The UK-to-UAE attestation process has changed. UK documents must first complete the applicable UK preparation and FCDO apostille. They then proceed through the current UAE Embassy London Digital Attestation service.
Under the current system, the completed document is digitally attested by both the UAE Embassy in London and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA). This means the older process of obtaining UAE Embassy attestation in London and then arranging a separate physical MoFA stamp after the certificate arrives in the UAE is no longer the current London digital process.
GloboPrime Corporate Services Provider coordinates the UK document preparation, solicitor or notary certification where required, FCDO apostille, UAE digital attestation and secure document handling for clients in Dubai and throughout the UAE including documents pickup and delivery.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) legalises UK documents by checking the relevant signature, stamp or seal and attaching an apostille.
For use in the UAE, the FCDO apostille is not the final attestation. The apostilled document must then be submitted for UAE Embassy attestation in London before it can be used for the required UAE purpose.
Official UK documents issued by a public registry or government authority can usually be submitted to the FCDO without separate solicitor or notary certification.
Examples include:
Some UK documents must first be certified by a UK solicitor or notary before they are submitted to the FCDO for an apostille.
These can include:
The exact preparation depends on the document type. For example, a UK degree certificate may need solicitor or notary certification before the FCDO apostille can be issued, while an official UK birth or marriage certificate can usually be submitted directly for FCDO legalisation.
After the UK apostille is completed, the document can proceed to UAE Embassy London attestation as part of the UK certificate attestation process for UAE use.
The UK certificate attestation process for UAE use depends on the type of document and how it was issued. A UK degree, birth certificate, marriage certificate, power of attorney or company document can have different preparation requirements.
For most UK documents, the process starts with legalisation by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), followed by the UAE Embassy London Digital Attestation process.
The general process is:
Confirm the type of document, whether the original or a certified copy is required, and whether solicitor or notary certification is needed before FCDO legalisation.
UK degrees, professional qualifications, powers of attorney, private agreements and certain commercial documents may need to be certified by a UK solicitor or notary before they can be legalised by the FCDO.
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office checks the relevant signature, stamp or seal and legalises the document by attaching an apostille.
Official documents issued by a public registry, including UK birth and marriage certificates, can usually be submitted to the FCDO without separate solicitor or notary certification.
After the FCDO apostille has been issued, the document is submitted through the UAE Embassy London Digital Attestation service.
This applies to UK-issued documents being prepared for use in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or elsewhere in the UAE.
Under the current Digital Attestation service, the document is attested through the UAE Embassy in London and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).
The completed attested document can then be submitted to the UAE authority, employer, educational institution or other organisation that requested it.
UK birth and marriage certificates are commonly attested for family residence visas, spouse sponsorship, dependent applications, school admission and other personal or government purposes in the UAE.
Official UK birth and marriage certificates issued through a public registry can usually be submitted directly to the FCDO for legalisation without separate solicitor or notary certification.
For UAE use, the process is generally:
UK Birth or Marriage Certificate
FCDO Paper Apostille
UAE Embassy London Digital Attestation
UK birth and marriage certificates from the General Register Office (GRO) are not eligible for the FCDO e-Apostille service. These documents therefore require a paper-based FCDO apostille.
If more than one certificate needs attestation, check whether the organisation requesting the documents requires a separate apostille for each certificate or accepts a single apostille covering a group of documents.
GloboPrime Corporate Services assists with UK attestation for educational, personal, legal and commercial documents required for use in the UAE.
We assist with UK degree certificate attestation, diploma attestation, Master’s degree attestation, MBA degree certificates, PhD certificates, professional qualifications and other academic certificates.
Personal document attestation includes UK birth certificates, marriage certificates, death certificates, police certificates and other personal certificates and documents.
We assist with legal documents including powers of attorney, affidavits, declarations and legal agreements that require UK legalisation and UAE attestation.
Our commercial document attestation service covers certificates of incorporation, Companies House documents, board resolutions, Memorandum and Articles of Association, commercial powers of attorney and corporate agreements.
The standard UK certificate attestation process for UAE use can take around 5 weeks in total, including FCDO legalisation and UAE Embassy London digital attestation. For urgent cases, express UK attestation can be completed in around 2.5 weeks, depending on the document type, certification requirements and courier time.
GloboPrime Corporate Services Provider manages UK certificate attestation for UAE, including UK degree attestation, marriage certificate attestation, birth certificate attestation, FCDO apostille, UAE Embassy London Digital Attestation and commercial document attestation.
We can handle the UK document attestation process from the UAE through our trusted office in the UK, including inbound and return courier arrangements, document handling and secure delivery back to your office, company address or home in the UAE.
GloboPrime Corporate Services Provider
CUBES Business Center
Al Khazna Tower, Office 1617, 16th Floor
Najda Street, Abu Dhabi, UAE
