Oct 06, 2025 11 mins readYou’ve got the job offer. The excitement of a new adventure. Maybe you’re already packing, or maybe you’ve just landed and you’re figuring out where to buy groceries that don’t cost a fortune.
And then someone mentions it casually—”Oh, you’ll need to get your marriage certificate attested.”
Wait, what?
If you’re like most people, you have absolutely no idea what that means. Your marriage certificate is official. It’s legal. It’s got stamps and signatures and everything. Why would you need to do anything else to it?
Welcome to one of those things nobody warns you about before you move to the UAE.
I know it sounds ridiculous. You got married. You have the certificate to prove it. But to the UAE government, that document is just a piece of paper from another country until it goes through something called attestation.
Attestation is the process of verifying—officially, through multiple government channels—that your marriage certificate is legitimate and was issued by recognized authorities back home.
Without it, you’re going to hit a wall. And not just one wall—every wall.
Want to bring your spouse over on a family visa? Not happening without an attested marriage certificate.
Want to add them to your health insurance through your employer? They’ll ask for it.
Kids need to start school? The school won’t even process the application without it.
Need to visit the hospital for maternity care or any procedure involving your spouse? You guessed it.
It’s not that the UAE is trying to make your life difficult. They just need to verify that documents from other countries are genuine. But when you’re new here and just trying to get settled, it feels like one more impossible hoop to jump through.
Okay, so you need to get this done. How hard could it be, right?
Well, let me walk you through what’s actually involved.
Back in Your Home Country:
Your marriage certificate first goes to a Notary Public or local authority who verifies it’s real. Then, depending on your country, it might need to go to the state government for another round of verification. After that, it goes to your national Ministry of External Affairs (or whatever your country calls their foreign affairs department). And finally, it needs to be verified by the UAE Embassy or Consulate in your home country.
Then, in the UAE:
Once you’ve made it through all those steps, the document comes here to Abu Dhabi for one final verification by MOFA—the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Each of these steps involves fees. Each one involves paperwork. Each one involves waiting. And if anything goes wrong at any stage—wrong form, missing signature, expired stamp—you start over.
Now imagine trying to coordinate all of this while you’re:
Yeah. It’s a lot.
Here’s what I’ve learned from talking to people who’ve been through this: almost nobody does it themselves. At least, not successfully on the first try.
The people who try to handle it on their own usually end up frustrated, confused, and weeks behind schedule. The people who hand it off to a professional attestation agency? They’re usually done in a couple of weeks with barely any effort on their part.
I know what you’re thinking. “But I could save money if I just figure it out myself.”
Sure. Technically true. But let’s be realistic about what you’re signing up for.
You’ll need to research the exact requirements for your specific country. You’ll need to figure out which government offices to visit and when they’re open. You’ll need to navigate the UAE Embassy’s procedures in your home country, which might involve mailing your original document internationally (ever tried tracking a document through international courier systems?). You’ll need to follow up constantly to make sure things are moving. And then, once everything’s done in your home country, you’ll need to figure out the MOFA process here in Abu Dhabi.
Or… you hand your marriage certificate to an attestation agency, and they do all of that.
They pick it up from wherever you are. They handle every single step in both your home country and here. They keep you updated. And when it’s done, they bring it back to you, fully attested and ready to use.
No government offices. No confusing forms. No wondering if you’re doing it right. No stress.
If you decide to go this route—and honestly, I think you should—you need to pick the right agency. There are a lot of them in Abu Dhabi, and quality varies.
First: Make absolutely sure they’re MOFA-approved.
This is non-negotiable. If an agency isn’t officially recognized by the UAE government, the attestation they get for you might be rejected. And then you’ve wasted time and money on something that doesn’t actually solve your problem. Before you commit to anyone, verify they’re properly licensed.
Second: They should come to you.
You shouldn’t have to take time off work to drop documents at some office across town. A good attestation service picks up from your home or office and delivers back to the same place. If they’re asking you to come to them, that’s not great service.
Third: Know what you’re paying upfront.
The price should be clear from the beginning. All-inclusive. No surprise “processing fees” or “embassy charges” that pop up halfway through. If an agency can’t give you a straightforward quote, walk away.
Fourth: They should guarantee timing.
This is especially important if you’re on a deadline—maybe your visa paperwork has a submission date, or your spouse needs to be here by a certain time. A professional agency will tell you exactly how long it’ll take and commit to that timeline. If they’re vague about timing, that’s a red flag.
And finally: Check what other people say about them.
