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Documents for Dubai: the legalisation chain explained

The UAE is not an apostille country, so the single stamp that suffices within Europe doesn't exist here. Every certificate goes through a chain: any pre-legalisation, the Consulair Dienstencentrum in The Hague (€ 10 per document), and the UAE embassy, which since digital attestation also covers the ministry in the Emirates in a single application. Which documents you need, in which order the stamps go, and why you do this before departure.

5 min read

Written and checked by Auke on , against the sources at the bottom. Is something no longer right? Report it below and I'll fix it.

For Dubai one stamp is not enough: your Dutch certificates go through the full legalisation chain. The United Arab Emirates is not on the list of countries that have joined the Apostille Convention. That is the treaty under which countries accept each other's stamp on a certificate.

So your certificate first gets a stamp in the Netherlands, and then one from the Emirates.

  • The good news. Since the introduction of digital attestation (confirmation by the Emirates, now online) at the UAE embassy in The Hague, that second link has become a single application. It also covers the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Emirates.
  • The bad news. You need a UAE Pass for it, the digital login of the Emirates, and every original has to go physically.

Why is one stamp not enough?

An apostille works because the member countries accept each other's stamp without further checks. The Emirates do not take part. Trust is therefore built link by link:

  • a Dutch authority confirms the document;
  • the Consular Service Centre (CDC) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms that authority;
  • the Emirates confirm the ministry.

By comparison: Morocco is on the apostille list. If you are torn between the two destinations, you need just one stamp there.

How does the chain run?

The pre-legalisation, a first stamp from a Dutch authority, only where it is needed. NederlandWereldwijd names the court, the Chamber of Commerce and DUO as authorities that may come before the CDC. Diplomas recognised by the Ministry of Education (OCW) are first legalised by DUO.

The CDC in The Hague then legalises the Dutch document. That costs € 10 per document. At the counter on the Rijnstraat it can be done Monday to Friday between 9.00 and 12.00, with an average wait of an hour. By post you get an email about payment within five working days of receipt. After payment the CDC returns the documents by registered mail within five to seven working days.

The UAE embassy in The Hague gives the final attestation, and it is digital.

This is how it goes:

  • You apply on the website of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, logged in with UAE Pass, and pay online.
  • A courier collects the originals and the embassy attests.
  • You get the document back by email, with the attestation of both the embassy and the ministry in the Emirates.
  • The originals come back by courier, according to the embassy within 24 to 48 hours of release.
Link Who Cost or deadline
Pre-legalisation court, Chamber of Commerce or DUO, where needed per authority
Legalisation in the Netherlands Consular Service Centre, The Hague € 10 per document; by post 5 plus 5 to 7 working days
Attestation for the Emirates UAE embassy, digital, with UAE Pass return after release in 24 to 48 hours
From outside the Emirates, via a service provider MOFA in the Emirates up to 15 working days

Rather have everything for Dubai on one list?

Then we'll send you the departure checklist for Dubai, with every step in order, and five mails about the pitfalls and the real costs. You can switch it off at any time.

We use your address, and your departure date if you fill it in, only for the checklist, the guide and the mails after it. You can unsubscribe under every mail.

Which embassy rules do you need to know?

The embassy lists a few that hit exactly the mistakes people make:

  • personal certificates such as birth, marriage and death certificates must be submitted as originals;
  • documents apostilled as a bundle are not accepted: each document separately;
  • laminated documents cannot be attested;
  • a power of attorney is first signed before a Dutch notary and then legalised by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
  • documents that do not come from the Kingdom must be attested by the UAE mission in the country that issued them.

If an application is rejected, you get the attestation fee back, but not the service fee and delivery.

The CDC does not legalise every old document. The CDC cannot always legalise documents older than a year. So do not request certificates years in advance and keep them in a drawer, but request them as soon as your departure becomes serious. If in doubt, email the CDC a scan first.

Which documents do you need?

The family visa is the big consumer. For sponsoring partner and children the GDRFA, Dubai's immigration authority, asks for a certified marriage contract and an attested birth certificate. The government portal names the attested birth certificate as a fixed part of the file for a child.

In addition:

  • diplomas, for anyone choosing a visa route in which education counts;
  • the pupil file, where the school asks for it.

Request certificates in duplicate straight away. From the Netherlands an extra original is a matter of one request to the municipality that drew up the certificate. From Dubai every missing certificate becomes a process of powers of attorney and couriers.

And the reverse route?

If you later need a document from the Emirates in the Netherlands, for example the birth certificate of a child born there, the chain runs the other way. First it goes to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Emirates, then to the Dutch consulate-general in Dubai.

There that takes two to three working days according to NederlandWereldwijd, without an appointment. The consulate-general sends nothing by post: you collect the document yourself. Arabic documents are translated by a sworn translator; English documents are not.

In Vertrekklaar this is phase 2 of 5 of the journey: the same steps, but applied to your situation — in your order, tickable, and with the deadlines monitored. See the whole journey to Dubai.

Want to know more about this?

Then we'll send you the departure checklist for Dubai, with every step in order, and five mails about the pitfalls and the real costs. You can switch it off at any time.

We use your address, and your departure date if you fill it in, only for the checklist, the guide and the mails after it. You can unsubscribe under every mail.

What this rests on

The facts in this article come from these official pages. Rules change. When in doubt, go by the source, not this article.

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