UAE to India corridor
Power of Attorney From the UAE to India
The UAE does not issue apostilles, so a power of attorney signed here for use in India follows the notary and consular route instead. We draft it, translate it, check it and attend with you.
- Drafted in Arabic
- Ratified before a notary
- MOFAIC attestation handled
The short answer
The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so nothing signed in the UAE can be apostilled for India. Your deed is drafted in Arabic, ratified before a notary public, attested by MOFAIC, then taken through the consular step.
Apostille
Not available, the UAE issues none
The route
Notary, then MOFAIC, then the consular step
MOFAIC fee
AED 150 individual, AED 2,000 commercial
Why there is no apostille on this route
People ask for an apostille because they have seen the word on a checklist sent from India. It cannot be issued here. The Hague Conference publishes the list of contracting parties to the 1961 Apostille Convention, and the United Arab Emirates does not appear on it. No UAE authority has the power to issue an apostille, whatever a typing centre tells you.
What the status table shows
The HCCH status table for the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents listed 130 contracting parties when it was last updated on 30 June 2026. The United Arab Emirates is not among them.
The order the document moves in
Each step signs off the one before it. Skip one and the next counter sends the file back.
1
Drafting and legal translation
We write the deed around the exact act you need done in India, and we put it into Arabic. In Dubai, notarial instruments are in Arabic, and a document in another language is accepted only with a certified Arabic translation, with both versions signed by the parties.
2
Ratification before a notary public
Ratification is carried out before a notary public. In Dubai the notaries public sit under Dubai Law 4/2013 and Dubai Courts, and in the emirates on the federal system the duty belongs to public notaries, private notaries and accredited UAE consuls. The notary verifies identity from an Emirates ID or passport, checks capacity and consent, and reads the content out to you before you sign. We attend with you.
3
MOFAIC attestation
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 the document must not be laminated.
4
The consular step, then India
The last stamp applied in the UAE is the consular one. Which mission applies it, and what that mission wants to see, is set by the receiving side rather than by UAE law. We confirm the current requirement, and what the office in India will accept, before we draft.
What people here send one to India for
These are the matters we are asked about most. Each needs its own wording, because a deed written in general terms does far less than most people assume.
Selling a flat
You are in Sharjah, the buyer is in India, and your brother has to sign for you. The deed has to name the property and the power to sell.
Inherited land
A parent has died and the land sits in several names. The agent may need to collect records, deal with tenants and sign the transfer papers on your behalf.
A bank matter
Closing a deposit, operating an account, collecting a cheque. Banks read the deed word for word, so the account and the exact act belong in it.
A court case
Pleading before a court needs a special agency that names that power. We draft it to cover instructing an advocate and appearing on the dates the court sets.
A let property
Renting out a flat, collecting rent, renewing or ending a tenancy. Management wording covers the day to day, but never a sale or a mortgage.
Paperwork and records
Obtaining certified copies, filing forms, standing in the queue at an office in India for you. Routine work, but the acts still have to be written out.
What our notary services cover
The ratification is carried out before a notary public. Our lawyers and legal consultants draft the deed, arrange the legal translation, check it against what the receiving office needs and attend the appointment with you. In Dubai those notaries sit under Dubai Law 4/2013 and Dubai Courts, and under the federal decree-law covering the other emirates the duty belongs to public notaries, private notaries and accredited UAE consuls.
We also will not guess at the Indian side. Nothing on this page states an Indian stamp duty, a registration rule, a state rule or a court practice, because the body that will act on your deed in India sets its own requirements. We ask you, or the person acting for you there, to confirm them, and we write the deed to match.
Wording is where these deeds fail
UAE law limits what a loosely written deed can do. That is a common reason a deed does less than the person who signed it expected.
- An agency expressed in general terms grants only acts of management, and nothing beyond that.
- Anything past management and preservation needs a special agency naming the act, including sale, mortgage, settlement, acknowledgment, arbitration, oath and pleading before a court.
- The agent is named exactly as the name is spelled on the passport they will present in India.
- The property, the account or the case is identified in the deed, not described loosely.
- The term is written into the deed, because UAE law sets no general fixed validity period.
- Sub-agency is settled in the deed, either allowed or shut off, rather than left open.
What we need from you
Two sets of identity details and the papers behind the matter. Send scans first, we check them, then we book the appointment.
From you, the principal
You attend the ratification
- Emirates ID
- Passport, or another official document issued by the State
- Your signature, given before the notary
- Contact details for the person who will act for you
From the agent in India
They do not travel here
- Passport copy as a PDF
- Full name spelled exactly as the passport shows it
- Emirates ID number, only where they hold one
- The same set again for every further agent you name
Behind the matter
This is what shapes the wording
- The document identifying the property, account or case
- The Arabic text of the deed, or a certified translation of it
- Both language versions signed by the parties
- Clean scans in PDF, and nothing laminated
Why deeds come back, and what we check
A rejection means walking the whole route again. Most of them are avoidable on the day the deed is written.
- A general deed used for an act that needed a special agency
- A name on the deed that does not match the passport in India
- A translation not done by a legal translator registered with the Ministry of Justice
- That the act you actually need is written out, in the words the law uses
- That names, numbers and the description of the property read the same on both versions
- 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.
Can I get an apostille on a power of attorney in the UAE?
No. The UAE is not a contracting party to the 1961 Apostille Convention, and it does not appear on the status table published by the Hague Conference, which listed 130 parties when last updated on 30 June 2026. No authority here can issue one, so the deed goes through notarisation and the consular chain instead.
Does the power of attorney have to be written in Arabic?
In Dubai, notarial instruments are in Arabic. A document in another language is accepted only with an Arabic translation by a certified translator, and both versions are signed by the parties. Documents going to the Dubai Courts power of attorney service must be translated by a legal translator registered with the UAE Ministry of Justice.
Do I have to travel to India to sign it?
No, and that is the whole point of the deed. You sign here before a notary public, the document is attested in the UAE, and the person you have named acts for you in India. Federal law sets personal appearance as the default, but it allows the notary to use IT tools in place of it.
Will a general power of attorney cover a property sale?
Not on its own. Under the Civil Transactions Law, an agency expressed in general terms grants only acts of management. Sale, mortgage, settlement, acknowledgment, arbitration, administering an oath and pleading before a court each need a special agency that names the type of act and the dispositions it entails.
What are the official notary fees?
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 included in the instrument. A private notary charges those fees plus 30 per cent as professional fees. Dubai Courts publishes its own schedule, which we check first.
What does MOFAIC charge to attest it?
MOFAIC publishes AED 150 for Individual Affairs documents and AED 2,000 for Commercial documents. A power of attorney of a personal nature sits in the first group. A power of attorney of a commercial nature, and a general power of attorney, sit in the second. The gap is wide, so the category matters.
How long will it stay valid?
UAE law sets no general fixed period. An agency ends when the work entrusted to the agent is complete, when the term specified in the deed expires, or on the death or loss of legal capacity of either the principal or the agent. Put a term in the deed, and confirm what the office in India expects.
Can I cancel it once my relative has it?
Yes. 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 principal agency revokes any sub-agency under it. Revoking at an inappropriate time, or without acceptable justification, can bring a compensation claim.
Start here
Tell us what has to happen in India
Start with the act, not the document. Tell us what the person in India has to do, which office will act on it, and by when. We will tell you what the deed has to say and what the chain will involve. We draft, translate, check the file 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.