Look for reviews. Ask in expat groups. See what experiences others have had. If people are complaining about lost documents, missed deadlines, or poor communication, trust that. You don’t want to be the next person writing that review.
This is super common. You’ve already moved to Abu Dhabi, and your marriage certificate is sitting in a drawer somewhere in your home country.
Good attestation agencies can handle this too. They often have networks or partners in different countries, or they can coordinate with your family to get the document. You don’t need to fly back home just to hand over a certificate.
You (or your family) send it to them, they manage the entire process in your home country and then bring it here for the final MOFA attestation. Some agencies will even arrange pickup from your family’s house if you’re from certain countries.
The point is, you don’t need to be physically present for any of this. That’s kind of the whole value of using a professional service.
Honestly? It depends on where you’re from.
Documents from some countries move through the system faster than others. Some embassies are quicker to respond. Some countries have more layers of verification than others.
Generally, you’re looking at somewhere between two and four weeks for the complete process if you’re using an agency. Maybe a bit longer if there are complications or if your country’s systems are particularly slow.
If you’re trying to do it yourself, add extra time for mistakes, for figuring things out, for delays you didn’t anticipate.
And if you’re in a rush—like you need this done immediately because there’s a deadline—most agencies offer expedited services. It costs more, obviously. But sometimes peace of mind is worth paying for.
Look, I get the hesitation. Paying someone to handle paperwork feels like an unnecessary expense when you’re already dealing with relocation costs, rent deposits, and everything else that comes with moving to a new country.
But think about it this way: what’s your time worth? What’s your stress level worth? What’s the cost of getting it wrong and having to start over?
You’re in a new job. You’re adjusting to a new life. You’re probably already overwhelmed with a thousand things you need to figure out. Do you really want to add “become an expert in international document attestation” to that list?
For most people, the answer is no. The cost of hiring an agency—usually a few hundred dirhams, depending on your home country—is absolutely worth not having to deal with any of this yourself.
You’re not just paying for stamps and signatures. You’re paying for expertise, for reliability, for someone who’s done this hundreds of times and knows exactly how to navigate the system. You’re paying to not worry about it.
Let me paint the picture so you know what to expect.
You contact an agency—usually just a phone call or WhatsApp message. You tell them where your marriage certificate is from and where it currently is. They tell you what they need from you (usually just the original certificate and maybe a copy of your passport), give you a price, and give you a timeline.
You hand over the document. Maybe they pick it up from your apartment, maybe you drop it at their office if it’s convenient, maybe your family sends it to them from your home country.
Then they handle everything. You get periodic updates—”we’ve completed the MEA attestation,” “it’s at the UAE Embassy now,” “we’ve received it in Abu Dhabi and it’s going to MOFA.”
And then one day, they call you and say it’s done. They bring you back your marriage certificate, now covered in official stamps and seals from multiple governments. It looks impressive, honestly.
And now you can actually move forward with everything you’ve been waiting to do.
Here’s what happens if you put this off or try to shortcut it somehow.
Your spouse can’t come join you. Or if they’re here on a visit visa, they can’t stay. Your kids can’t start school, or they start but without proper documentation, which creates problems later. You can’t get family health insurance. You hit roadblocks with any legal matters involving your spouse.
Basically, your life is on hold. And every day you wait is another day of living in limbo, another day of explaining to your spouse why they can’t be here yet, another day of stress.
The attestation process takes time, yes. But it’s mandatory time. There’s no way around it. The only question is whether you’re going to make it as smooth as possible or as difficult as possible.
If I were in your shoes—and I’m basing this on conversations with dozens of people who’ve been through this—here’s what I’d do:
Find a reputable, MOFA-approved attestation agency in Abu Dhabi. Not the cheapest one. Not necessarily the one with the fanciest website. The one with good reviews, clear pricing, and a solid track record.
Contact them. Explain your situation. Get a quote and a timeline.
Hand over your marriage certificate and let them handle it.
Then go focus on everything else you need to do to settle into your new life here. Check in with the agency occasionally if you want updates, but otherwise, let them do their job.
When it’s done, you’ll have what you need, and you can finally stop worrying about it.
Moving to a new country is hard enough without bureaucratic nightmares. There are so many things competing for your attention, so many things you need to figure out.
Your marriage certificate attestation is important—it’s literally the key to bringing your family together and moving forward with your life here. But it doesn’t have to be the thing that keeps you up at night.
Get it sorted properly, get it sorted quickly, and move on to the things that actually matter—like building your life in Abu Dhabi with the people you love.
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Nov 15, 2022
