ES
Documents from Spain
Spain certificate attestation Dubai and notary services for Spanish residents
If you are Spanish and live in the UAE, most paperwork for Spain starts with a notary public. We notarise your power of attorney for a relative or lawyer in Spain, notarise the declarations a Spanish office asks you to sign, and certify true copies of your passport and certificates. You can see our in-house notary public in person, by video through our online notary public services, or at your home.
1
Home country
The issuing body or a notary
2
Home country
The foreign ministry
3
Home country
The UAE embassy or consulate there
4
In the UAE
MOFA in the UAE
The other half of the work is the Spain certificate attestation Dubai offices ask for. A Spanish degree, birth certificate or marriage certificate is legalised in Spain, stamped by the UAE embassy in Madrid and then attested by MOFA before a UAE employer or visa office accepts it. This page covers both, starting with the notary work.
At a glance
- Power of attorney, affidavits, declarations, NOCs and true copies for use in Spain are notarised in person, online or at your home in the UAE.
- A UAE document going to Spain is notarised where needed, attested by MOFA, then legalised by the Spanish embassy or consulate in the UAE where the office in Spain asks for it.
- The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so a Spanish apostille does not replace the UAE embassy stamp. Source: HCCH status table.
- MOFA works in Arabic and English, so a Spanish document needs a legally certified translation. Source: MOFA attestation service.
- MOFA fee: AED 150 for a personal document, AED 2,000 for a commercial one. Source: MOFA FAQ.
Side by side
Notary services for Spanish residents in the UAE
| What you need | What happens with us |
|---|---|
| A power of attorney so someone in Spain can sell property, run a bank account or deal with an inheritance | We draft it with you, check your ID, watch you sign and apply the notary seal |
| A declaration or affidavit a Spanish office asks for | Notarised as an affidavit or as a signature authentication, depending on the wording |
| Certified true copies of your passport, DNI or degree | Our notary compares each copy with the original and certifies it |
| An NOC, such as consent for a child to travel with one parent | Drafted, notarised, then attested if it is going abroad |
| A board resolution or company power of attorney for a Spanish parent company | Notarised here, then attested at MOFA as a commercial document |
See affidavits before a notary, certified true copies and NOC letters for a visa for each service in full.
Step by step
A power of attorney for use in Spain
01
Wording.
Tell us exactly what your attorney must do in Spain. Ask the Spanish notario, bank or lawyer who will receive it what wording they need, and we draft to that.
02
Language.
If the office in Spain wants Spanish text, we add a legal translation so the document can be read on both sides.
03
Signing.
You sign before our notary in person, by video through UAE remote notarisation channels such as the Ministry of Justice e-Notary system and UAE PASS, or at home. We tell you if your document can be done online.
04
MOFA.
The notarised power goes to MOFA. A general power of attorney is on MOFA’s commercial list, so the commercial fee applies.
05
Spanish mission.
The Spanish embassy or consulate in the UAE then legalises it, where the office in Spain asks for that step.
A UAE power of attorney has no fixed statutory validity period, but the office in Spain may set its own rule on how recent it must be. Ask before you sign. More on the whole process: power of attorney notarised in Dubai.
Step by step
Spain certificate attestation Dubai route, step by step
Documents issued in Spain for use in the UAE travel in this order:
01
Pre-legalisation in Spain.
The Spanish ministry responsible for the document checks the signature on it. Without this step, the foreign ministry will not act on a document for the UAE.
02
Spain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs
legalises it.
03
The UAE embassy in Madrid
adds its stamp. This step happens in Spain only.
04
MOFA in the UAE
attests it. We take it through MOFA for you.
The Spanish steps need someone in Spain: a family member, a Spanish gestoria or you on a visit. If they need your written authority, we notarise it here. For the chain in other countries, see embassy attestation for Dubai.
Spanish documents people bring to Dubai
University degrees (titulos)
for a UAE job or licence. Ask the employer or regulator whether it accepts the document before paying for the chain. See degree attestation in Dubai.
