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Sri Lanka certificate attestation is how a Sri Lankan degree, O/L or A/L certificate, birth or marriage certificate becomes valid in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and the other emirates. The document is first authenticated by Sri Lanka's Ministry of Foreign Affairs through its e-DAS system, then attested digitally by the UAE Embassy in Colombo, and that single digital step already carries the MOFA attestation the UAE needs.
Price: send a copy on WhatsApp and you get the total price plus VAT, all official fees included, before any work starts. Sri Lankan files are priced per document because some need a new registry certificate first. See attestation fees.
How the Sri Lankan chain works
- Fresh copy or verification. For personal records, VFS lists a new certificate from the registry and a registry check. Degrees are verified with the university, and exam results with the Department of Examinations.
- Ministry of Education (academic papers). VFS lists this step for educational certificates.
- Sri Lanka Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Consular Affairs Division authenticates the document. Its Electronic Document Authentication System (e-DAS) is linked to local universities, the Department of Examinations, the Sri Lanka Medical Council, Sri Lanka Police and the Registrar of Companies, so many records are checked online at source.
- UAE Embassy in Colombo, digital. You apply on the MOFA website with UAE PASS and choose Sri Lanka as the country of issuance. VFS Lanka collects the original, and the document comes back by email attested by both the embassy and MOFA.
- Original returned. The paper original is couriered back to you. It is not needed again for the UAE stage.
Birth, marriage and death certificates can also be authenticated online by the Sri Lankan foreign ministry, a service launched in September 2024 with the Registrar General's Department.
Sri Lankan documents we attest
| Document | Checked by | Foreign ministry | UAE stage |
|---|---|---|---|
| University degree, transcript | University, Ministry of Education | e-DAS authentication | UAE Embassy Colombo digital (includes MOFA) |
| GCE O/L or A/L certificate | Department of Examinations | e-DAS authentication | UAE Embassy Colombo digital (includes MOFA) |
| Birth certificate | Registrar General's Department | Authentication, online option | UAE Embassy Colombo digital (includes MOFA) |
| Marriage certificate | Registrar General's Department | Authentication, online option | UAE Embassy Colombo digital (includes MOFA) |
| Police clearance | Sri Lanka Police | e-DAS authentication | UAE Embassy Colombo digital (includes MOFA) |
| Power of attorney | Sri Lankan notary | Foreign ministry | UAE Embassy Colombo digital (commercial if commercial content) |
Rules from the UAE Embassy in Colombo: birth, marriage and death certificates must be originals, each document is processed on its own, memorandum and articles of association are attested separately, and laminated documents are refused.
Fees on the UAE side
Every official fee and the courier are included in the total price you get before any work starts. If the embassy rejects an application, the attestation fee is refunded automatically, but the service and delivery fee is not.
Living in the UAE with a Sri Lankan document
You do not travel to Colombo. A relative can lodge the papers, or the file goes by courier. Because the UAE Embassy in Colombo route already includes MOFA, the digitally attested copy you receive by email is ready for a family visa or job file. Anyone can check it with the reference number and issue date, as explained on MOFA attestation verification.
If you also studied, married or had a child in India, the steps for those papers are on Indian certificate attestation.
What goes wrong with Sri Lankan files
- Sinhala or Tamil certificates. Older birth and marriage certificates are often only in Sinhala or Tamil. MOFA needs Arabic or English or a certified translation, which we arrange through legal translation in Dubai when the UAE office asks for one.
- Name order. Sri Lankan names often put the family or given names in a different order from the passport. Send a passport copy so the match is clear.
- Faded registry copies. An old extract may be refused. A new certificate from the registry avoids this.
- Wrong embassy. Only Sri Lankan documents can go through the UAE Embassy in Colombo. A degree earned in another country follows that country's chain.
Next steps by document: degree certificate attestation and birth certificate attestation.
