Power of attorney
Power of attorney from abroad for use in the UAE
A power of attorney from abroad for the UAE is one you sign outside the country so your agent can use it here. There are two routes: sign before a UAE consul, or sign before a local notary and pass the document through a legalisation chain. The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so an apostille does not replace that chain. We draft the wording, prepare the Arabic and guide each stage from our Business Bay office.
WhatsApp +971 52 947 5935 with your country and what the agent must do.
In short
Route 1: sign before a UAE consul
An accredited UAE consul can perform notarial duties abroad. If there is a UAE embassy or consulate where you live, ask whether it takes POA signatures and how to book. Send us your facts first, so the wording is ready when you go.
Step by step
Route 2: local notary, then legalisation
Draft.
We write the POA with the acts your agent needs. We prepare the Arabic text.
Sign before a local notary in the country where you live.
Foreign ministry.
The foreign ministry of that country attests the notary's signature.
UAE embassy or consulate in that country attests it next.
MOFAIC in the UAE.
Our team submits it for attestation once the original arrives.
Use.
Your agent takes the attested POA to the office that asked for it.
Do not laminate the document. Keep the original.
Power of attorney
Also in Power of attorney
In short
No apostille for the UAE: it is not a party
The UAE does not appear in the Hague status table for the convention that created the apostille. It is not a party. If your country issues them, one on its own does not make a POA usable in the UAE. The embassy and MOFAIC steps still apply.
POA from India to UAE
Searching for "poa from india to uae" usually means this: you live in India and your agent is in the UAE. The route is the one in Route 2.
01
Sign before a notary in India.
02
Have the foreign ministry in India attest it.
03
Take it to the UAE embassy or consulate in India.
04
Send the original to the UAE, where MOFAIC attests it.
Costs and timing on the India side differ by office, so check with each. We do the UAE side and the Arabic. For other countries the steps follow the same order.
Can I sign online from abroad?
Federal law lets a notary use IT tools in place of personal appearance (Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022, Articles 18 and 19). Dubai Courts supports virtual or personal attendance for POA attestation, and the UAE Ministry of Justice runs an E-Notary System. Whether a signer who is abroad can use these for your document depends on the channel and on the office that will receive the POA. Tell us your country and the receiving office, and we say what works before you book. See e-notary in Dubai.
Checklist
Power of attorney from abroad UAE requirements: what to prepare
Power of attorney from abroad UAE requirements: what to prepare
- Passport, and your Emirates ID if you have one.
- The agent's ID: Emirates ID, or passport.
- Details of the asset or task: title deed, vehicle certificate, bank name.
- Any Arabic translation of papers in another language. Our legal translation page explains it.
Fees
Cost
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Our POA service, drafting and Arabic | From AED 1,500 |
| Our MOFAIC attestation handling | From AED 150 for a personal document, AED 300 for a commercial one |
| MOFAIC fee, individual affairs documents | AED 150 |
| MOFAIC fee, commercial documents | AED 2,000 |
| Federal notary fee | AED 100 per party |
MOFAIC lists a "power of attorney of personal nature" among individual documents, and a general power of attorney among commercial ones. That is the difference between AED 150 and AED 2,000, so we check which applies to your POA before you pay. Fees of the foreign ministry and embassy abroad are set by them, and are separate.
All service prices are starting prices and are negotiable. Government fees are paid on top, at cost, exactly as the authority charges them. We confirm your final price before you pay.
How we help
How we help
Our in-house notary public is at our Business Bay office, in person, online or at home, 24/7. For a POA made abroad, we handle the draft, the Arabic and the UAE side, and tell you what each office abroad asks for. Other POA types are in the power of attorney section.
Questions
Questions about power of attorney from abroad
Can I make a UAE power of attorney from my home country?
Yes. Sign before a UAE consul, or before a local notary and then follow the legalisation chain.
Does a POA made abroad need MOFAIC attestation?
Yes, for use in the UAE the chain ends with MOFAIC.
Is an apostille accepted in the UAE?
No apostille route exists for the UAE, because it is not a party to the convention. Use the embassy and MOFAIC chain.
Does the POA need to be in Arabic?
Dubai Courts asks for an Arabic translation approved by the Ministry of Justice. We prepare it.
How long does the whole process take?
It depends on each office in the chain, so we do not promise a time. We tell you the next step as each one closes.
Contact
Send us your question
Tell us the document, who signs it and where it will be used. We reply with the route, the list of what to bring and your price.
Sources for this page
- Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022, Articles 3, 18 and 19: https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1563
- MOFAIC, Attestation of Official Documents and Certificates: https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/services/attestation
- MOFAIC FAQ, attestation chain and fees: https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/faqs
- HCCH, status table of the 1961 convention (the UAE is not a party): https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41
- Dubai Courts, Power of Attorneys Ratification service page (archived 16 March 2023): https://web.archive.org/web/20230316055912/https://www.dc.gov.ae/PublicServices/GessServiceDetails.aspx?lang=en&ServiceCode=G4