Marriage certificates
from the Civil Registry for a spouse visa. See marriage certificate attestation for a family visa.
Birth certificates
for a child’s residence visa. See birth certificate attestation in Dubai.
Company papers
such as a Registro Mercantil certificate, articles and a board resolution for a UAE branch or bank account. These are commercial at MOFA. See company documents.
01
Translation: sworn translator in Spain or legal translator in the UAE
Spain has sworn translators (traductor jurado) appointed by its foreign ministry. A sworn translation into English or Arabic can travel through the Spanish chain with the original.
The other choice is a legal translator in the UAE, who translates into Arabic after MOFA, if the receiving office agrees. We help you pick one route before anything is signed. See legal translation.
How we help
We have in-house, in person notary public services, online notary public services and home visit notary services. For Spanish clients that means:
- We draft and notarise your power of attorney, affidavit, declaration or NOC for Spain.
- We certify true copies of your passport, DNI and certificates.
- We add the legal translation when the Spanish or UAE office needs one.
- We take notarised documents and documents returned from Madrid through MOFA.
- We come to your home, office, hospital or care home in the UAE if you cannot travel. See home visit notary and online notary.
Prices
Prices
| Service | Our service price | Government fee, paid on top at cost |
|---|---|---|
| Power of attorney for use in Spain | From AED 1,500 | AED 100 per party on the federal schedule. Dubai private notary route: AED 100 per party registration plus AED 100 per signature |
| Affidavit or declaration | From AED 600 | AED 300 as an affidavit, or AED 200 per party as a signature authentication |
| Certified true copy | From AED 400 | Confirmed when you book |
| MOFA stage, personal document | From AED 150 | MOFA AED 150 |
| MOFA stage, commercial document | From AED 300 | MOFA AED 2,000 |
| Legal translation | From AED 50 per page | AED 50 per page if notarised with the instrument |
| Home visit | Quoted when you book | Dubai private notary: AED 1,000 per trip outside the place of work |
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Can I sign a power of attorney for Spain in Dubai?
Yes. You sign it before our notary in person, online or at home, and it then goes to MOFA and the Spanish mission in the UAE where the office in Spain asks for that. Check the wording with the person who will use it in Spain first.
What is pre-legalisation?
It is a signature check by the Spanish ministry responsible for the document, done before the foreign ministry legalises it. Without it, the foreign ministry will not act on a document for the UAE.
My Spanish certificate has an apostille. Can I use it in Dubai?
No. The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so the apostille does not count here. You need legalisation in Spain, the UAE embassy stamp in Madrid and MOFA.
Can the Spanish embassy in the UAE do the UAE embassy step?
No. The UAE embassy step for a Spanish document is done by the UAE embassy in Madrid. The Spanish mission here deals with documents going to Spain.
Do I need a translation for MOFA?
Yes, for a document in Spanish. MOFA attests Arabic and English documents, or documents with a legally certified translation.
Talk to us about your Spanish document
Send a photo of the document and tell us whether it is going to Spain or coming from Spain. Office open Monday to Friday, 9:00 am to 6:00 pm. WhatsApp and online requests answered 24/7.
- Phone: +971 52 947 5935
- WhatsApp: +971 52 947 5935
- Email: info@dubainotaryservices.com
Sources for this page
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, FAQ (attestation chain and fees): https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/faqs
- UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, attestation service (language requirement): https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en/services/attestation
- HCCH status table, the UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention: https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/status-table/?cid=41
- Cabinet Resolution No. 19 of 2024 on notary fees: https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/2491
- Federal Decree-Law No. 20 of 2022 on the notary profession: https://uaelegislation.gov.ae/en/legislations/1563
- Ministry of Justice, E-Notary: https://www.moj.gov.ae/en/services/esystems/e-notary.aspx
- Dubai Media Office, private notary fees in Dubai: https://mediaoffice.ae/en/news/2025/december/29-12/dubai-courts-is-preparing-to-implement-the-decision-regulating-the-fees-of-the-private-notary-public