Fees and steps checked on
UAE Embassy London attestation is the step that makes a UK document valid in the UAE after the FCDO apostille. Since February 2025 the embassy no longer stamps paper over a counter: the request goes through the MOFA portal, the paper document is collected in the UK, and the UAE Embassy London and MOFA attest it together in digital form. The result is checked online by anyone in the UAE who needs to see it.
Price: UK personal documents from AED 985 plus VAT for the whole chain, commercial documents from AED 4,200 plus VAT. Send a photo on WhatsApp for your total price. See attestation fees.
Where the embassy fits in the chain
| Order | Who | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | UK solicitor or notary | Certifies copies, degrees, transcripts and signed documents, where needed |
| 2 | FCDO Legalisation Office | Adds the paper apostille |
| 3 | UAE Embassy London and MOFA | Attest the apostilled document together, digitally |
Register documents such as a General Register Office birth or marriage certificate skip step 1 and go straight to the FCDO. For the full list of UK documents and the first step each one takes, see our main page on UK certificate attestation.
What changed in 2025
Before, the UAE Embassy in London stamped the paper document, and the document then needed a separate MOFA stamp once it reached the UAE. Now the embassy step and the MOFA step are one digital attestation. In practice that means:
- No counter visit in London. The application is made online and the paper is collected by MOFA's appointed provider in the UK.
- No separate MOFA trip in Dubai or Abu Dhabi. The digital attestation already includes MOFA.
- An attested document you can share at once. It arrives by email, and the paper original comes back by courier.
- Online checking. A school, employer or government office in the UAE confirms it on the MOFA verification service.
Getting the document ready before the embassy step
Most delays at this stage come from the document itself, not the embassy:
- The apostille must be on paper. An FCDO e-Apostille is not used for the UAE route, because the embassy needs the paper original with its apostille.
- Copies must be certified the right way. A degree or transcript copy is certified by a UK solicitor or notary whose signature the FCDO can check. A copy certified by someone else is usually refused at the apostille.
- Names should match your passport. If your name changed by marriage or deed poll, the supporting document may need attesting too. See UK deed poll attestation.
- Laminated certificates are refused. Ask the issuer for a fresh copy instead.
Common UK documents that go through the embassy
- UK degree certificate attestation, for jobs, licences and the equivalency certificate.
- UK marriage certificate attestation, for a family visa.
- UK birth certificate attestation, for a child's residence visa or school place.
- ACRO police certificate attestation, for jobs and licences that ask for a UK criminal record check.
- UK company documents attestation, for opening a branch or a company in the UAE.
How we handle it while you stay in the UAE
You send a photo of the document on WhatsApp and tell us where the original is now. We confirm whether it needs a solicitor first, arrange the FCDO apostille in the UK, make the embassy and MOFA application, and send you the attested document by email with the original back by courier. You see one total price before anything starts, and every step is followed up in one file.
We are a private document service, not the embassy or MOFA. The UAE Embassy London and MOFA decide every attestation.
