Fees and steps checked on
Syria certificate attestation is the chain that lets a Syrian degree, marriage contract, birth certificate or family record extract be used in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah or Ajman. Syria has no apostille. The Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates attests the document, the UAE Embassy in Damascus attests that stamp, and MOFA attestation completes it for the UAE.
Price: send a copy on WhatsApp and you get the total price plus VAT, all official fees included, before any work starts. There is no fixed Syria price, because the Syrian steps depend on the document and the governorate that issued it. See attestation fees.
Where things stand in 2026
The UAE closed its embassy in Damascus in 2012 and reopened it in December 2018. In between, a UAE consular section worked from the Syrian embassy in Abu Dhabi. Today the Damascus embassy's own services page lists attestation, but we could not read a published procedure, fee or digital option for Syrian documents. Syria is also not on the VFS Global list for UAE attestation. So we do not promise a fixed route: the current way the embassy accepts Syrian documents is confirmed when you send a copy.
The Syrian chain
- Issuing office. The civil registry, court, university or school issues the certificate or a fresh extract.
- Syrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates. The ministry attests it in Damascus or at a governorate consular office. Since late 2025 it uses a digital sticker, running in Damascus, Aleppo, Homs and Daraa, with appointments booked electronically.
- UAE Embassy in Damascus. The embassy attests the Syrian ministry stamp.
- MOFA in the UAE. The final stamp.
Syrian documents people bring us
| Document | First step in Syria | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Marriage contract | Sharia court or civil registry | Syrian MFA, UAE Embassy Damascus, MOFA |
| Family record extract | Civil registry | Syrian MFA, UAE Embassy Damascus, MOFA |
| Birth certificate | Civil registry | Syrian MFA, UAE Embassy Damascus, MOFA |
| University degree and transcript | University | Syrian MFA, UAE Embassy Damascus, MOFA |
| Secondary school certificate | Education directorate | Syrian MFA, UAE Embassy Damascus, MOFA |
| Power of attorney | Syrian notary | Syrian MFA, UAE Embassy Damascus, MOFA |
For a degree used for a skilled work permit, check whether a ministry of higher education stamp is also needed. That is confirmed for your university when we see the copy.
Condition of the original
The Syrian ministry refuses documents that are damaged, scratched or altered. Many Syrian families in the UAE hold certificates that are years old, folded or taped. In that case the fix is a newly issued extract from the civil registry, which a relative or a lawyer in Syria can request. You are told before any work starts if your original will not pass.
Names and language
Syrian certificates are in Arabic, which MOFA accepts as it is. The issue is spelling in Latin letters: a family name on a Syrian extract can be transliterated differently on your passport, visa and Emirates ID. Keep a passport copy with the file. If the receiving office wants English, we can add a legal translation.
Attesting from inside the UAE
You do not need to travel to Damascus. A relative in Syria can take the original to the ministry, or it travels by courier, and it continues to the UAE side. MOFA lets anyone apply for you. For a family visa, see marriage certificate attestation and birth certificate attestation.
Using the result in the UAE
Once MOFA has stamped the Syrian document, it can be used for a residence visa, a job or a school place in any emirate. You can check a MOFA attestation online at verify.mofa.gov.ae with the reference number and issue date. For a spouse or child visa in Dubai, see attestation for a family visa.
If you also studied, married or had a child in Lebanon, the steps for those papers are on Lebanon certificate attestation.
Common problems with Syrian files
- Old extracts. If the office in the UAE wants a recent family record extract, order it before attestation, not after.
- Degree without university confirmation. The ministry stamp must sit on a confirmed document.
- Lamination. MOFA does not attest laminated papers.
