Certificates

Marriage certificate attestation for a UAE family visa

To sponsor a husband or wife, a UAE resident needs proof of the marriage that the UAE accepts, and the file often needs notary work around the certificate. We have in-house, in person notary public services, online notary public services and home visit notary services. We notarise true copies of the certificate, affidavits that link two spellings of a name and marriage declarations, and then help with marriage certificate attestation for the UAE family visa itself.

WhatsApp us

Call +971 52 947 5935

For a certificate issued abroad, attestation means a chain of stamps: the registrar or court that issued it, that country’s foreign ministry, a UAE mission in the same country, and MOFA in the UAE to close the chain. The same attested certificate is often used again later when sponsoring children, so it pays to do it properly once.

Most delays come from the certificate itself, not the stamps: a religious certificate that was never registered, names that do not match the passports, or a language MOFA cannot read. The notary papers below fix most of these.

Side by side

Notary services for a spouse visa file

Notary service	When you need it
Notarised true copy of the marriage certificate	You need copies for other offices and want to keep the original safe. See certified true copies.
Name affidavit	A name on the certificate is spelled differently from the passport, or the wife’s passport shows her married name. See affidavits before a notary.
Marriage declaration	An office asks one or both spouses to confirm facts about the marriage in a signed statement
Signature attestation	A letter or form in the file must be signed before a notary. See signature attestation.
Authority letter	A relative at home will take the certificate through the offices there for you

A notary stamp on a copy does not replace the attestation chain. For a spouse visa you need the attested original.

In person, online or at home

Both spouses can sign together with our in-house notary public services. Our online notary public services work by video, through the UAE remote notarisation channels such as the Ministry of Justice e-Notary system and UAE PASS. We tell you if your document can be done online. See online notary.

With our home visit notary services we come to your home, office, hospital or care home in the UAE.

Rolled certificate tied with a pink ribbon on a plain background

Side by side

Which marriage certificate to attest

What you have	Usually attestable?	What to check
A civil registry certificate	Yes	It is a certified copy issued by the registry, not a photocopy
A religious certificate registered with the civil authorities	Yes	Which of the two documents your home foreign ministry attests
A religious certificate never registered with the state	Often difficult	Register the marriage first, if your country allows it
A court marriage certificate	Yes	The court’s signature must be one the home foreign ministry can check
A wedding card, photos or a church blessing certificate alone	No	These are not official records

Our country pages set out the home country offices, for example Indian certificate attestation and Philippine document attestation. All countries are on embassy attestation.

Names, dates and spellings

The visa office compares the marriage certificate with both passports. Check these before you start:

A different spelling of either name, or a missing surname.
A wife’s married name on the passport but her maiden name on the certificate. This is normal in many countries, but the link should be clear.
Dates of birth written differently.

Where names differ, an affidavit before a notary public stating that both names belong to the same person often solves it. We draft it, and you sign it in person, online or at home.

Translation: before or after MOFA

A marriage certificate in Urdu, Bengali, Tagalog, Russian or any language other than Arabic and English cannot go to MOFA as it is. You can translate it in the home country and have the translation attested with it, or bring it with a certified translation that MOFA accepts. After MOFA, some UAE offices also want an Arabic legal translation of the whole file. See legal translation.

Marriages registered in the UAE

A marriage registered in a UAE court produces a UAE certificate. For a family visa inside the UAE, it does not need foreign attestation. If it is needed abroad, for example to update a passport at home, MOFA attests it and then the embassy or consulate in the UAE of the country where it will be shown. See UAE documents for abroad.

The rest of the family visa file

For children, the birth certificate is attested too. The whole family file is on family visa documents, and the child’s side is on birth certificate attestation. If a marriage has ended, see death and divorce certificate attestation.

Step by step

How we help

Doctor pressing a stamp onto a paper at a clinic desk, as on a medical certificate

01

You send photos of the marriage certificate (every page, both sides) and both passports.

02

We check it is the right certificate and flag any name or language issue.

03

We notarise what the file needs: true copies, a name affidavit, a declaration or an authority letter.

04

We give you the home country steps, or take over from where the stamps stop.

05

We handle the MOFA step and book a translation if the visa office wants one.

06

We return the attested certificate to you for the visa application.

Prices

Service	Our service price	Government fee, paid on top at cost
Certified true copy	From AED 400	Confirmed at booking
Name affidavit	From AED 600	AED 300 per affidavit (federal item 12)
Marriage declaration	From AED 600	AED 300 if made as an affidavit (federal item 12), or AED 200 per party (federal item 8)
Witnessing of signature	From AED 900	AED 200 per party (federal item 8)
Marriage certificate attestation, MOFA stage	From AED 150	MOFA AED 150
Legal translation	From AED 50 per page	AED 50 per page if notarised with the instrument

Questions

Frequently asked questions

Do I need marriage certificate attestation for a UAE family visa if we married in the UAE?

No foreign attestation is needed for a UAE registered marriage used in the UAE. The certificate needs MOFA and an embassy stamp only if it is used abroad.

Can a notary in Dubai help with a marriage certificate?

Yes. Our in-house notary public services certify true copies, witness name affidavits and notarise marriage declarations. A notary stamp does not replace the attestation chain, so the original still needs its stamps for a spouse visa.

Can MOFA attest a nikah nama?

Yes, once it carries the home country foreign ministry stamp and the UAE mission stamp, and with a translation if it is not in Arabic or English. Some countries attest the civil registration of the nikah rather than the nikah nama itself, so check with your home foreign ministry.

We lost the original marriage certificate. What now?

Ask the issuing registry for a new certified copy and attest that. MOFA works from originals.

My spouse is abroad. Can they sign a declaration?

They may be able to sign by video through our online notary public services. We tell you if the document can be done online.

Start your spouse visa file

Send photos of the marriage certificate and both passports.

Phone and WhatsApp: +971 52 947 5935
Email: info@dubainotaryservices.com
Office open Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. WhatsApp and online requests answered 24/7.