Fees and steps checked on
South Korea certificate attestation prepares a Korean university diploma, family relation certificate, marriage relation certificate or corporate register for official use in the UAE. Private papers are notarised in Korea, the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirms the seal, the UAE Embassy in Seoul attests that confirmation and MOFA attestation in the UAE completes the chain.
Price: send a copy on WhatsApp and you get the total price plus VAT, all official fees included, before any work starts. Korea is quoted document by document. See attestation fees.
The Korean chain for UAE use
- Notarisation. VFS Global, MOFA's attestation service provider, lists notarisation as the first step. Diplomas, translations and powers of attorney go before a Korean notary.
- Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs. For a country outside the Apostille Convention, the ministry gives a consular confirmation of the official seal. Korea's apostille authorities include the foreign ministry, the Ministry of Justice, the National Court Administration and, since May 2023, the Overseas Koreans Agency.
- UAE Embassy in Seoul. The embassy attests the Korean ministry stamp. We found no digital attestation page for Seoul, so the paper route is assumed until confirmed on your file.
- MOFA UAE. The final stamp, applied for online inside the UAE.
Korean documents and their steps
| Document | First step in Korea | Foreign ministry | UAE steps |
|---|---|---|---|
| University diploma, transcript | Notarised copy | Confirmation | UAE Embassy Seoul, MOFA |
| Basic certificate (gibon jeungmyeongseo) | Issued by the family registration office | Confirmation | UAE Embassy Seoul, MOFA |
| Family relation certificate | Issued by the family registration office | Confirmation | UAE Embassy Seoul, MOFA |
| Marriage relation certificate | Issued by the family registration office | Confirmation | UAE Embassy Seoul, MOFA |
| Power of attorney | Signed before a Korean notary | Confirmation | UAE Embassy Seoul, MOFA |
| Corporate register, articles | Court registry extract, notary | Confirmation | UAE Embassy Seoul, MOFA (commercial fee) |
Korea has no single birth or marriage certificate in the Western sense. The family registration system issues separate certificates, and the right one depends on what the UAE office asks for, so check the request before ordering.
Official fees that apply
Our quote covers the Korean notary and ministry fees, the UAE mission fee and MOFA's fee.
Korean companies and staff in the UAE
Korean contractors and manufacturers working on UAE projects often need a corporate register, board resolution and power of attorney attested before a licence or tender. Each of these is a commercial document. Read company documents attestation first, so only the papers the licensing authority asks for are attested. Engineers relocating with family usually need a diploma for the work permit and the marriage relation certificate for the spouse's visa.
Applying from the UAE
You do not need to fly to Seoul. A colleague or relative in Korea can collect fresh certificates and hand them to the notary, or the original travels by courier. After the UAE Embassy in Seoul, it returns to Dubai or Abu Dhabi for the MOFA stage, which anyone may apply for on your behalf.
A spouse or child with certificates from Japan needs that country's own chain: see Japan certificate attestation.
Common problems with Korean files
- Hangul only. Family registration certificates come in Korean unless an English version is issued. MOFA needs Arabic or English or a certified translation, which we arrange through legal translation in Dubai.
- Name order and spelling. Korean surnames come first and romanisation varies. Match every translation to your passport.
- Wrong family certificate. A basic certificate does not show a spouse. For a family visa the marriage relation certificate is usually the one needed.
- Apostille ordered instead of confirmation. Ask for the consular confirmation route for UAE use.
See also marriage certificate attestation and degree certificate attestation.
