Embassy legalization is how a Georgian marriage certificate becomes valid in a country that does not accept an apostille, such as the UAE, Qatar or Kuwait. It takes 3 stages, the first 2 handled together at a Public Service Hall, and the finished certificate counts only in the country whose embassy stamped it. Here is which countries need it, each stage in order, the fees, the timing, and what to check before the embassy stage.
Quick summary
- Countries outside the Hague Apostille Convention, including the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon and Iran, need embassy legalization instead of an apostille.
- The Public Service Development Agency certifies the certificate and adds the Foreign Ministry's stamp itself, so you never visit the ministry and pay no ministry fee.
- The Georgian stages cost GEL 30 on the 8th working day, GEL 60 on the 4th, GEL 120 on the 2nd or GEL 150 the same day.
- The destination's embassy then certifies the Georgian stamps for its own fee, and the UAE Embassy in Tbilisi charges USD 41 for a marriage document.
- A legalized certificate is valid only in the country whose embassy stamped it, so each non-convention country needs its own copy.
On this page
Which Countries Need Embassy Legalization
Georgia has been in the Hague Apostille Convention (opens in a new tab) since 14 May 2007, so for most destinations a single apostille does the job. Embassy legalization is for the rest: countries outside the convention, whose offices accept a foreign certificate only once their own embassy has certified it.
What decides it is where the certificate will be used, never the passports you hold. Making a Georgian marriage certificate count in Dubai takes embassy legalization even for 2 British citizens, while the same certificate headed for a register office in London needs only an apostille.
| Destination | Route for a Georgian certificate | Apostille Convention status |
|---|---|---|
| United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait | Embassy legalization | Not a party |
| Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Iran, Iraq | Embassy legalization | Not a party |
| Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Kenya, Nigeria | Embassy legalization | Not a party |
| Thailand | Embassy legalization until 28 February 2027, then an apostille | Acceded on 30 June 2026, in force from 28 February 2027 |
| Vietnam | Apostille | In force since 11 September 2026 |
| Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman | Apostille | In force since 2022, 2013 and 2012 |
Convention status from the HCCH status table, last updated 30 June 2026, which already lists the Thai and Vietnamese accessions.
Vietnam and Thailand are the newest members. Vietnam moved to the apostille on 11 September 2026, and Thailand is due to follow on 28 February 2027; until that date, a certificate for Thailand still goes through the embassy.
From our Tbilisi team
We apostille certificates headed for Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Oman rather than send them to an embassy. All 3 are in the convention, so the apostille is the stamp their offices accept, and it spares you an embassy fee and an embassy queue.
The 3 Stages of Embassy Legalization
The stages run in a fixed order, and each one vouches for the signature or stamp before it rather than for the marriage itself. The embassy at the end only accepts a certificate that already carries both Georgian stamps.
- The Public Service Development Agency certifies the certificate. The agency, part of Georgia's Ministry of Justice, confirms the certificate is a genuine Georgian document. You apply in person at any Public Service Hall branch or agency office, not only the one where you married.
- The Foreign Ministry's Consular Department certifies the agency's stamp. Under the single-window system, the agency adds this second stamp itself, so the ministry stage needs no visit and no separate fee.
- The destination country's embassy certifies the Georgian stamps. Its consular section, at the embassy or consulate that covers Georgia, charges its own fee and sets its own timing. Once it signs, the certificate is legalized for that country.
Georgia's Foreign Ministry does charge GEL 15 for a legalization of its own, ready within 10 working days, but that service runs the other way. It certifies documents issued by foreign embassies accredited to Georgia for use inside Georgia, and a marriage certificate going abroad never needs it.
