MOFA stands for The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is a governmental body for attestation of documents for legalization from the originating country of an application willing to work or settle in the United Arab Emirates. When an individual plans to visit the other country, they need to have an attestation from a governmental regulatory authority for a variety of documents, and this all funnels from the MOFA attestation body in the UAE.
It is said to be a mandatory process for validating the authenticity of important documents, including certifications that are pre-requisite for employment, education, medical, or visa procedures. When we talk about the UAE, the attestation services are being provided both inside and outside of the country, which is regulated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC), now known as the MOFA Attestation UAE.
Citizens, residents, investors, students, tourists, companies, and expats – all get the MOFA attestation to get their documents cleared and sealed by the UAE authorities.
Documents for MOFA Attestation
A broad category covers the documents and certificate verification and attestation in the UAE. Both issues documents inside or outside UAE tend to fall in this category. As for a brief clarification, here are a few documents that MOFA attestation services cover in the UAE;
- Educational Certificates
- Medical Certificates
- Birth Certificate
- Death Certificate
- Powers of Attorney
- Marriage Certificate
- Real Estate Contracts
- Business Contracts
- Commercial Invoices
- Divorce Documents
- Partnership Deeds
- Registration
- Board Resolution
- MOA
- Loss of Foreign Passport
- Police Report
- Experience Certificate
- Judicial Rulings
- Article of Association
- Board of Directors' Decisions
- Commercial Licenses & Agreements
- Financial Statements
- ISO Certification
- Company Contract
- For Patent Registration, you will require a legal consultant in Dubai, UAE.
Types of MOFA Attestation in the UAE
Here are the two types of MOFA attestation in Dubai that an individual can get;
- The first is the Inbound MOFA Attestation, which covers those who apply for a residential visa in the UAE, are opening up a business in UAE, or are looking to get a family visa and will have to get their documents attested from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the home country.
- The other is the outbound MOFA Attestation, particularly for the people who are moving out of the UAE and have to get their documents attested.
Process for MOFA Attestation in UAE
For both inbound and outbound, you will need to have MOFA attestation in UAE, which is possible by following the devised roadmap.
- The first and most important step is to open the MOFA attestation portal.
- Select the type, i.e., individual entity or a company.
- The next step is to fill out all the information in the fields required. However, if you have a SmartPass account with all the information inserted, you can use the sign-in credentials to fill up this form.
- The next part is to attach all the documents that you wish to get attested.
- Manually select the intended authority for attestation and submission.
- As soon as you are done with this, your application will be sent to the authority for review. If your application meets all the requirements and conditions, you will get an approval email leading to the payment gateway.
- Now that you have received the approval email, the next step is to move further with the payments and fees.
- As soon as you are done with the process, the final step of MOFA Attestation in UAE comes where you will be required to visit the nearest Customer Happiness Centre or the UAE Embassy in your home country to get the documents attested.
- Furthermore, you can also use the MOFA Attestation App on your smartphone for the document attestation process. For this, you will need to download the MOFA App and select the user type according to your requirements, followed by the option where you have to click on the Attest Official Document or Certificates and sign in with your account.
MOFA Attestation in UAE – Fee Structure & Duration
- As for MOFA Attestation for individual certificates and documents, be it issued in the UAE or outside of UAE, the fee amount is AED 150 each for a document or certificate attestation.
- People will gain a commercial perspective in UAE requiring document or certificate attestation will be required to pay AED 2,000 on every document or certificate.
- MOFA attestation in UAE is a mere process of a few days, but in emergency cases, you can also get attestation on the same day.
The Final Takeaway
So, MOFA attestation in UAE is a certain requirement whether you wish to attain an employment visa and labor card in the UAE, pursue higher studies, acquire international business opportunities, and get residence visas.
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Mai Alfalasi
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Baniyas Street, Deira
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Email. info@maaflegal.ae
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