Certificate Attestation for Family & Spouse Visa in Dubai
Sponsoring your wife, husband or children? Immigration needs your marriage and birth certificates attested first. Send a scan on WhatsApp and we tell you the route, the likely delays and the timeline before you hand over any originals.
- Doorstep pickup and delivery across the UAE
- We check your scan before you send any originals
Do I need to attest my documents for a UAE family visa?
Yes, in most cases. UAE immigration normally asks for foreign-issued marriage and birth certificates to be attested before it will process a spouse or child sponsorship. For a certificate issued in India, the usual route is notary, state home department, MEA, the UAE Embassy in India and finally UAE MOFA. The authority handling your file makes the final call on what it accepts, so we confirm the exact route from a scan of your document.
Which documents need attestation for each family member
| Who you are sponsoring | Document to attest | Check before you start |
|---|---|---|
| Wife or husband | Marriage certificate issued by the marriage registrar | Names must match both passports exactly. A temple, church or masjid ceremony certificate is usually not the one to attest. The registrar’s certificate is. |
| Child born outside the UAE | Birth certificate naming both parents | Parents’ names must match your marriage certificate and passports. Each child needs their own attested copy. |
| Child born in the UAE | UAE-issued birth certificate | This is a UAE record, so it does not go through the India route. Message us and we will tell you the right one. |
| Parents | Depends on the case | The sponsor rules for parents are stricter and set by the immigration authority. Send us your details before ordering anything. |
Not attested, but you will need them for the visa file: your Emirates ID and residence visa, both passports, your salary certificate or labour contract, and your tenancy contract (Ejari in Dubai).
How attestation works for an Indian-issued certificate
- We review a scan firstWe check the names against your passports, the seals and signatures, the language and whether the certificate is laminated, then tell you what can be fixed before anything is submitted. See how we check documents before submission.
- Notary and state authentication in IndiaThe certificate is notarised, then verified by the home department of the state that issued it.
- MEA attestationIndia’s Ministry of External Affairs authenticates the certificate for use abroad.
- UAE Embassy in IndiaThe embassy attests the MEA-stamped certificate.
- UAE MOFAThe final stage, after which the certificate can go into your family visa file. More on MOFA attestation in Dubai.
Living in the UAE with the certificate still in India? With the right authorisation, usually a Power of Attorney, our India team runs steps 2 to 4 and you do not need to travel. We tell you which authorisation on the first call.
Certificates issued outside India follow that country’s own steps, then the UAE Embassy there and UAE MOFA. Send a scan and we will confirm whether we can take it on.
Five reasons family visa files get stuck, and how we catch them first
The names do not match
A maiden name on the certificate, a missing middle name or a different spelling in the passport can stop a file at the embassy or the immigration counter. There are two fixes: a notarised affidavit that both names are the same person, attested alongside the certificate, or a correction at the issuing registrar. Which one applies depends on the mismatch, so we tell you before you pay for stamps.
It is the wrong certificate
A ceremony certificate from a temple, church or masjid is generally not the document that gets attested. The attestable one is the government-registered marriage certificate.
The original is laminated
Authorities generally will not attest a fully laminated document. Do not peel it yourself. We assess whether the lamination can be removed safely at the stamp area and advise you before submitting.
A stage was skipped or done out of order
Each stage depends on the one before it: state before MEA, MEA before the embassy, the embassy before MOFA. We reprocessed one certificate that had already been rejected elsewhere for exactly this. Read the case.
Translation at the wrong point
A certificate that is not in English or Arabic needs a certified translation, and the translation needs its own correct stamps. Done at the wrong point in the chain, it gets rejected. We decide where it sits when we review your scan.
Check you can sponsor before you pay for attestation
Attestation fees are wasted if the sponsorship cannot go ahead. As of 2026, the UAE government platform lists a minimum monthly salary of AED 4,000, or AED 3,000 if your employer provides accommodation. Different thresholds apply in some cases, for example when a woman sponsors her husband. Confirm the current rule on the UAE government family-visa page or with ICP or GDRFA Dubai before you start.
