Notarising Immigration Documents for a UAE Visa Application from Australia

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026. The UAE has changed how it attests Australian documents, and may change it again. The UAE Embassy in Canberra's page on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) website is the source to check.

Moving to the UAE for work or to join family is where Australians meet document attestation in its full form. The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so an apostille will not do. Australian documents need DFAT authentication and then UAE attestation. The UAE's process for that second step has recently moved online, and much of the advice still circulating describes the older one.

Why an apostille is not enough

Check the HCCH status table on the day, but on the table as we reviewed it the UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention. For a non-member, DFAT issues an authentication rather than an apostille, and the destination country then adds its own attestation on top. Asking DFAT for an apostille on a document bound for the UAE is a common and avoidable mistake.

Which documents usually need attesting

For an employment visa: your degree. UAE government guidance on preparing to work in the private sector says degrees are authenticated by the foreign ministry of the issuing country and then by the UAE embassy there. For some professions, the UAE Ministry of Education must also attest or assess the qualification. Your employer, or the licensing body for your profession, will say which applies.

For family sponsorship: civil documents. Sponsoring a spouse or children typically means an attested marriage certificate and attested birth certificates. Dubai's family entry visa requirements, for example, list an attested birth certificate.

For legal matters: powers of attorney and declarations. These are private documents, and the UAE Embassy says they must be signed before a notary or legal authority in Australia before DFAT authenticates them.

Your employer's PRO or HR team will often know exactly which documents the UAE authority handling your file wants. Ask for the list in writing before you start.

The chain, step by step

1. A notary, where needed

• Powers of attorney, affidavits, declarations: signed before an Australian notary. This step is essential.
• Registry certificates (birth, marriage, death): DFAT can generally authenticate these directly, with no notary. Confirm with DFAT.
• Degrees: DFAT's published guidance now describes two routes. It can legalise your original university document once the university has verified it, or a copy notarised by an Australian notary, which also needs the university's verification, coordinated by the notary. Which suits you depends on whether you want to part with the original: the UAE attestation will be attached to whatever is submitted.

2. DFAT authentication

DFAT authenticates the signature and seal on the document, whether that is a registry officer's, a university officer's or a notary's. It does not check the contents. Ask for authentication for the UAE, not an apostille.

3. UAE attestation through the digital service

The UAE Embassy in Canberra now runs attestation of Australian documents as a digital service through MoFA:

• You apply on the MoFA website, logging in with UAE Pass, the UAE's digital identity, select Australia, and pay online.
• A MoFA-approved service provider collects the original documents from you.
• One application covers both the UAE Embassy in Canberra and MoFA. The older practice of having documents attested by the embassy in Australia and then separately by MoFA inside the UAE does not apply to documents processed this way.
• The attested document is returned, with the original sent back by courier.

Two conditions on the embassy's page catch people out:

• One document, one certificate. The embassy says documents certified "in a bundle" are not accepted. Each document needs its own DFAT certificate.
• Only Australian documents. A document issued in another country must be attested through the UAE mission in that country. The Canberra service will not take, for example, a UK degree held by someone living in Australia.

Check whether you can register for UAE Pass before you arrive in the UAE. If you cannot, ask your employer or the embassy how Australian documents are attested for applicants not yet in the UAE.

Timing

Everything in the chain happens in sequence: university verification, a notary appointment where needed, DFAT, then UAE attestation and courier. Employers sometimes set a start date before the documents can realistically be ready. Start with the degree, because university verification is outside your control, and do the registry certificates in parallel.

Translation

UAE authorities may want an Arabic translation of some documents, done inside the UAE by a translator they recognise. We have not been able to confirm the current rule for each authority. Ask the receiving authority, and do not pay for a translation in Australia until you know it will be accepted.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get an apostille for the UAE? No. The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention. Ask DFAT for authentication, then have the document attested through the UAE's digital service.

Do I still need MoFA attestation after I arrive? The UAE Embassy says one application through its digital service covers both the embassy and MoFA for Australian documents.

Does my marriage certificate need a notary first? Usually not. DFAT can generally authenticate registry certificates directly. Confirm with DFAT.

My degree is from New Zealand, but I live in Australia. Can the Canberra embassy attest it? No. The embassy says documents issued outside Australia must be attested by the UAE mission in the country that issued them.