Before the certificate goes to the embassy
- The agency's stamp and the Foreign Ministry's stamp are both on the original
- The names and dates on the certificate match both passports letter for letter
- You know the embassy's fee and how it takes payment
- You have asked the office abroad whether it wants a translation, and in which language
- Your flight home leaves after the embassy is due to hand the certificate back
Embassy Legalization Fees and Timing
The Georgian half costs exactly what an apostille does and depends only on speed. The agency's fee list (opens in a new tab) prices it per document, with the Foreign Ministry's stage already inside the price.
Embassy legalization fees, per certificate
- Georgian stages, ready on the 8th working day
- GEL 30
- Georgian stages, ready on the 4th working day
- GEL 60
- Georgian stages, ready on the 2nd working day
- GEL 120
- Georgian stages, ready the same day
- GEL 150
- Foreign Ministry stamp
- Included
- UAE Embassy in Tbilisi, marriage document
- USD 41
- Other embassies
- Set by each embassy
- For the UAE, slowest Georgian tier
- GEL 30 + USD 41
UAE residents then pay AED 150 for MOFA attestation in the Emirates. An agency translation, if the receiving office wants one, is GEL 30 a page.
Working days skip weekends and Georgia's public holidays, and 14 October and 23 November are the 2 holidays still ahead in 2026. The embassy's time comes on top, and the UAE Embassy publishes no processing time at all.
For a couple headed to the UAE, Qatar or Kuwait, this chain is most of the state's bill, because getting married in Georgia costs nothing at a Public Service Hall on a weekday without a ceremony.
From our Tbilisi team
When a couple fly out within a week of the wedding, we pay for the Georgian stamps on the same day or the 2nd working day. The embassy cannot start until both are on, so every day saved at the Public Service Hall is a day the embassy has before your flight.
Embassy Legalization for the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait
The UAE, Qatar and Kuwait are the 3 Gulf states outside the convention. The route is the same for all 3 as far as the embassy, and the UAE then adds a final stage of its own inside the Emirates.
For the UAE, the consular section of the UAE Embassy in Tbilisi attests the legalized original for USD 41, its fee for non-commercial documents such as marriage contracts, and tells you how to pay when you hand it in. Back in the Emirates, MOFA attestation of the certificate is applied for on the ministry's website or app and costs AED 150 for a personal-status document, and it is the last stamp the chain needs.
For Qatar and Kuwait, the chain ends at the embassy that covers Georgia. Once it has certified the Georgian stamps, the certificate is legalized for that country, and anything the receiving office asks for after that happens in Qatar or Kuwait, not in Tbilisi.
Leaving Tbilisi before the embassy stage
The embassy works on the original certificate, so it has to be in the embassy's hands, not yours. A couple who fly home with only the Georgian stamps have to post the original back or find someone in Tbilisi to carry it through, and for the UAE, MOFA cannot attest it until the embassy has. Plan the embassy stage into the trip, not after it.
Our GCC Attestation package is this chain from start to finish. For $750 it covers the registration, both Georgian stamps, the embassy and, for UAE residents, the MOFA attestation, with the certificate couriered to your address in the Gulf.
Embassy Legalization vs Apostille
For a country in the convention, a Georgian apostille replaces all 3 stages with one stamp, issued at the same counter for the same fee.
| Detail | Embassy legalization | Apostille |
|---|---|---|
| Used for | Countries outside the Apostille Convention | Countries in the convention |
| Stages | 3: the agency, the Foreign Ministry and the embassy, plus MOFA for the UAE | 1: the agency |
| Georgian fee | GEL 30 to 150 | GEL 30 to 150 |
| Embassy fee | Set by each embassy; USD 41 at the UAE Embassy | None |
| Valid in | Only the country whose embassy certified it | Every convention country |
| After you leave Georgia | The embassy stage still needs the original | A Georgian consulate abroad issues it for USD 10 within 8 working days |
Legalization is also the route you cannot reuse. A certificate legalized for Kuwait is no use in Qatar, so a couple who may move between Gulf states legalize a separate copy for each, starting from a repeat certificate at GEL 5 on the 5th working day or GEL 50 the same day.