Do you also need a police clearance certificate?
Possibly, but not for every family file. In 2026 the UAE began requiring a police clearance certificate (PCC, also called a good conduct certificate) for certain nationalities, and the rules differ by nationality, visa type and the authority processing the file. We check this when we review your documents. If you need one, here is how PCC attestation works.
What family visa attestation costs and how long it takes
Your total depends on the issuing state, how many certificates you attest and whether you need translation or express handling. Here is where the money goes.
| Item | Who charges | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| UAE MOFA attestation, per personal-status document | UAE MOFA | AED 154 (as listed by MOFA, October 2026) |
| India-side stages (notary, state, MEA) and UAE Embassy fees | The authorities | AED 316 |
| Green Line service fee: review, handling, tracking, doorstep delivery | Green Line | only be decided according to the distance. |
| Certified translation, if needed | Approved translator | AED 50 |
| Express handling | Green Line | AED 50 |
Most certificates take 5 to 10 working days. It takes longer when the issuing state’s department is slow, the embassy has limited slots, the names do not match or the certificate needs translation. After we review your scan, we give you a timeline for your file.
What happens to your file at Green Line
Seven checks before any original leaves our office
Names, physical condition, seal legibility, language, stage order, document-specific rules and a second review.
If a check fails, we call you the same day
We explain what we found and your options before anything moves forward.
Tracking and doorstep service
Pickup and delivery across the UAE, with tracking from submission to return.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to attest my marriage certificate to sponsor my spouse in Dubai?
Yes, in most cases. A marriage certificate issued outside the UAE normally needs attestation before immigration will accept it as proof of relationship. The authority handling your application makes the final decision, so we confirm the requirement from a scan of your certificate.
Do my children’s birth certificates need attestation too?
Yes, if the birth certificate was issued outside the UAE. Each child needs their own attested copy, and the parents’ names on it must match your marriage certificate and passports. A birth certificate issued in the UAE follows a different route, so send us a copy first.
Can I attest documents from Dubai without travelling to India?
Usually, yes. With the right authorisation, normally a Power of Attorney, our India team runs the notary, state, MEA and UAE Embassy stages. We complete the UAE MOFA stage and deliver to your door. We tell you which authorisation applies on the first call.
How long does family visa attestation take?
Typically 5 to 10 working days per certificate, depending on the issuing state, embassy availability and whether anything needs correcting first. Name mismatches, laminated originals and missing translations add time. After we review your scan, we give you a timeline for your file.
What if the name on my certificate does not match my passport?
Resolve it before submitting. You can use a notarised affidavit that both names are the same person, attested with the certificate, or correct the record at the issuing registrar. A correction is slower but more durable. We tell you which fits your case after reviewing your scan.
Can a laminated certificate be attested?
Authorities generally will not attest a fully laminated document. Do not try to peel it yourself. We assess whether the lamination can be removed safely at the stamp area and advise you before anything is submitted.
Is an apostille enough for the UAE?
No. As of October 2026 the UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so whichever MEA stamp your certificate carries covers the Indian leg only. UAE Embassy attestation and UAE MOFA attestation still follow.
Do I need a certified Arabic translation?
If your certificate is not in English or Arabic, it needs a certified translation. UAE MOFA accepts Arabic or English originals, but immigration may ask for an Arabic version for a family file, and whether an English certificate is accepted without one is case-specific. We screen for this at review so the translation is done at the right point.
Do you attest certificates issued outside India?
Send us a scan and we will tell you whether we can take it on and what the route is. Every country has its own home-country steps, followed by the UAE Embassy in that country and UAE MOFA.
Send a scan, get your route and timeline
Share a clear photo of your marriage or birth certificate on WhatsApp. We tell you which stages are already done, what is missing, what could delay it and what it will cost, before you send any originals.