Quaifications in Dubai

[crazymazy1980]

Originally Posted by Genghis

Hi Crazy,
Did you have both the original & copy returned to you once the visa was processed? The company I will be working for instructed me to have the original document attested so this is the document I have sent to the UAE embassy. I did not send a copy. I hope this does not delay the process.

Cheers

I went and did the whole thing myself. Not a big truster of the postal service (even less so here).

Just to clarify has the document been notarised by a solicitor and attested at the FCO before you sent it to the UAE Embassy for their attestation?

[Genghis]

Originally Posted by crazymazy1980

I went and did the whole thing myself. Not a big truster of the postal service (even less so here).

Just to clarify has the document been notarised by a solicitor and attested at the FCO before you sent it to the UAE Embassy for their attestation?

I had the documents apostilled by dept of Foreign Affairs (Ireland's FOC). Since I was sending the original and not copies, I didn't think it needed to be notorised by a solicitor. As I am living in Dublin I sent the docs to the embassy in London by post c/w self addressed envelope for return. I am expecting this back by the end of the week although I am worried now that I should have sent a copy also. If that is the case I will have to go through the process all over.

[crazymazy1980]

I can see why this process is such a nightmare for people. My company told me:

'You need your highest education certificate attested at the UAE Embassy in your home country'

I then read it and thought

'What on earth is involved in that?'

At no point did they:

a) Explain before it gets attested at the UAE Embassy it needs to be attested at the FCO
b) Explain before it gets attested it needs to be notarised at a Notary Public
c) Explain not all solicitors are notary publics and not all solicitors are legally able to perform this service
d) Explain it was going to cost me a packet

I've written a couple of times about this subject and the one thing that I would stress is to make sure you search this forum and find these posts and follow the steps if you don't want any delays.

A company HR Dept is not going to be able to offer you a lot of help on this because they would have to be conversant in the legalisation process of every country from which they are likely to employ people and in Dubai that's a lot of countries.

It might be useful to have an Attestation Sticky where different people from different countries explain how it is done as it comes up quite a lot?

[Genghis]

Originally Posted by crazymazy1980

I can see why this process is such a nightmare for people. My company told me:

'You need your highest education certificate attested at the UAE Embassy in your home country'

I then read it and thought

'What on earth is involved in that?'

At no point did they:

a) Explain before it gets attested at the UAE Embassy it needs to be attested at the FCO
b) Explain before it gets attested it needs to be notarised at a Notary Public
c) Explain not all solicitors are notary publics and not all solicitors are legally able to perform this service
d) Explain it was going to cost me a packet

I've written a couple of times about this subject and the one thing that I would stress is to make sure you search this forum and find these posts and follow the steps if you don't want any delays.

A company HR Dept is not going to be able to offer you a lot of help on this because they would have to be conversant in the legalisation process of every country from which they are likely to employ people and in Dubai that's a lot of countries.

It might be useful to have an Attestation Sticky where different people from different countries explain how it is done as it comes up quite a lot?

Yeah it is confusing and unfortunately when I phoned the embassy in London they wouldn't speak to me other than to refer to their website - which didn't answer my question and was the purpose of my call.
Anyway I took guidance from the dept of foreign affairs on the grounds that they deal with these things daily - maybe that was not too bright in hindsight!!

I'll just have wait and see what comes back.

[crazymazy1980]

Originally Posted by Genghis

I had the documents apostilled by dept of Foreign Affairs (Ireland's FOC). Since I was sending the original and not copies, I didn't think it needed to be notorised by a solicitor. As I am living in Dublin I sent the docs to the embassy in London by post c/w self addressed envelope for return. I am expecting this back by the end of the week although I am worried now that I should have sent a copy also. If that is the case I will have to go through the process all over.

To be honest the Notarisation process is more for the FCO to confirm the legitimacy of the documents (although I think it's unnecessary red tape as it doesn't prove they are any more real). If the Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs have legalised it then it 'should' be fine.

In the UK in England and Wales (not too sure about Scotland as they sometimes have funny rules) you MUST have it notarised before you take it to the FCO.

[Maz25]

Originally Posted by crazymazy1980

To be honest the Notarisation process is more for the FCO to confirm the legitimacy of the documents

Actually, the FCO only confirms that the signature of the notary is genuine. They do not confirm the authenticity of any document! The same applies to the UAE Embassy.

[Genghis]

Originally Posted by crazymazy1980

To be honest the Notarisation process is more for the FCO to confirm the legitimacy of the documents (although I think it's unnecessary red tape as it doesn't prove they are any more real). If the Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs have legalised it then it 'should' be fine.

In the UK in England and Wales (not too sure about Scotland as they sometimes have funny rules) you MUST have it notarised before you take it to the FCO.

Well fingers crossed it works itself out. Thanks for your input lad.

[Shinjuku]

Originally Posted by Genghis

I had the documents apostilled by dept of Foreign Affairs (Ireland's FOC). Since I was sending the original and not copies, I didn't think it needed to be notorised by a solicitor. As I am living in Dublin I sent the docs to the embassy in London by post c/w self addressed envelope for return. I am expecting this back by the end of the week although I am worried now that I should have sent a copy also. If that is the case I will have to go through the process all over.

It might be slighly different in Ireland, as the British FCO states that all educational degrees must be certified by a solicitor/notary, even if it is the original. But since your FOC have already legalised your certificate, there shouldn't be any problem at the embassy.

I think the process varies a lot because different free zones have different rules, on top of which different companies interpret the rules differently.

In my case, the notary only required a copy of my degree to be sent to the FCO and embassy.
Also my company told me they don't actually require a legalised certificate for my employment visa application. Howver they still advised me to get one in case the need for it comes up in the future.

[Genghis]

Originally Posted by Shinjuku

It might be slighly different in Ireland, as the British FCO states that all educational degrees must be certified by a solicitor/notary, even if it is the original. But since your FOC have already legalised your certificate, there shouldn't be any problem at the embassy.

I think the process varies a lot because different free zones have different rules, on top of which different companies interpret the rules differently.

In my case, the notary only required a copy of my degree to be sent to the FCO and embassy.
Also my company told me they don't actually require a legalised certificate for my employment visa application. Howver they still advised me to get one in case the need for it comes up in the future.

Yeah I'm hoping that is the case. Anyway it's out of my hands for the moment and I have enough on my plate trying to get sorted for the move over. Luckily we managed to get our house rented so thats a load off. Just gotta get the cars sold, bags packed, house emptied etc etc etc.

[Shinjuku]

Originally Posted by crazymazy1980

To be honest the Notarisation process is more for the FCO to confirm the legitimacy of the documents (although I think it's unnecessary red tape as it doesn't prove they are any more real). If the Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs have legalised it then it 'should' be fine.

In the UK in England and Wales (not too sure about Scotland as they sometimes have funny rules) you MUST have it notarised before you take it to the FCO.

Dammit...how do you get your answers in so fast. Give the rest of us a chance will ya

Although the FCO legalisation can be seen as additional red tape, it carries the weight of official government approval that a document is genuine, and therefore less likely that it was obtained through bribery/dishonest means.