Our Offices are located directly opposite the front of Charing Cross train station at:
Consular legalisation for United Arab Emirates – UAE
Document legalisation for use in the UAE
CONSULAR LEGALISATION & FCDO APOSTILLE REQUIREMENTS
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Legalisation is required.
Please see our UAE apostille services
This is followed by Consular legalisation obtained from the United Arab Emirates Consulate.
Applications to the UAE Consulate are now managed through a specialist third party company called VSF Global, who supervise the application process on behalf of the UAE Consulate.
THE BUNDLING OF CERTIFIED DOCUMENTS WITH ONE APOSTILLE
Generally, the bundling of documents with a front-page notarial certificate is not accepted by the UAE Consulate.
The UAE Consulate require each document to be separately certified and separately apostilled.
A potential exception to this rule is for UK limited company Change of Name documents, where more than one change of name has been registered, and where the consulate has previously accepting the bundling of more than one Certificate of Incorporation on Change of Name by the same company.
TIME
Please allow between 7 to 20 working days for legalisation by the UAE Consulate. Additional delays to the processing times will occur during Ramadan and Eid holiday periods during which the Consulate will typically be closed.
FEES
The legalisation fee charge of the United Emirates Consulate are approximately:
- £500 per document for company documents
(Court order document where a company is a party, the consulate may charge a fee of £37.) - £37 per document for a personal document
- VSF Global add a DHL courier return delivery service fee of approximately £45 per application (of up to 5 documents). This is for your papers to be sent to VSF Global and returned by VSF Global.
The above fees are approximations, and the exact fees will vary according to the exchange rate between the UK Pound currency and the UAE AED currency, at the time payment is made.
As third-party currency transaction fees for international payment to the MoFA in the UAE are also charged, the exact fee will vary from time to time.
NON- UK ISSUED DOCUMENTS
Foreign documents are usually not accepted as a basic rule.
However, the Consulate may accept foreign documents depending on the type of document and under specific circumstances.
In case of foreign documents, they must be first attested by the relevant diplomatic body of the country of origin of the document in the UK, then notarised and Apostilled prior to submission to the UAE Consulate in London for further legalisation.
Documents from the UAE need to be endorsed by the UAE Ministry for Foreign Affairs before this Embassy could attest them.
Documents from British Overseas Territories will require attestation by the Government of the Territory concerned prior to submission for the FCO legalisation.
The UAE Consulate in London accepts documents from Republic of Ireland, Iceland, Jersey, Isle of Man, British Virgin Islands, but they are required to be first legalised or attested by, either the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) or Governors’ Offices of Jersey, Isle of Man and Guernsey, the Irish Ministry for Foreign Affairs or the Islandic Ministry for Foreign Affairs, according to the region where the document originated.
Foreign educational documents are never accepted in any circumstances.
EDUCATIONAL DOCUMENTS FOR USE IN THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES
Educational documents like diplomas, degrees, transcripts, and certificates must be authenticated to be used in the UAE.
For legalisation of educational certificate, the Notary must certify directly on the reverse page of the document and the FCO Apostille is to be attached on the actual educational certificate.
A notarial certificate may still be attached to the educational certificate provided the Apostille is attached to the educational certificate itself and not the notarial certificate.
VERIFICATION OF SIGNATURES
Powers of Attorney, Authorisations of Agents, Affidavits and Consent Letters may potentially be subject to verification of signatories by the UAE Consulate before legalising any of these documents.
The UAE Consulate may require a video call with the signatory, to briefly interview the signatory, where the signatory is require to confirm their signature is authentic.
The Consulate may requires a cover letter from the signatory confirming:
- The signatory signed the document in the presence of the notary public and
- Enclosing a copy of the passport of the signatory and
- Confirming the personal email and telephone number of the signatory
Any signatory should be made aware that the Consulate may contacting them for the verification of ID and signature.
For documents with more than one signatory, each signatory must provide a cover letter with their signature matching with the signature on their passport and the document being legalised.
VERIFICATION OF SIGNATURES OF NON-U.K. AND FOREIGN COMPANIES OR FOREIGN ENTITITIES
For documents relating to foreign entities, e.g. Powers of Attorney, Board Resolution, Authorisations of Agent, Declarations, Agreements, and including documents which are ink signed or electronically signed by the document holder/company directors the situation is as follows.
The notary public must state on their notarial certificate that the document was signed in their presence at a location within England and Wales.
Without such certification, the foreign entity paper will be considered as a foreign document without connection with the United Kingdom and will generally be rejected for legalisation by the UAE Consulate.
LONDON CONTACT
Embassy of the United Arab Emirates
30 Prince’s Gate
London
SW7 1PT
T.020 7581 1281
legalisationuk@mofa.gov.ae
