Signing a power of attorney in the UK for use in the UAE
The UAE Embassy in London sets out the order. A power of attorney must be signed before a UK solicitor or notary, legalised by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), and then attested through the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ digital service, one application that covers both the Embassy and the Ministry. GOV.UK describes the same three-part shape for any country outside the Hague Convention. Whether the finished document is enough for a particular transaction is decided by the UAE authority that receives it.
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The three steps, and who publishes each one
Each step belongs to a different body, and each publishes its own part. None of them publishes the whole journey, which is why it is laid out here side by side.
| Step | Who does it | What they publish |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Signing | A UK solicitor or notary | UAE Embassy London: "Power of attorney and similar legal documents must be signed in the presence of a UK solicitor or notary before being submitted to their respective foreign office." |
| 2. Legalisation | FCDO Legalisation Office | GOV.UK: other documents can be legalised "as long as they have been certified by a UK ‘public official’, such as a UK notary or solicitor", naming "a power of attorney" as an example. |
| 3. UAE attestation | UAE Embassy London and UAE MOFA, in one application | UAE Embassy London: "UK-issued documents: must be attested/legalised by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO)" before it attests them. |
Why a UK apostille is the first leg, not the whole route
The FCDO legalises a UK document by checking the signature, stamp or seal against its records and attaching an apostille. For most countries that is the end of it. It is not the end for the UAE.
GOV.UK says that where the country asking for the document "is not one of the members of the Hague Convention, there is a 3-step process for legalisation": the Legalisation Office, then that country’s embassy in London, then approval by that country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The UAE is not listed among the Contracting Parties in the Hague Conference’s status table, and the UAE Embassy in London requires its own attestation after the FCDO step.
GOV.UK is also plain that "British embassies, high commissions and consulates cannot legalise documents of any kind." A British consulate in Dubai cannot stand in for the FCDO step.
How the UAE Embassy’s digital attestation works
The Embassy in London publishes a six-step online process. The physical document is still required: the Embassy states that "the physical document will be required to issue the digital attestation."
- Log in to the MOFA website with UAE Pass and select the Attestation Service.
- Choose the UK as the country the document was issued in.
- Complete the form and pay.
- A MOFA-approved service provider collects the original document.
- You receive an email with the document digitally attested by the Embassy and by MOFA, which the Embassy describes as "ready for use within UAE".
- The original is returned by the service provider.
Personal or commercial: the classification that changes the file
The Embassy states that "a power of attorney containing any commercial content will be treated as a commercial document." MOFA’s own FAQ lists a "power of attorney of personal nature" among individual documents and a "power of attorney of commercial nature – general power of attorney" among commercial ones.
A document authorising someone to sell your Dubai flat and one authorising them to sign for your company are therefore not treated alike. Settle which it is before it is drafted, not at the attestation stage.
What the UK side charges
The FCDO publishes its fee per document. The UAE Embassy’s digital attestation page does not publish its own fee, so none is quoted here.
| Service | Fee per document |
|---|---|
| Standard (paper-based) | £45, plus courier or postage costs |
| e-Apostille | £35 |
What to settle in the UAE before you sign in the UK
The UK steps authenticate a signature. They do not decide whether the powers in the document are the right ones for the transaction. That is decided in the UAE, so it is worth settling first.
- Which UAE authority or company will act on the document: Dubai Land Department, RTA, a court, a bank, a developer or a free zone. Our property power of attorney and RTA vehicle power of attorney pages set out what each expects.
- The exact powers your representative needs, in the wording that authority expects. RTA, for example, names the scope a vehicle transfer must carry.
- Whether the receiving authority wants Arabic. MOFA accepts a document in English or Arabic "or an official translation of it"; some receiving authorities ask for more, as our translation guide sets out.
- That names and passport numbers match the passports exactly, for you and for your representative.
Can someone in the United Kingdom issue a new UAE POA online instead?
