# First Post & Attestation Services



## Mafizzle (Jan 19, 2012)

Hi everyone,

This is my first post on the forum and i've been lurking for a while.

Some decent information on here and would like to eventually meet a few of you.


A little bit about me first of all,

I am 21 and from the UK but currently living and working in Lima, Peru as a mechanical engineer. I have been here for 18 months and to be honest I dislike it to the core!

So i've made my move. I've had accepted a good offer from a company in Dubai, and I am currently jumping through the jungle of red tape that my company here in Peru are throwing at me, just to resign.

I have already had dealings with my new company, and already it's a breath of fresh air. I have read that customer service in the UAE leaves a lot to be desired, but first impressions are that it knocks the socks off Peru.

So next week I return to the UK, to the cold, to the wet, to get an education certificate attested.

I like the sound of these all-in-one companies where I send them my document and they send me it back all done and dusted!

Can anyone recommend one they have personally used?

I cannot post links but one is called "Apostilles Direct" and the other is "Vital Certificates"

But I must admit the websites look naff and I don't know if I should trust them!


Would appreciate any feeback comments.

Many thanks,

Matt


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## BedouGirl (Sep 15, 2011)

My previous employer managed to lose my attested certificate and I needed to get mine done again from here when I changed jobs. I used this company http://blairconsular.com/en-gb/ - they were really efficient and provided a very speedy service.


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## Mafizzle (Jan 19, 2012)

Excellent thanks for the swift response.

I will give them an e-mail!


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## josief (Jan 24, 2012)

I have been looking for the same. Has anyone tried Expat Docs in the UAE?


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## Mafizzle (Jan 19, 2012)

Gave Blair Consular an email and they quoted £147 to do the whole attestation process for one education certificate with a 5 day turn around.

I think that is pretty good!

Thanks for the recommendation.


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## bluester (Sep 23, 2010)

Don't spend 150 quid on something you can do for the price of three stamps! It's simple:
1 - get certificate copied and notarised. Any solicitor can do this, and many won't charge.
2. - send to FCO legalisation department in Milton Keynes. Enclose an SAE addressed to the UAE embassy in London with instructions for the FCO to send it directly there. Also include a postal order or bank draft for the embassy fee
3. - include another SAE with your own home address so the embassy can return it. Job done. 

Look up the FCO's legalisation service on their website for details


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## Carefree1979 (Dec 6, 2011)

I would also wait until the UAE govement confirm that they do want to see the attested document - as I have just been through the same process and (whilst there was the suggestion that it would be required) they gave me my permit with only a scanned (unattested) copy and without any query - so saving me about £150.

From the research I did do in preperation the two companies that you mention in your first note seem to be generally reccomended (I have never used either) - but from what I recall, once you add postage back to UAE etc, one ends up costing a fair bit more than the other.

Doing it yourself is probably best if you are not waiting on it to start a new job - as I imagine with UK authorities sending it around it could take weeks.


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## bluester (Sep 23, 2010)

I expected exactly the same thing... but the whole process took 8 days. I sent the original package special delivery, and the other two envelopes with first class stamps. Just about fell off my chair when the doc's came back so quickly! :tongue1:


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## katiepotato (Apr 29, 2008)

Welcome and congrats on the new job!

I've used Gulf Visa (Visas from Middle East Embassies in London, like Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Iraq and Hajj, Umra Visas) several times in the past - like the others their website doesn't inspire confidence but they have always been extremely reliable. Not sure what their current charges are but possibly worth contacting for comparison purposes. 

It's obviously cheaper to handle the process yourself if you have time, but if you aren't going to be in the UK long before heading to Dubai then I would use a service - IMO the cost is worth the convenience and security of knowing you'll have the documents back within a certain timeframe. 

Even if you don't need the certificate attested now, it's worth doing - you may move employers in the future and have to produce it then, or the rules might change etc etc..... Better just to get it out of the way! 

Don't forget you need to have the certificate stamped by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs when you get here. It's a really quick 5-min job that you can either do yourself, or ask your company's PRO to do on your behalf.


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## Mafizzle (Jan 19, 2012)

Thansk for all the replies.

I have gone with Blair Consular and should get my document any day now... Maybe Tuesday now because of all this snow!


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## XDoodlebugger (Jan 24, 2012)

Can anyone recommend a service in the US?


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