Certificate attestation is an essential aspect of settling down abroad. There are several reasons for this – the most common one is to prove that your certificates are authentic. Every country has its own rules and regulations to streamline the process of document verification.
Certificate Attestation and Apostille legalization are necessary to work, study, or live in the UAE. You either need to get your documents attested or Apostilled to get long-term visas for work or business purposes in a foreign country.
We’ve covered everything you need to know about the two processes:
What is attestation?
International travel has contributed approximately AED 30.4 trillion to the global economy, which means that the need for attestation services has increased, too.
Travel for work, pleasure, marriage, or family is some of the most common reasons people visit a new country. However, failure to have your certificates attested before applying for visas may lead to rejection.
Travel for work, pleasure, marriage, or for family are some of the most common reasons why people visit a new country. However, failure to have your documents attested before applying for visas will lead to rejection.
What is Apostille?
An Apostille is a type of legalization that identifies whether the relevant authority issues the official seals, stamps, and signatures on a document. The scrutinized documents include birth certificates, marriage certificates, court orders, educational certificates, and other public documents issued in another country.
It’s also important to know that an Apostille is only accepted in countries part of the Hague Convention. A critical aspect of this convention is dealing with cases where children have been abducted across international borders, so birth certificate attestation is essential when traveling.
The UAE isn’t a part of the Hague Convention. Therefore, the documents have to be verified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country issuing the documents as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs here in the UAE.
Those who live in the UAE and want to travel to a country that’s a member of the Hague Convention will need an Apostille.
The attestation process:
1. State attestation: State attestations must be done before the Apostille. Various state attestations are available for educational, commercial, and personal documents.
For example, in degree certificate attestation, the Ministry of Education of the issuing country needs to attest the certificate first, before their Ministry of Foreign Affairs certifies it.
For commercial documents attestation, the issuing country’s business department (like the Chamber of Commerce in the UAE) must attest the commercial documents first before their Ministry of Foreign Affairs attests it.
2.Apostille: Also known as the Ministry of External Affairs attestation, an Apostille is done after the state verifies the documents.
An Apostille will be accepted by the countries that are members of the Hague Convention as aforementioned.
Embassy attestation: The last stage of the certificate attestation process in the issuing country is attestation from the embassy of the country you will use it for.
Suppose your certificates were issued from the USA, and you want to use them in the Philippines. You must have your US certificates attested from the Philippine Embassy/Consulate in the US before using them legally in the Philippines.
Are you looking for a document legalization service in Dubai? Get in touch with Benchmark Attestation Services today! We offer a range of services like expedited Apostille, degree attestation, birth certificate attestation, etc.
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