Prepare your papers according to why you are moving: for work, to look for work, or to join family. There is no single attestation package that every traveller needs. Start with the documents required for your application, then obtain what is missing while you are still in the issuing country.
First step: match names and dates across the passport, certificates and job offer. Fixing a name difference before travel is easier than discovering it during a residence application.
Go to: Basic file · Work documents · Family and school · Attestation and cost · Organising the files
A basic file for each person travelling with you
- Passport: a valid original, and a clear copy of the data page. Check the validity period required for your entry route before you book.
- Entry document: your visa or issued entry permission, if your nationality and route require it. Keep the application number and a copy you can open without internet.
- Recent photographs: prepare a clear digital copy, and follow the application's specifications when you submit.
- First address: hotel confirmation or the housing details you will use on arrival.
- Health records you actually use: prescriptions and reports needed to continue treatment, and children's vaccination records.
These papers do not replace the country's entry conditions. The travel and arrival sequence is in the travel and first-week checklist.
What do you need for work?
Keep the job offer and the contract, and prepare the documents that belong to your occupation. The offer alone is not enough to start work, and a visit visa does not allow work.
| Your situation | What to prepare |
|---|---|
| You have a job offer | The signed offer, the documents for the work-permit application, then a copy of the contract when it is issued |
| Your occupation requires an educational qualification | The official certificate and the attestations required for your permit, and the transcript if it is required |
| You work in a regulated profession | The professional licence and the experience or verification documents the regulator requires |
| You are travelling to look for work | The visa documents you will use, your CV and a suitable professional file. Do not assume visit papers will later suffice for employment |
For licensed healthcare professionals: in my hospital HR work, we rely on a valid UAE healthcare professional licence for hiring, and we do not require the licence holder to attest the educational certificate for that purpose. Marriage and children's birth documents remain required for family-residence applications.
The Abu Dhabi Department of Health official FAQs, question 1.2 in English state that document attestation is not required for licensing or joining training, within the primary-source verification system. See certificate attestation and healthcare requirements for the detail.
For the Abu Dhabi licensing file, the staff data form guide explains the security form known as the CID form.
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Marriage, birth and school papers
For a spouse's residence, prepare the official marriage contract. For children, prepare a birth certificate for each child. Complete the required attestations, and keep clear copies of everyone's passports.
Dubai resident-sponsor file requirements include attested marriage and birth documents, and income and housing papers as requested. Civil papers prove the family relationship. They do not replace the other residence conditions.
Official family-sponsorship guidance states a salary of at least AED 4,000 a month, or AED 3,000 with housing, alongside the other conditions. Family members who have completed 18 years also need a medical fitness examination.
For school-age children, add a separate file:
- The latest school report showing the grade and academic year.
- A transfer or leaving certificate when the receiving school asks for it.
- Birth certificate, passport and vaccination record.
- Any reports the child needs for appropriate educational support.
School admission is not an automatic result of residence being issued. Grade placement depends on age, date of birth, curriculum and the grade already completed. Read the Abu Dhabi school guide or the Dubai school guide, then match the transfer papers to the school you chose.
What do you attest, and what do you pay?
Attest the document you need, not every document in your file. Attestation confirms the seal and signature. It is different from academic recognition of the qualification or from primary-source verification.
For an educational certificate, I use an official certified copy issued by the university itself, and I keep the original in a safe place. It must carry the qualification and holder details, the university seal and the authorised official's signature. An ordinary photocopy is not this official copy.
The process starts with the issuer and that country's approvals, then the required consular route, then UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation if it is not already included in the service you completed. The steps in order are in the certificate-attestation guide.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires a document in Arabic or English, or an official certified translation, with the previous attestations completed. Do not heat-laminate the document.
The UAE MoFA fee for a personal document is AED 150. Official fees.
| Papers in the example | Number of documents | UAE MoFA stage only |
|---|---|---|
| One marriage contract and two birth certificates | 3 | AED 450 |
| The same papers plus one educational certificate | 4 | AED 600 |
Issuing-country, mission, translation and courier fees are added where they apply. The educational certificate and the transcript are separate documents in the fee count. If your service already includes both the mission and UAE MoFA attestation, do not pay for the same stage twice.
Organise the files before you leave
- Originals and official copies in hand luggage: do not put the documents you need on arrival in checked baggage.
- A clear digital file for each person: separate passport, entry, work, family and school papers. Name the files so you can find them quickly.
- A protected backup: use a trusted storage space with a protected account, plus a copy available without internet for travel.
- Receipts and tracking: when you hand papers over for attestation, keep proof of the documents submitted and the shipment or application number.
- Send only what is required: do not send the whole family file to a recruitment intermediary. Check the receiving party and the purpose of each document before you share it.
Sources reviewed on 24 September 2026. Attestation amounts are for the stage shown only. Cover image generated with AI for illustration.