Sometimes. This is different from signing a POA, LPA or ordinary power of attorney in the United Kingdom and legalising that foreign document. The UAE Ministry of Justice publishes a Digital Power of Attorney service and says its remote route enables customers residing inside or outside the UAE to complete eligible POA transactions without visiting a notary public. Where the applicant, identity method, instrument and final receiver all qualify, the result is a new UAE-issued POA; there is no foreign-signed document to take through the United Kingdom’s foreign ministry or a UAE mission.
That is not a universal passport-only shortcut. The federal MOJ service uses UAE Pass and specified templates. Dubai Courts currently states that online attestation requires a valid Emirates ID and that a concerned party relying only on a passport must appear in person; its workflow may assign no attendance, virtual attendance or personal attendance from the application data. ADJD’s published July 2023 guidance describes a remote meeting but lists an Emirates ID among the documents. The authority—not The Deedbox—decides eligibility and the attendance method.
Choose the transaction before the form. A Dubai property sale may require a property POA drafted for DLD, trustee-office, developer and mortgage steps. A Dubai vehicle sale or export may require a Vehicle/RTA POA and the representative may still have to attend an RTA centre. Banking, company or share transfers, court work, inheritance, property management and private handovers each need their own receiver-specific powers. “General POA” is not a promise that every bank, court, land department, free zone, traffic authority or developer will act on it.
The Deedbox can prepare the UAE-focused draft and organise the document workflow for a general POA, property POA, vehicle or RTA POA, business POA, banking POA, litigation POA or inheritance POA. The principal must still complete the government identity, signature or video step and pay the authority’s fees. The Deedbox is not the issuing court or notary and cannot guarantee a government channel or final receiver will accept a case.
- Confirm the exact receiver and transaction: DLD or a Dubai trustee office, RTA, ADJD, RAK Courts, federal MOJ, a local land department, bank, developer, free zone, company registry or court.
- Check whether the principal has the identity credential required by the selected authority; an original passport alone does not establish online eligibility on every route.
- Choose the UAE-issued digital route only after the live authority service accepts the applicant and required powers.
- If it does not, use the documented the United Kingdom-to-UAE signing and legalisation route on this page rather than forcing an ineligible online application.
Source: UAE Ministry of Justice — Writing and authentication of contracts and deeds
Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, RAK and Fujairah do not share one receiving counter
The signing and legalisation chain in the United Kingdom does not change merely because the UAE asset is in a different emirate. What changes is the receiving authority and the powers it expects. Dubai property and vehicle matters may involve the Dubai Land Department, a trustee office, the RTA or Dubai Courts. Abu Dhabi notarial and civil-Will routes use ADJD. Ras Al Khaimah has its own Courts and Municipality services. Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah use federal-judiciary or local receiving services according to the transaction.
A POA for a Sharjah property, Fujairah vehicle, RAK company or Abu Dhabi bank should therefore name the real asset and acts rather than repeat an emirate keyword. Ask that land department, traffic authority, bank, company registrar, free zone, court, developer or other receiver for its current wording, identity evidence, original, translation and attendance rules before the principal signs abroad.
The same page covers these emirates because the foreign-country route is one corridor. Separate country-to-Dubai, country-to-Sharjah, country-to-RAK and country-to-Fujairah pages would repeat the legalisation answer and split authority. The receiving-system guides explain the genuinely different UAE steps.
- Dubai property and DLD POA requirements
- Dubai vehicle and RTA POA requirements
- RAK POA and Will receiving routes
- Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah routes
Source: UAE Ministry of Justice — writing and authentication of contracts and deeds
Can a person in the United Kingdom make a UAE Will remotely?
Yes, where a UAE registry’s published eligibility and attendance rules fit the person. A Will or last will and testament made under home-country law is not automatically a substitute for a UAE-registered Will, and a UAE Will is not automatically effective for an estate in the United Kingdom. Attestation alone cannot decide either cross-border succession question.
