It is indeed a very tedious process. We found that embassies and university officials are not very helpful, not so much because they are rude, but because they simply do not have any experience in and process for managing this requirement. UAE is probably one of the few countries, if any, that are so meticulous about authentication of documents.

You may want to check if the Embassy of Pakistan in the UAE will be able to notarize your birth and marriage certificates, as some countries can. You can then get those attested by the Foreign Ministry of the UAE before you apply for Residence Permits.

The key is to get the degree attested and apostiled asap since it is required for the job holder's work visa application. Spouse and dependent children with passports from certain countries should be able to enter on a visitor visa and then converted to Residents.

To attest and apostile the degree, the fastest way may be to go through the university directly if you can. Otherwise, Index Group or IntegraScreen can both handle that on your behalf but it may take weeks. You may want to approach your company's PRO and ask them for help.