January 2026
According to the first circular issued by AIPPI – UAE National Group on 9 January 2026, UAE Consulates abroad have begun issuing a new electronic legalisation page format for documents legalised outside UAE.
Under the previous practice, documents legalised abroad were required to undergo an additional attestation step by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) after arrival in UAE before they could be used locally. With the introduction of the new electronic legalisation format, this additional step may no longer be required where the consular legalisation page expressly includes MOFA attestation.
Based on initial review and recent practical experience, the new electronic legalisation format may, in certain cases, incorporate both attestations (UAE Consulate attestation (typically on the right) and Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) attestation (typically on the left)) within a single digital page:
Where this dual attestation is clearly indicated, a separate follow-up MOFA attestation inside the UAE may no longer be required.
Once the electronic legalisation is completed abroad, the following steps typically remain necessary:
- Legal translation of the document into Arabic, and
- Attestation of the Arabic translation by the Ministry of Justice (MOJ).
While official fees for the combined legalisation remain capped (approximately AED 2,300 for commercial documents), the removal of the additional MOFA step in UAE reduces overall costs and processing time.
Electronically legalised documents can be verified instantly through the MOFA Verify portal or other official UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs digital platforms.
This development aligns with the UAE’s Zero Government Bureaucracy Programme, which aims to simplify administrative procedures, reduce paperwork, and accelerate service delivery for businesses and individuals.
For more information or assistance regarding this matter, please send your inquiries to [email protected]. Our team will be happy to assist.