Fees and steps checked on
Ireland certificate attestation makes an Irish degree, marriage certificate, birth certificate or company document valid in the UAE. The chain is: an Irish notary or solicitor where needed, the authentication or apostille stamp of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), the UAE embassy step, then MOFA attestation. It is needed for work visas, family residence visas and school places in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates.
Price: Ireland has no fixed price on our list. Send a copy on WhatsApp and you get the total price, all official fees included, before any work starts. See attestation fees.
How Irish attestation works, step by step
- Notary or solicitor, where needed. Copies, powers of attorney and company documents are certified by an Irish notary or solicitor first, so the DFA has a signature it can verify.
- Department of Foreign Affairs. The DFA consular section adds its stamp: one stamp per document.
- UAE embassy step. The DFA-stamped document is attested by the UAE mission that currently handles Irish documents. The application is booked through the MOFA portal and VFS Global, MOFA's attestation service provider. Routing for Irish documents has changed over time, so we confirm the mission for your document before you pay.
- MOFA. The document receives MOFA attestation. Where the mission uses digital attestation, the embassy and MOFA stamps are issued together.
Irish documents and prices
| Document | Examples | Our total price |
|---|---|---|
| Educational | Degree, transcript, Leaving Certificate | quoted after you share a copy |
| Personal | Marriage, birth, divorce certificate | quoted after you share a copy |
| Commercial | Certificate of incorporation, board resolution, power of attorney | quoted after you share a copy |
| Export of goods | Commercial invoice, certificate of origin | quoted after you share a copy |
Official fees on the Irish route
| Step | Who stamps it | Usual time |
|---|---|---|
| Certification (if needed) | Irish notary or solicitor | by appointment |
| Authentication | Irish Department of Foreign Affairs | confirmed with your quote |
| UAE embassy | UAE mission handling Irish documents | confirmed with your quote |
| MOFA | UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs | confirmed with your quote |
Our total already includes every official fee and the courier.
Which Irish documents need which step
- Degrees from Irish universities: the file most often needed for a skilled work permit or professional licence. See Ireland degree attestation.
- Marriage certificates: needed to sponsor a spouse on a family visa. See Ireland marriage certificate attestation.
- Birth certificates: needed for a child's residence visa and school admission. See Ireland birth certificate attestation.
- Commercial invoices: these follow a different path in the UAE. MOFA attests invoices through its eDAS system, separate from other commercial documents. See commercial document attestation.
Apostille or attestation?
Ireland is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention and the UAE is not. So an Irish apostille is only the first half of the job. Read attestation vs apostille if you were told an apostille is enough.
Where Irish documents are used in the UAE
Irish nurses, doctors, teachers and engineers attest their qualification because the work permit for a skilled role asks for it, and licensing bodies often do too. Families use attested Irish marriage and birth certificates to sponsor a spouse and children on a residence visa in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. Company owners attest Irish incorporation documents to open a UAE branch.
Already in the UAE?
Hand over the original in Dubai. It goes to Ireland for the notary and DFA steps, through the UAE embassy step, then MOFA. You do not need to travel to Dublin or book anything with the DFA yourself.
If you also studied, married or had a child in the UK, the steps for those papers are on UK certificate attestation.
Common problems with Irish documents
- Stopping at the DFA stamp. The UAE still needs the embassy and MOFA steps.
- Following old routing advice. Guides online give different UAE missions for Irish documents. Confirm the current one before you send anything.
- Laminated certificates. MOFA does not accept them. Order a replacement first.
- Scans or photos. The chain needs the physical original.
- Irish-language documents. MOFA accepts Arabic or English, so a document only in Irish needs a legal translation.
