What Documents Does the UAE Embassy in London Accept? UAE Embassy Attestation for Personal and Commercial Documents

The UAE Embassy in London can attest or legalise many types of personal and commercial documents.

However, it does not accept commercial invoices or certificates of origin through the normal Embassy attestation route. These documents must go through eDAS 2.0 on the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.

Therefore, before you prepare your documents, you should first check the document type.

Personal Documents Must Follow the Correct Format

Official personal documents must usually be submitted in their original form.

This includes documents such as:

Marriage certificates
Birth certificates
Death certificates
Other official personal certificates

If you submit a personal document in the wrong format, the Embassy may not accept it.

Original Documents and True Copies

For other document types, the UAE Embassy in London may accept either original documents or true copies.

However, the document must first be attested or legalised by the correct foreign office.

For UK documents, this usually means the document must first receive an FCDO apostille before UAE Embassy attestation.

Apostilled Bundles Are Not Accepted

The UAE Embassy in London does not accept documents apostilled in a bundle.

Each document should be apostilled separately.

This point is important. If several documents are bound together and apostilled as one bundle, the Embassy may reject the submission.

Power of Attorney and Similar Legal Documents

A power of attorney, or a similar legal document, must be signed in the presence of a UK solicitor or notary before it goes to the relevant foreign office.

After that, the document can move to the apostille or legalisation stage.

Also, if a power of attorney contains commercial content, the UAE Embassy will treat it as a commercial document.

Memorandum and Articles of Association

Memorandum and articles of association must be attested or legalised separately.

They should not be treated as one combined document for UAE Embassy attestation.

Laminated Documents

The UAE Embassy in London cannot attest or legalise laminated documents.

If your document has been laminated, you may need to obtain a fresh original or check whether another acceptable version can be prepared.

How Ginkgo Advisory Can Help

Ginkgo Advisory helps clients prepare documents for UAE Embassy attestation in London.

We can help you check whether your document should be submitted as an original, a true copy, a solicitor-certified document or a separately apostilled document.

For UK documents, we can assist with:

Solicitor authentication
Signing before a UK solicitor where required
Authenticity verification where suitable
Solicitor certification
FCDO apostille
2 working day UK apostille service where available
UAE Embassy attestation support

Our solicitor certification is not limited to a basic “certified true copy”. Where appropriate, we verify the authenticity of the document before certification, so the document has a clearer legalisation chain before it reaches the FCDO or UAE Embassy.

This can be especially useful for powers of attorney, company documents, legal documents and true copies that need proper preparation before UAE Embassy submission.

Key Takeaway

The UAE Embassy in London accepts many personal and commercial documents, but the format matters.

Original personal documents, separately apostilled documents, properly signed powers of attorney and non-laminated documents are key points to check before submission.

For UK documents, the usual route is:

Correct document preparation → solicitor signing or certification where needed → FCDO apostille → UAE Embassy attestation