Fees and steps checked on
Somalia certificate attestation prepares a Somali university degree, marriage certificate or birth certificate for a UAE work permit, family visa or court case. Somalia is outside the Apostille Convention, as is the UAE, so the route is classic legalisation: the competent Somali ministry validates the document, the Consular Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalises it, the UAE Embassy in Mogadishu attests it, and MOFA attestation completes it in the UAE.
Price: send a copy on WhatsApp and you get the total price plus VAT, all official fees included, before any work starts. See attestation fees.
Two Somali stamps, not one
The step people skip is the first one. Before the foreign ministry legalises anything, the ministry responsible for the document validates it: education for academic papers, justice for court and divorce documents. Embassy guidance from Mogadishu sets it out this way. A degree taken straight to the foreign ministry without the education check can be sent back, so we confirm the ministry step first.
Somali chain at a glance
- Issuing institution. University, school, hospital, municipality, court or notary.
- Competent ministry. Education for diplomas and transcripts; Ministry of Justice for divorce certificates and court orders; confirmed for other documents.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Consular Affairs Department. Legalisation in Mogadishu.
- UAE Embassy in Mogadishu. Lido Street, Old Port area. Current submission method confirmed per file.
- MOFA in the UAE. The final stamp.
Somali documents and their UAE purpose
| Document | Ministry before the MFA | UAE use |
|---|---|---|
| University degree, transcript | Education | Skilled work permit, degree certificate attestation |
| Secondary school certificate | Education | University admission |
| Marriage certificate | Confirmed per file | Spouse visa, marriage certificate attestation |
| Divorce certificate | Justice | Remarriage, custody, divorce certificate attestation |
| Birth certificate | Confirmed per file | Child residence visa |
| Police clearance | Issued by police | Some employers and licences |
| Power of attorney | Notary, then MFA | Property, family or company matters |
Language and names
Somali documents may be in Somali, Arabic or English. Arabic and English are accepted by MOFA as they are. Somali-only documents need a certified translation into Arabic or English; for a UAE court, a translator licensed by the UAE Ministry of Justice can prepare the Arabic version through our legal translation in Dubai service.
Somali names usually follow given name, father's name, grandfather's name. A passport, a degree and a marriage certificate can show that chain differently, or spell it differently. Your UAE file should match the passport exactly, and we flag differences before the document leaves Mogadishu.
Other pitfalls
- Regional documents. Certificates from regional administrations may need extra confirmation before the federal ministry legalises them. We check this first.
- Photocopies. MOFA needs the original.
- Lamination. Laminated certificates are refused by MOFA.
Documents from Ethiopia follow a different chain, set out on Ethiopia certificate attestation, so if you hold papers from both countries the two routes can be planned side by side.
Starting from the UAE
You do not have to travel. Family in Mogadishu can take the original to the ministries, and the UAE Embassy sits in Mogadishu too. The original only travels abroad once: to the UAE for MOFA, and then back to you.
