MOFA attestation is the last stamp a Georgian marriage certificate needs before offices in the UAE will accept it. The UAE is outside the Apostille Convention, so the certificate reaches the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs only after legalization in Tbilisi and attestation at the UAE Embassy there. Here are the 3 stages in order, what MOFA asks for, the fees in 3 currencies, and how to use the certificate once it is attested.
Quick summary
- The UAE does not accept an apostille, so a Georgian marriage certificate needs 3 stages: legalization in Tbilisi, the UAE Embassy in Tbilisi, then MOFA in the UAE.
- The Georgian legalization costs GEL 30 on the 8th working day up to GEL 150 the same day, with the Foreign Ministry's stamp included.
- The UAE Embassy in Tbilisi charges USD 41 to attest a marriage document, and MOFA charges AED 150 for a personal-status document such as a marriage certificate.
- You apply to MOFA on its website or the UAE MOFA app with UAE PASS, and a courier takes the original: AED 40 for 3 working days or AED 150 for 1, before VAT.
- MOFA takes documents in English or Arabic or with an official translation, and an attested certificate has no expiry date.
On this page
Is a Georgian Marriage Valid in the UAE?
The marriage is valid from the moment you both sign the record in Tbilisi. In Georgia a civil registration is what creates a marriage, and Georgia's Law on Private International Law judges the form of a marriage by the law of the country where it took place (Article 44). What the UAE checks is the certificate. MOFA's rule for any document issued abroad is that the issuing country's foreign ministry certifies it first, then the UAE Embassy in that country, then MOFA inside the UAE.
Georgia asks nothing about where a couple lives, only that each foreign partner is in the country lawfully on the day, which is why couples based in the UAE marry in Tbilisi on the same terms as anyone else. The difference comes afterwards: until all 3 stages are done, the certificate is not ready for a UAE office.
Why the UAE Needs Attestation, Not an Apostille
Georgia has been in the Hague Apostille Convention since 14 May 2007, and the UAE has not joined it. Legalizing a Georgian marriage certificate for the UK or Saudi Arabia takes a single apostille, while for the UAE it takes a chain of 3 stages.
| Stage | Where | What it certifies | Fee | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Georgian legalization | Any Public Service Hall or agency office in Georgia | The certificate, with the Foreign Ministry certifying the agency's stamp | GEL 30 to 150 | Same day to the 8th working day, by fee |
| UAE Embassy attestation | The embassy's consular section in Tbilisi | The Georgian stamps | USD 41 | Not published |
| MOFA attestation | Online in the UAE, with the original sent by courier | The UAE Embassy's attestation | AED 150, plus AED 40 or 150 for the courier | Courier: 3 working days, or 1 on express |
The order is fixed, because each stage vouches for the one before it. The embassy attests only a certificate that already carries the Georgian legalization, and MOFA attests only what the embassy has signed, so a missing stage means the original travels back to the country where that stage happens.
An apostille will not get through MOFA
The Public Service Hall issues apostilles and legalizations at the same counter for the same fee, so it is easy to walk out with the wrong one. The UAE Embassy attests certificates legalized in Georgia, not apostilled ones, and a certificate that reaches Dubai with only an apostille has to go back to Tbilisi for legalization before the chain can even start. Ask for legalization for the UAE when you apply.
How to Attest a Georgian Marriage Certificate for the UAE
Each stage below depends on the one before it, and the first 2 happen in Tbilisi.
Legalize the Certificate at a Public Service Hall
The chain starts from a paper certificate. Georgian marriage certificates have been issued electronically since 1 June 2021, so ask for a printed copy at the registration, or order a repeat certificate later for GEL 5 on the 5th working day up to GEL 50 the same day.
You can apply at any Public Service Hall or office of the Public Service Development Agency (opens in a new tab), not only the one where you married. The agency certifies the certificate and adds the Foreign Ministry's stamp itself under its single-window system, so there is no ministry visit and no ministry fee. You pay GEL 30 for the 8th working day, GEL 60 for the 4th, GEL 120 for the 2nd or GEL 150 for the same day.
From our Tbilisi team
We order the English translation in the same application as the legalization. The agency translates the documents it legalizes for GEL 30 a page, and an official English translation is one MOFA accepts for a certificate written in Georgian, so the certificate and its translation leave the counter together.
Attest It at the UAE Embassy in Tbilisi
Take the legalized original to the consular section of the UAE Embassy in Tbilisi. Its fee for ordinary non-commercial documents, a group the embassy says includes marriage contracts, is USD 41, and the consular section tells you how to pay when you hand the certificate in. The USD 545 rate on the same fee list is for commercial documents, not personal ones.
The embassy publishes no processing time, and it is the only open-ended stage in the chain. Because the embassy works on the original, embassy legalization in Tbilisi has to be finished before the certificate leaves Georgia, so plan the length of your stay around it.
Finish With MOFA Attestation in the UAE
Back in the UAE, you apply on the MOFA website or the UAE MOFA app, signing in with UAE PASS. The ministry's attestation fee (opens in a new tab) for a personal-status document such as a marriage certificate is AED 150. The original goes to MOFA by courier, at AED 40 for normal delivery in 3 working days or AED 150 for express in 1, before VAT.
You do not have to apply yourself, because MOFA lets anyone attest documents on your behalf. If MOFA rejects an application, the fee is refunded automatically within 14 days.
Before you apply to MOFA
- The Georgian legalization and the UAE Embassy's attestation are both on the original
- The certificate comes with an official translation into English or Arabic
- The certificate is not laminated, which MOFA does not accept
- Whoever applies can sign in to the MOFA website or app with UAE PASS
- The names on the certificate match both passports letter for letter
MOFA Attestation Fees for a Georgian Marriage Certificate
The chain is paid in 3 currencies to 3 offices. The only choices you make are how fast the Georgian stage runs and which courier service MOFA uses.
Attesting 1 Georgian marriage certificate for the UAE
- Georgian legalization, 8th working day to same day
- GEL 30 to 150
- Foreign Ministry stamp in Georgia
- Included
- UAE Embassy in Tbilisi, ordinary document
- USD 41
- MOFA attestation, personal-status document
- AED 150
- MOFA courier, normal or express
- AED 40 or AED 150
- Agency translation into English
- GEL 30 per page
- Slowest Georgian tier, normal courier, 1 translated page
- GEL 60 + USD 41 + AED 190
Courier prices are before VAT. The registration itself is free at a Public Service Hall without a ceremony.
Translating the Certificate for MOFA
MOFA attests documents in English or Arabic, or with an official translation, and a Georgian certificate is filled in Georgian. The agency's translation service covers English and 7 other languages, and Arabic is not one of them.
An English translation covers MOFA. The office that will use the certificate after that sets its own rules, so ask it whether it also wants Arabic before you order anything beyond the English.
Using the Attested Certificate in the UAE
Once MOFA has attested it, the certificate is your proof of marriage in the UAE. A spouse's residence visa is usually the first application it goes into, filed by the sponsoring partner with the rest of the family's documents.
Because MOFA attestation has no expiry, the same original serves every later application as well, and nothing on it needs renewing when your visas do.
From our Tbilisi team
We tell couples to apply to MOFA in the week the certificate arrives, not the week a visa application needs it. If something in the chain is wrong, you find out while there is still time to fix it, not with a visa deadline running.