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Certificate attestation is the chain of stamps that lets a UAE authority accept a document issued somewhere else. For a degree, birth or marriage certificate from abroad, the usual route is the home country first, then the UAE embassy in that country, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in the UAE. MOFA charges AED 150 for a personal document and AED 2,000 for a commercial one.
When a UAE visa or job needs attestation
You do not need every certificate attested. You need the ones a specific application asks for. These are the cases set out by the authorities:
| Application | What must be attested | Who asks |
|---|---|---|
| Work permit, skill levels 1 and 2 | Bachelor's degree or higher | MOHRE |
| Work permit, skill levels 3 and 4 | Diploma or higher | MOHRE |
| Work permit, skill level 5 | High school certificate | MOHRE |
| Work permit, skill levels 6 to 9 | No certificate needed | MOHRE |
| Family visa for a child | Attested birth certificate | GDRFA |
| Family visa for a spouse | Certified marriage contract | GDRFA |
| Golden visa as a skilled professional | Degree attested if issued in the UAE; a foreign degree needs Ministry of Education equivalency | GDRFA |
Sources: MOHRE work permit service, GDRFA family visa and golden residency service pages, checked .
MOHRE also counts anyone earning under AED 4,000 a month, or without a degree, as not skilled. If the job needs a skilled category, attest the degree before the offer is processed, not after. The employment visa page shows the rest of the work permit file, and the family visa page covers sponsoring a spouse and children.
The route: home country, UAE embassy, MOFA
Each stamp confirms the one before it, so the order cannot be skipped.
- The issuing country. The document is first checked by authorities in the country that issued it. For an education certificate that is often the issuing university or education department, then a national body such as the foreign ministry. The exact stamps vary from country to country.
- The UAE embassy or consulate in that country. It attests the document once the home-country stamps are on it.
- MOFA in the UAE. The last stamp, applied in the UAE. With it, UAE bodies such as MOHRE and GDRFA can accept the document.
The step that catches people is the first one. If you are already living in Dubai and the certificate is still unstamped at home, someone has to take or send it to the right office there. Check the current requirements with the UAE embassy in the issuing country before you post an original anywhere.
MOFA fees
| MOFA service | Fee |
|---|---|
| Personal document (degree, birth, marriage certificate, personal POA) | AED 150 |
| Courier delivery, normal | AED 40 (excl. VAT) |
| Courier delivery, express | AED 150 (excl. VAT) |
Source: MOFA FAQs, checked . Company papers such as an MOA or a commercial power of attorney are charged at the commercial rate and have their own page: company document attestation. If MOFA rejects an application, the fee is refunded automatically within 14 days, but courier fees are not refunded.
What attestation costs in total
MOFA's fee is the only part with a fixed government price in the UAE. The home-country and embassy fees depend on the country, and agencies add their own charge. Two published market figures help you budget, both from price lists of Dubai PRO firms, agencies and media cost guides, checked :
- Attesting a marriage certificate for a family visa usually adds AED 500 to AED 1,200 to the visa cost.
- At least one Dubai PRO firm lists attestation handling at AED 200 to AED 500 per document, on top of government fees.
Legal translation into Arabic
Some UAE authorities want an Arabic version next to the attested original. UAE guides report that legal translators are licensed by the Ministry of Justice, but no official page confirms that every authority insists on one, so ask the authority receiving your file what it accepts.
Published prices from Dubai translation offices and PRO firms, checked , put a certified legal translation at about AED 80 to AED 200 per page, and AED 25 to AED 65 for a simple personal certificate. Some offices charge the Ministry of Justice stamp separately, at AED 50 to AED 150 per document, and urgent work adds 25 to 50%.
Mistakes that send documents back
- Sending a copy when the original is expected. Ask first which one the chain needs, or you lose a round trip.
- Names that do not match the passport. A spelling difference between the certificate and the passport can stall a visa file. Sort it out at the source before attesting.
- Skipping the home-country stamp. Each stamp confirms the one before it, so a missing first stamp stops the whole chain.
- Paying express courier you do not need. The express fee is not refundable even if the application fails.
- Translating too early. Translate after the final stamp, so the translation shows every attestation on the document.
Handing your certificate to the partner team
Send a photo of the certificate, the country that issued it and the visa or job it is for. The partner team maps the stamps it needs, arranges the home-country and UAE embassy steps, submits it to MOFA and orders a legal translation only if the receiving office wants one. Most delays start with a skipped home-country stamp or a name that differs from the passport, so both are checked first. You skip the embassy queue and the courier tracking. Before anything is sent, you see one total, with the MOFA and embassy fees and the service charge listed separately. Company papers for a renewal sit on the trade licence renewal page and the PRO services page.
