UAE Embassy Attestation in Singapore for Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the Other Emirates

Why the UAE needs attestation, not an apostille

The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille by itself has no special standing there. UAE authorities rely on their own embassy to confirm that the Singapore authority's seal is genuine. SAL's practice is to apostille everything it authenticates, so your document will carry an SAL apostille with the UAE Embassy stamp added on top. That is normal and expected.

The UAE Embassy in Singapore will only endorse documents issued by Singapore authorities, Singapore-registered institutions, companies and organisations. A degree from a UK or Australian university, or a certificate issued by an overseas online course provider, must be attested through the issuing country instead, even if you now live in Singapore.

The attestation chain: notary, SAL, UAE Embassy, then MOFA

1. 1Notary (private documents only). Powers of attorney, board resolutions, certified passport copies, translations and constitutions certified by a director are signed or certified before a Singapore notary public. Public documents skip this step.
2. 2SAL apostille. SAL authenticates the notary's or issuing officer's signature at 1 Coleman Street, typically over the counter.
3. 3UAE Embassy in Singapore. Documents are submitted Monday to Friday between 9:00 and 11:30am, no appointment needed. The fee is paid through the MOFA eGate portal, and the embassy aims to finish in 0–3 working days. Collection is 2:00–3:30pm.
4. 4UAE MOFA. The final attestation is done by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs inside the UAE, through its digital service or a service centre. Your employer, PRO or company formation agent usually does this on arrival.

The chain is the same whatever the emirate. For the general non-Hague process and other Gulf countries, see our embassy legalisation service.

Degree attestation for UAE jobs

For UAE employment visas and professional licences, the degree certificate is the document most often asked for attested. Singapore university and polytechnic certificates from NUS, NTU, SMU, SIT, SUSS, SUTD and the polytechnics are public documents, so SAL can authenticate the original directly; no notary is required. See our degree certificate apostille page for the SAL rules on each institution.

What we typically ask for:

• The original degree certificate (not laminated; SAL rejects laminated originals)
• A copy of your passport
• A letter from the university confirming the award: VFS Global's UAE checklist for Singapore certificates lists one, so we confirm with the embassy whether yours needs it
• Transcripts, if your licensing body wants them attested as well

If you would rather keep the original at home, a notarised certified copy can be attested in its place, but some UAE licensing bodies want the original attested. Ask your HR team which they need before we start.

Company documents for UAE free zones and mainland

Setting up a branch or subsidiary in a UAE free zone or on the mainland usually means attesting a parent-company bundle:

• ACRA Business Profile and Certificate of Incorporation
• Company constitution
• Board resolution approving the UAE entity and appointing its manager
• Power of attorney for the local agent or PRO
• Passport copies of directors and shareholders

Board resolutions, POAs and certified copies are notarised first. SAL can issue an e-Apostille on ACRA extracts, but a UAE embassy counter works with paper, so for this chain we obtain paper documents. Company papers fall into the embassy's commercial fee category rather than the non-commercial one used for personal certificates. Our company documents apostille and overseas company setup pages explain the Singapore side in more detail.

Arabic translation for UAE use

UAE courts, ministries and many free zones work in Arabic. Whether they need an Arabic translation, and who must make it, depends on the authority:

• UAE MOFA itself attests documents in English or Arabic, so many employers accept the English original after attestation.
• Courts and several government departments generally expect an Arabic legal translation made in the UAE by a licensed legal translator.
• Some free zones accept a translation done in Singapore if it is notarised and goes through the same attestation chain.

If a Singapore-made translation is acceptable, we arrange it, check every name against passports, and have it notarised with the source document so the whole bundle is attested together. If the UAE authority wants a UAE-licensed translator, it is usually cheaper to attest the English document here and translate in the UAE. Ask the receiving authority before paying for a translation.

UAE attestation price and time

For a Singapore degree, allow 1–2 working days for SAL, then 3–7 working days for the embassy step; the embassy itself aims for 0–3 working days after payment. Company bundles and translations add time. See the full breakdown on our apostille price page. We cannot promise how the UAE authority will treat your document; that decision rests with them.