DIFC Courts publishes the clearest fully remote option: an eligible non-Muslim testator does not have to be a UAE resident, may attend the registration appointment virtually and may have witnesses join from anywhere in the world. Abu Dhabi Judicial Department publishes a Civil Will route for a non-UAE citizen regardless of religion, using a standard English-Arabic template and online notarial attendance after review. Dubai Courts is a separate route and currently distinguishes online attendance with a valid Emirates ID from passport-only personal appearance.
The choice should follow eligibility, religion where relevant, the location and type of UAE assets, family circumstances, guardianship needs, language and the registry’s coverage. A Power of Attorney cannot be used to sign a Will for the testator. The testator must personally complete the selected registry’s signature and identity process, even when the appointment is virtual.
The Deedbox can prepare and coordinate a UAE Will workflow, but the registry—not The Deedbox—checks eligibility, witnesses, identity, registration and legal effect. Government or registry fees are separate from document-preparation fees, and no page should promise that one Will controls every UAE and foreign asset.
Source: DIFC Courts — Wills FAQ
Questions
Can I use a UK apostille in Dubai on its own?
Not on the route the UAE Embassy in London publishes. The FCDO step comes first, and the Embassy then attests the document through the MOFA digital service. GOV.UK describes an embassy step after the apostille for countries outside the Hague Convention.
Does it have to be a notary, or can a solicitor witness it?
The UAE Embassy in London says the document must be signed "in the presence of a UK solicitor or notary". The FCDO legalises documents certified by a UK public official, and names both.
Do I have to visit the UAE Embassy in London?
The Embassy’s published process is online: you apply through the MOFA website with UAE Pass and a MOFA-approved service provider collects the original. An older Embassy page states that documents "cannot be submitted or collected in person, they will be accepted only by post".
Does the power of attorney need to be in Arabic?
For attestation, MOFA asks for the original "in English or Arabic (or an official translation of it)". Whether the UAE authority receiving it also wants Arabic is that authority’s rule, and several publish one. See the translation guide before you sign.
Can The Deedbox prepare the document for me to sign in the UK?
We can prepare the wording around what the receiving UAE authority requires. You then sign it before a UK solicitor or notary, and the FCDO and the UAE Embassy carry out their own steps. We do not legalise or attest documents.
Can I avoid the United Kingdom’s foreign ministry and the UAE embassy by making the POA online?
Only if the applicant and required instrument qualify for a UAE-issued digital or virtual notarial route. In that case there is no the United Kingdom-issued document to legalise. If the UAE route requires an Emirates ID, UAE Pass credential, different template or personal attendance that the applicant cannot meet, the foreign signing and legalisation chain on this page still applies.
Can I register a UAE Will while I remain in the United Kingdom?
DIFC Courts publishes virtual registration for eligible non-Muslim testators and allows witnesses to join from anywhere. ADJD also publishes an online Civil Will route for non-UAE citizens. The testator must personally complete the registry process; a representative cannot sign under a POA.
What this page does not do
- This page covers documents issued in the UK. The UAE Embassy in London states that non-UK documents "must be attested/legalised by the UAE Embassy/Consulate in their relevant country."
- The UAE Embassy’s attestation fee is not published on its digital attestation page and is not quoted here.
- Whether a document is sufficient for a particular transaction is decided by the UAE authority that receives it, not by any step on this page.
- The Deedbox is not a law firm and not a notary. It does not legalise, apostille or attest documents, and does not act for anyone before a mission, a foreign ministry or a court.
- A UAE digital POA is an alternative issuance route, not a guaranteed shortcut. The live authority decides identity, template, attendance, fee and acceptance requirements; an original passport by itself is not enough on every published route.
- The cross-border effect of a the United Kingdom Will or a UAE Will requires appropriately qualified advice in each jurisdiction where assets or heirs are located.
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