Fees and steps checked on
Sweden certificate attestation for the UAE starts in an unusual place. Sweden hands apostilles to its notaries public, not to a ministry, so many Swedish documents arrive in Dubai with a notary's apostille and nothing else. For the UAE you need the Swedish Ministry for Foreign Affairs to legalise the document, then the UAE Embassy in Stockholm, and finally MOFA attestation. This applies to degrees, birth and marriage certificates, powers of attorney and company documents.
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.
Apostille versus legalisation in Sweden
| Apostille | Legalisation | |
|---|---|---|
| Who issues it | Any Swedish notary public | Ministry for Foreign Affairs |
| Used for | Hague Convention countries | Countries outside the Convention, such as the UAE |
| Accepted alone in the UAE? | No | No, the UAE Embassy and MOFA still follow |
| Language rule | Set by the notary | Document must be in, or translated into, Swedish or English |
The Swedish ministry says plainly that it does not issue apostilles, and that a legalised document normally then goes to the embassy in Stockholm of the country where it will be used. For you, that embassy is the UAE's.
Route from Sweden to the UAE
- Notary public, where needed. Copies, translations, powers of attorney and private documents are certified by a notary first.
- Ministry for Foreign Affairs legalisation. The ministry confirms the signature and stamp, and the capacity of the person who signed. It does not check the content.
- UAE Embassy in Stockholm. The embassy attests the ministry's legalisation. Its attestation service sits on the MOFA website, and the application is made through MOFA.
- MOFA in the UAE. The final stamp, by courier through MOFA's approved channels, or included in the embassy step if it is done digitally. Which applies is confirmed when you send a copy.
Common Swedish documents
- Degree certificates (examensbevis) and transcripts for work permits. See degree certificate attestation.
- Population register extracts from the Swedish Tax Agency, used as birth or marriage proof. See birth certificate attestation.
- Marriage certificates for a family visa, covered on marriage certificate attestation.
- Powers of attorney signed before a Swedish notary.
- Company registration certificates and board minutes, at the commercial MOFA fee.
What it costs on the official side
MOFA's fee, the UAE mission fee and the Swedish ministry's legalisation fee are all included in the total you receive. A Swedish notary's apostille is not the step the UAE needs.
Things that slow Swedish files down
- A notary copy that should be an original. The Swedish ministry generally will not legalise a notary's copy when the original's signer could sign it directly. Order a fresh original where you can.
- Questionable documents. Since 1 July 2025 the ministry can refuse to legalise where accuracy is clearly in doubt. Clean, complete originals pass more easily.
- Language. Swedish is fine for the Swedish ministry but not for MOFA. Plan an English or Arabic translation, which we can do through legal translation in Dubai.
- Laminated cards or certificates. MOFA does not accept laminated documents.
If you also studied, married or had a child in Denmark, the steps for those papers are on Denmark certificate attestation.
Living in the UAE already?
There is no need to fly to Stockholm. You send the original to Sweden by courier or give it to a relative, the ministry and embassy steps are handled there, and the attested document returns to you in Dubai, Abu Dhabi or Sharjah.
