Consular Legalization for the UAE (Dubai): MOFA Certificate of Official Seal and the UAE Embassy in Japan

When you go to the UAE (United Arab Emirates, including Dubai) and apply for a visa or similar, you may be asked to submit Japanese documents such as your family register (koseki). Japanese official documents are not accepted by UAE authorities as they are; you will be told to "obtain consular legalization at the UAE Embassy in Japan".

The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention

For countries that are party to the Hague Apostille Convention (the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents), an apostille alone is enough. The UAE, however, is not a party, so documents must be certified as follows.

• Public documents: certificate of official seal at Japan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) → consular legalization at the UAE Embassy in Japan
• Private documents: certification by a notary at a notary office → certification of the notary's seal by the Legal Affairs Bureau → certificate of official seal at MOFA → consular legalization at the UAE Embassy in Japan (at notary offices offering the one-stop service, the first three steps are completed at once)

MOFA's certificate of official seal can be applied for by mail or at the counter, and in both cases certified documents are sent by mail 3 business days after acceptance. Since 5 October 2026, applications at the counter of MOFA headquarters in Tokyo require an online appointment (you cannot apply without one; mail applications and the Osaka branch do not require an appointment). Some websites say that applying at the counter lets you collect documents the next day, but this was the practice before the COVID-19 pandemic and is out of date.

After the certificate of official seal: apply for consular legalization at the UAE Embassy

The UAE Embassy returned to Nanpeidai, Shibuya-ku, on 16 March 2026 (moved back from Meguro)

Once you have the certificate of official seal, apply for consular legalization at the UAE Embassy in Nanpeidai, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo. From September 2024 the embassy building was being renovated and the consular section had moved to Arco Tower near the Meguro River, but consular legalization resumed at Nanpeidai, Shibuya-ku, on 16 March 2026.

Address: Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, 9-10 Nanpeidai-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0036

Changes to the UAE Embassy's legalization procedure

The procedure changed in mid-May 2026. Previously, documents were certified on the Japanese side and then certified again by the UAE side inside the UAE; now both procedures can be completed in Japan.

According to a JETRO guide (information as of September 2025), the embassy fee for legalizing a personal document is AED 150 per document. The yen amount depends on the exchange rate at the time of application, and payment is made online through UAE Pass. Please check the exact amount with the embassy when you apply.

Application hours at the UAE Embassy

Applications for consular legalization are accepted from 9:30 to 11:30 (two hours). No appointment is needed, but the embassy sometimes closes temporarily, so it recommends phoning to confirm it is open if you are coming from far away. Rules may change from time to time, so we recommend checking before you visit.

Documents can be collected only between 13:30 and 15:30. They cannot be collected on the day of application, so you must visit the UAE Embassy again on a later day. This means at least two visits to the embassy, and in some cases a visit to a notary office as well.

Pay the legalization fee online before visiting the UAE Embassy

To have documents for the UAE legalized, you must register an account on the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs website or app and pay the legalization fee before applying at the embassy.

UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs website: https://www.mofa.gov.ae/en

Note on school documents

There are points to note when legalizing Japanese school documents (graduation certificates, etc.) for the UAE.

A graduation certificate that has gone through notarization at a notary office and the Legal Affairs Bureau's certification of the notary's seal is generally not accepted by the UAE Embassy in Japan as a certified school document. The certificate of official seal must be obtained directly from MOFA's certification section, not via a notary office.

For Japanese private vocational schools (senmon gakko), MOFA cannot issue a certificate of official seal (public vocational schools are eligible). When we asked the UAE Embassy, it advised that if MOFA cannot certify a private vocational school's certificate, the embassy cannot legalize it either, so the graduation certificate from the previous stage of education (high school) should be legalized instead.

The embassy's consular officers change every few years, and decisions may differ depending on the officer, so take particular care with school documents. If you are not confident about obtaining the certification yourself, consider using a specialist.

Documents we are often asked to legalize for the UAE

We have handled many requests from a wide range of companies and individuals, including listed companies (including English translation). Documents not listed below can also be legalized, so please feel free to ask.

• Company registration certificate (certificate of all registered matters / current registered matters)
• Articles of incorporation
• Shareholder register
• Koseki and seal registration certificate
• Passport

Our consular legalization service for the UAE

In addition, the notary fee (JPY 12,500 for a declaration in a foreign language; not subject to consumption tax) and the UAE Embassy's legalization fee (AED 150 per personal document according to a JETRO guide; the yen amount depends on the exchange rate) are charged. For commercial documents, the UAE Embassy's legalization fee is about JPY 84,000 (AED 2,000) per document. Because the total can be hard to work out, contact us first and we will give you a free quote for the total cost and turnaround. Credit card payment is available.

Why use an office near the UAE Embassy

Our office is close to the UAE Embassy, notary offices and MOFA, so we can obtain certifications for documents going to the UAE quickly. Doing it yourself means visiting a notary office and then going to the UAE Embassy at least twice (once to apply and once to collect), which takes considerable time and travel once you include preparing documents and translations.

The UAE Embassy also checks the translation when you apply, and if the translation is not properly prepared and attached according to the rules, the application will not be accepted. First-time applicants are often asked to correct something, which can mean returning to the notary office and visiting the embassy several more times. If the documents are not properly certified, you may be unable to complete your procedure after arriving in the UAE. Just as many people leave their tax returns to a tax accountant, leaving document certification to a specialist lets you focus on your own work.

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Royal Partners Administrative Scrivener Office, Silver Plaza Azabu-juban 506, 2-19-4 Azabu-juban, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0045, Japan
Taiga Sato, Certified Administrative Scrivener