Legalization of Documents Issued in Hong Kong for Use in the UAE

Legalization of documents issued outside the UAE and to be use within the UAE normally includes the following steps:

In the country of origin of the document

1. Certification of a copy of the document by a notary / Issue of an original document by a government authority.
2. Certification / notarization of a translation into English or Arabic, if the document is executed in any other language.
3. Attestation in the relevant ministry / ministries.
4. Legalization at the UAE Embassy

In the UAE

5. Legalization in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The UAE MFA certifies the seal of its foreign diplomatic mission.

Attestation of a document by the UAE MFA is usually the final step in the authentication process. The MFA checks the document for all previous certification / legalization stamps. Having satisfied itself that they are valid, the MFA makes its attestation, and only then is the document deemed to have legal effect in the UAE.

Notes: A document may sometimes have to undergo a couple of further steps depending on its proposed use in the UAE. If the document is required to be submitted to the UAE court or to another Ministry, such authorities are likely to demand an Arabic translation of the document as Arabic is the official language of the UAE. In such cases, it would be necessary to instruct a certified legal translator licensed by the UAE Ministry of Justice to translate the document into Arabic and then submit the translation and the original document to the UAE Ministry of Justice which will certify the Arabic translation.  If, however, the document is required by a free zone authority, these additional steps will usually not be necessary as English is accepted by most free zone authorities in the UAE.

Legalization Procedure

1. A copy of the document is certified.
   A copy of the document issued by the government authority (by Registrar of Companies – in the case of various certificates or M&AA, by Inland Revenue Department – in the case of Business Registration Certificate) is certified by that government authority. A copy of an internal corporate document (power of attorney, resolution, registers, etc.) is certified by a notary.
   The original document issued by government authority need not be certified.
2. The certified document is apostilled by the Hong Kong High Court.
3. The apostilled document is legalized at the UAE consulate in Hong Kong.

Legalization Period

5-6 working days