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The MOFA stamp is the attestation of the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs: the last stamp a document needs before UAE authorities accept it, or before a UAE document is used abroad. Today it is often digital rather than an ink stamp: on a digitally attested document it appears on the last page with a reference number, the date, the amount paid and a verification element such as a QR code. You get it through the MOFA attestation process, which is applied for online.
Price: The MOFA stamp on a UAE document costs from AED 250 plus VAT with us, all official fees included. See attestation fees.
What the MOFA stamp does
The MOFA stamp does not check the content of your degree or certificate. It confirms that the stamps before it are genuine: the issuing authority's attestation for a UAE document, or the UAE embassy attestation for a document from abroad. That is why MOFA only attests documents that already carry the earlier stamps.
Paper stamp or digital attestation
| Type | When you get it | Where it appears |
|---|---|---|
| Paper attestation | UAE paper documents on the courier route, and countries still on the older route | On the original document |
| Digital attestation, UAE documents | Eligible UAE digital PDFs with a QR code or reference number | Last page of the PDF |
| Embassy and MOFA digital attestation | Documents from the UK, the USA and several other countries | Sent by email, attested by both the UAE embassy and MOFA |
On the embassy digital route, one digital attestation covers both the UAE embassy and MOFA. There is no separate MOFA stamp to add in the UAE afterwards.
How to read a MOFA stamp
On a digitally attested document, look at the last page for four elements:
- Reference number: the unique number of the attestation.
- Date: when it was attested.
- Amount paid: the fee paid to MOFA.
- Verification element: such as a QR code, used to confirm it is genuine.
You can confirm any attestation on verify.mofa.gov.ae with the reference number and issue date. Step by step in MOFA attestation verification.
MOFA stamp for a marriage certificate
A marriage certificate from abroad, used for a spouse's residence visa, needs the full chain: the home-country foreign ministry, the UAE embassy and the MOFA stamp. For UK and US certificates, the embassy and MOFA attestation now come together digitally. A UAE marriage certificate needs the issuing authority's attestation first. See marriage certificate attestation.
MOFA stamp for an educational certificate
Skilled work permits need a MOFA-attested educational certificate from abroad, and so does the golden visa skilled professional route. A degree from abroad first needs any notary or education authority step, then the foreign ministry, then the UAE embassy and MOFA. See degree certificate attestation.
MOFA stamp times
| Document | Who stamps it | Usual time |
|---|---|---|
| UAE personal document, courier | MOFA | 1 to 3 business days |
| UAE personal document, digital | MOFA | within 2 hours in working hours |
| UAE commercial document | MOFA | 1 to 3 business days |
| Personal document from abroad | UAE embassy and MOFA | usually 2 to 3 working days for that stage |
MOFA stamp on UAE documents used abroad
UAE documents need the MOFA stamp too, before the embassy of the destination country accepts them. Some UAE documents now get it in one combined procedure:
| UAE document | How it is attested |
|---|---|
| School certificate (Emirates Schools Establishment) | Digital certificate attestation, then MOFA and embassy |
| MOHAP birth or death certificate | Digital MOFA and embassy attestation while applying through MOHAP |
| Other UAE documents | Issuing authority, then MOFA by courier or digitally |
See attesting UAE documents for use abroad.
MOFA stamp, foreign affairs stamp and apostille
Other countries' foreign ministries also stamp documents, and some issue an apostille. Those stamps come earlier in the chain and do not replace the UAE MOFA stamp. The UAE is not in the Apostille Convention, so a document with only an apostille still needs the UAE embassy and MOFA. See attestation vs apostille.
Common problems with the MOFA stamp
- Missing earlier stamp. MOFA cannot attest without the issuing authority or embassy step.
- Laminated document. It cannot be stamped.
- Wrong destination country on a digital application. It cannot be changed afterwards.
We are a private document service, not MOFA. We get the stamps your document is missing and file the MOFA application on your behalf. To apply yourself, see MOFA attestation online.
