| Your Saudi Requirement | Documents Commonly Involved | Important Saudi Requirement |
|---|---|---|
| MISA Investment Registration | Commercial Registration, financial statements | Current MISA requirements call for Saudi Embassy certification |
| Saudi Foreign Company Branch | Partners’ resolution, company constitutional document, investment registration | Branch resolution must be authenticated |
| Regional Headquarters | Foreign company commercial records | Current MISA RHQ requirements include Saudi Embassy-certified commercial records |
| Commercial Agency / Distribution | Agency or distribution agreement | Special Ministry of Commerce authentication requirements apply |
| Commercial Power of Attorney | POA, company records | Commercial document category; receiving authority requirements must be checked |
| Exporting Goods to Saudi Arabia | Commercial Invoice, COO, Bill of Lading | Invoice and COO use a different UAE MOFA service |
| Saudi Customs Clearance | Invoice, Bill of Lading, COO where required | Current ZATCA rules apply |
| Saudi MOFA Attestation | Embassy-attested document where required | Not automatically required for every Saudi commercial submission |
UAE companies entering the Saudi market through the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia – MISA must prepare the correct foreign company documents before applying for Investment Registration.
MISA currently requires:
The foreign company’s Commercial Registration certified by the Saudi Embassy
The company’s financial statements for the last fiscal year certified by the Saudi Embassy
Documents required for the selected business activity
For a UAE company, this normally means preparing the Commercial Registration or equivalent company registration document together with the latest financial statements and completing the required UAE and Saudi attestation.
The company name, registration details and financial year should match the entity applying to MISA. Financial statements belonging to another company in the group should not be substituted unless that entity is the actual applicant.
For a UAE-issued company document, the process normally starts with certification by the authority responsible for that document.
The first requirement differs between mainland and free zone companies. DIFC, DMCC, JAFZA and other UAE free zone authorities issue and verify their own company documents. Where required, the company should obtain certification or verification from the relevant registrar or free zone authority before submitting the document to MOFA. Eligible UAE-issued digital documents with a QR code, reference number or other verification feature can also qualify for MOFA Digital Attestation.
For company-prepared documents such as Board Resolutions, Commercial Powers of Attorney and corporate agreements, the company may need to complete notarisation or another applicable UAE certification step before MOFA, depending on the document and how the company executed it.
We check this requirement before the document is submitted so that it does not enter the UAE MOFA process with an incomplete prior certification.
The document is then submitted to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Official MOFA Fee
AED 2,000 per document
Contracts & Agreements
Can be assessed as more than one commercial document depending on their contents
The official UAE MOFA fee for a commercial document is AED 2,000 per document. MOFA also states that contracts or agreements can be assessed as more than one commercial document depending on their contents.
For eligible UAE-issued digital commercial documents, MOFA Digital Attestation can remove the physical courier step at the UAE MOFA stage, with the completed attestation issued electronically. MOFA automatically determines Digital Attestation eligibility according to the issuing authority and document type.
After the required UAE attestation is complete, the document proceeds for Saudi ratification where required.
The Saudi Embassy’s official UAE guidance states that documents issued in the UAE must first be attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs before Saudi ratification. The Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs also operates an electronic ratification request service covering commercial documents
UAE Issuing Authority / Certification → UAE MOFA Commercial Attestation → Saudi Embassy or Consular Ratification Where Required
Send us a copy of your commercial document and tell us where it will be submitted in Saudi Arabia. GloboPrime Corporate Services Provider will check the required UAE certification, MOFA attestation and Saudi Embassy or Consulate process before you proceed.
Abu Dhabi Office
GloboPrime Corporate Services ProviderContact Details
+971 2 634 4789
+971 56 933 9396
WhatsApp: +971 52 229 8985
info@globoprime.ae
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