Documents for Dubai: the legalisation chain explained

For fourteen corridors the answer to the documents question had kept getting shorter: within the EU no apostille needed any more, towards Norway a single stamp. Dubai rewinds the film to the beginning: the UAE isn't on the apostille list, and so the full legalisation chain applies — the system the apostille once replaced.

Why one stamp isn't enough

An apostille works because two countries trust each other's stamps blindly through the Apostille Convention. The UAE doesn't take part in that, so the trust has to be built up link by link: a Dutch authority confirms the document, the ministry confirms that authority, and the UAE embassy confirms the ministry. Every link is a counter, a fee and a few days.

The chain, in order

Step one — the pre-legalisation, only where it's needed: diplomas go past DUO first, some certificates past the court. Municipal certificates (birth, marriage) can usually go straight on to step two.

Step two — the Consulair Dienstencentrum (CDC, the Dutch consular service centre) in The Hague: € 10 per document, at the counter on the Rijnstraat or by post (five to seven working days). This is the cheap, predictable link.

Step three — the UAE embassy in The Hague legalises the CDC-stamped document. Its fees aren't officially published anywhere; count on a few tens of euros apiece and enquire in advance. Bear in mind that in the UAE itself a further attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs sometimes follows — the mirror route for UAE documents towards the Netherlands in any case runs via that ministry too.

Which documents you need

The family visa is the big consumer: the GDRFA asks for a legalised marriage certificate and legalised birth certificates of the children. In addition: diplomas for whoever applies for a skilled category or goes to work in education or healthcare, and the pupil's school record where the school asks for it. Request certificates in duplicate straight away — a second original costs a few euros at your municipality, and in Dubai a return flight.

The one rule that sums it all up

Do this before departure, in one concentrated round. From the Netherlands the chain is a matter of weeks and tens of euros; from Dubai every missing stamp becomes a parcel, a power of attorney and a favour from someone at home. There's no step in the whole process where delay is paid for more dearly than here.

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.