. This can be done in person, or post.
> 
> I've only called 1 Notary public at the moment and they quoted: £80+VAT for first signature and £20+VAT per signature after that. If there is a family of 4 - you're looking at £800+.
> 
> I've not checked with solititors or other notary publics yet, but I assume you can shop around to get the best price.
> 
> I've also not confirmed whether a notary public would classify a collection of education papers (AKA: National Record of Achievement) would be classed as 1 document or not. Also the Notary public I called could not tell me which of the documents would be stamped -- would it be the original, the copy, or both? (you're talking double/triple the cost).... though it would seem a bit odd to do a copy and then NOT stamp it.
> 
> In Dubai Red Tape Explorer, 3rd Edition on page 11 it says;
> 
> This paragraph in the "Red Tape" book seems to clarify everything;
> 
> Quote:
> "Ensure all documents have been notarised (and attested if applicable) before moving to Dubai.... Notarisation procedures vary from country to country... it's best to contact your embassy in the UAE for precise instructions regarding authentication and costs. In all cases, a copy of the documents must be stamped by a Notary Public, then endorsed by the Ministry of Foreign Affiars and the UAE embassy"


I used John Venn to have my documents notarised. They charged £60 + VAT per document. They will also send all docs to the FCO & UAE Embassy for about £100 + VAT. I did it all myself though!


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