UAE to Canada corridor
Power of Attorney From the UAE to Canada
A power of attorney from the UAE to Canada is signed here in Arabic and read later by someone who has never seen a UAE notarial deed. Everything it needs to say has to be on the page before it leaves.
- Drafted for the distance
- Arabic with certified translation
- Every act named
The journey in short
There is no apostille on a document leaving the UAE, because the UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention. The deed is drafted and signed in Arabic with a certified translation, ratified before a notary public, attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then it travels.
Apostille
None, the UAE issues no apostille
Language of the deed
Arabic, with a certified translation signed
Fixing a gap later
You cannot, the whole trip repeats
You will not be there to explain it
The person who opens this file in Canada has probably never seen a UAE notarial deed. They will not ring Dubai to ask what a clause was meant to cover, and they will very likely need a version in a language they read. They will act on what is written and nothing else. That is why the wording has to be complete on its face before the document is sealed and sent.
What a loosely written deed actually grants
The Civil Transactions Law is blunt about this. An agency expressed in general terms, without specifying what is intended, grants only the power to perform acts of management. Anything beyond management and preservation needs a special agency naming the type of act, including sale, mortgage, settlement, acknowledgment, arbitration, oath and pleading before a court.
Where a power of attorney from the UAE to Canada goes
Ask first, draft second. Each stage signs off the one before it, and the whole sequence runs again if the wording is wrong.
1
Ask the far end first
Before a word is drafted, we ask the person or office in Canada who will receive this deed to tell us, in writing, exactly what it has to authorise and how they want it presented. That answer shapes everything after it. A second attempt does not mean an afternoon lost, it means the whole journey again.
2
Drafting, then the Arabic text
We write the deed around the acts named in that answer, then put it into Arabic. In Dubai, notarial instruments are in Arabic, and a document in another language is accepted only with a translation by a certified translator, with both versions signed by the parties. Dubai Courts requires legal translation by a translator approved by the UAE Ministry of Justice.
3
Ratification before a notary public
You appear and sign, and the notary ratifies. Under the federal decree-law the notary verifies identity from an ID card, passport or another official document issued by the State, checks capacity and consent, and reads the content of the transaction out to you, revealing its effects, before anything is signed. We attend with you, but the act is the notary’s.
4
Attestation, then the post
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs attests the signatures and seals, under the service it names Attestation of Official Documents and Certificates. The original must be in Arabic or English, or carry a legally certified translation, and it must not be laminated. There is no apostille on it, because the UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention. Whatever is needed after that is set by the receiving side, which is why we asked first.
Who does what in the process
Our lawyers and legal consultants draft the deed, arrange the legal translation, check the file and attend the appointment with you. Ratification is carried out before a notary public. In Dubai the notaries public sit under Dubai Law 4 of 2013 and Dubai Courts, and under the federal decree-law covering the other emirates notarial duties belong only to public notaries, private notaries and accredited consuls of the State.
We are also not qualified in Canadian law, and this page states none of it. You will not find a form, a fee, a timescale or a rule about what any office there accepts, because we have no source for any of it and a guess would cost you the round trip. What we do instead is ask the person or office in Canada who will receive it what they need, in writing, and draft to match.
Every act has to be named on the page
An act you did not name is an act your agent cannot do, and you cannot add it by email from Dubai.
- An agency in general terms, with nothing specified, grants acts of management only.
- Anything past management and preservation needs a special agency naming the type of act, including sale, mortgage, settlement, acknowledgment, arbitration, oath and pleading before a court.
- The agent is named exactly as the passport they will present in Canada spells it.
- The property, account, file or matter is identified precisely, never described loosely.
- A term is written in, because UAE law fixes no general validity period, and an agency also ends on death or loss of legal capacity.
- Sub-agency is settled either way in the deed, since revoking the main agency revokes every sub-agency under it by law.
What you can still change, and what you cannot
The line between the two runs through the notary’s office. After that the document is out of your hands, and an agency that has ended looks exactly like one that has not.
Fixed before it leaves
Everything on the page
The acts named, the spelling of names, the description of the matter, the term, the Arabic text and the signed translation. All of it is settled here.
Cannot be fixed after
A gap found in Canada
An act you left out cannot be added by email from Dubai. The deed comes back, is redrafted, ratified and attested again, and makes the whole journey twice.
What we collect before a word is drafted
Send scans first. We check the set against what the receiving side asked for, and only then book the appointment.
From you, here
You attend the ratification
- Emirates ID
- Passport, or another official document issued by the State
- Your signature, given before the notary
- The term you want written into the deed
From the person in Canada
They never come here
- Passport copy as a PDF
- Name spelled exactly as that passport shows it
- What the receiving office has asked for, in writing
- The same set again for any second agent you name
About what it is being used for
This decides the wording
- The document identifying the property, account or file
- Arabic text by a translator approved by the Ministry of Justice
- Both language versions signed by the parties
- Clean scans in PDF, and nothing laminated
The round trip you do not want to make twice
A rejection at the far end is not an afternoon. It is drafting, translation, ratification and attestation again, and the post twice.
- A general deed sent for an act that needed a special agency
- A name spelled one way here and another way on the passport there
- A translation not done by a legal translator registered with the Ministry of Justice
- That the receiving side has told us, in writing, what it needs
- That every act is written out in the words the law uses
- That the law relied on is current, since the 1985 Civil Code was repealed by Federal Decree-Law 25 of 2025 and Article 955 no longer applies
Frequently asked questions
The questions we are asked most often on this one.
Why does the word apostille not apply to a deed issued here?
Because the UAE is not a contracting party to the 1961 Apostille Convention. It does not appear on the status table published by the Hague Conference, which listed 130 contracting parties when it was last updated on 30 June 2026. No authority in the UAE can issue an apostille, so the deed carries notarial ratification and attestation instead.
What should I ask the person or office in Canada before drafting starts?
Ask them to put in writing what the agent must be able to do, how they want the name and the matter identified, and what form of document they expect to receive. We have no source for what any office in Canada accepts, so their answer is the specification we draft to. Get it before anything is written.
Can the wording be changed after the deed has left the UAE?
No. Once it is ratified, attested and posted, the text is fixed. A missing power cannot be added from Dubai by email or phone call. The deed has to be redrafted, translated again, ratified again and attested again, and then make the same journey a second time. That is why we settle the acts before drafting.
Who translates it, and is the translation signed as well?
In Dubai an instrument is in Arabic, and a foreign language document is accepted only with a translation by a certified translator, with both versions signed by the parties. Documents going to the Dubai Courts power of attorney service must be translated as legal translation by a translator approved by the UAE Ministry of Justice.
What happens if I die or lose capacity while the agent still holds it?
The agency ends. Under the Civil Transactions Law an agency is extinguished on completion of the work, on expiry of the term specified, and on the death or loss of legal capacity of either the principal or the agent. Nobody in Canada will know that has happened, which is one more reason to keep the person receiving it informed.
How do I stop the agent acting once the deed is abroad?
The principal may revoke or restrict the agent’s authority at any time, unless the agency involves the right of a third party or was issued in the agent’s interest. Revoking the main agency revokes any sub-agency under it by law. Revoking at an inappropriate time, or without acceptable justification, can bring a compensation claim.
What happens in front of the notary?
Under the federal decree-law the notary verifies the identity of the persons concerned from an ID card, passport or another official document issued by the State, verifies capacity and consent, and reads out the content of the transaction and reveals its effects. If the notary does not speak your language, an interpreter from the Ministry’s register is engaged.
Which fees on this route are officially published?
The federal schedule sets AED 100 per party for executing or notarising a general or special power of attorney, and AED 50 per page for notarising a translation. A private notary adds 30 per cent, so AED 130 per party. That schedule is federal; Dubai Courts sits outside it under Dubai Law 4 of 2013. MOFAIC publishes AED 150 for individual documents and AED 2,000 for commercial ones.
Start here
Tell us who will receive it
Start at the far end. Tell us who in Canada will receive this deed, what they have asked for and by when, and we will tell you what the wording has to carry. We draft it, arrange the Arabic text and the certified translation, check the file against what you were sent, and attend the notary appointment with you.
Tell us what the document has to do
Say who will receive it and what you need it to allow, and you will get a straight answer on the wording, the government fees and what to bring. You can also send it through the contact form.
Call us
Speak to the person who will handle your file and get an answer on the same call.
Send photographs of your passport, your Emirates ID and anything the matter attaches to.
Best for a company matter, or anything that runs to several documents.
Visit the office
Jebel Ali area, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai. Come in, or have it handled remotely and only turn up to sign.
Opening hours. Monday to Thursday, 9:00 to 18:00. Friday, 9:00 to 12:00. Saturday, 9:00 to 18:00. Sunday, closed.