It's common for individuals and business entities to utilize powers of attorney (POA) made abroad or overseas within the UAE. A more common occurrence is for someone who's outside UAE to provide another person with authority through a power of attorney to conduct certain actions within the UAE. It is important for a principal, person assigning powers, and agent, person given authority, to understand that a power of attorney which is prepared outside UAE to undergo the correct legalization process. If the legalization process has not been completed, a power of attorney that was prepared from abroad won't be accepted by the government authority or any third party.

This is why it's necessary to know the legalization process' exact nature in order to make a POA valid in the eyes of the law in UAE.

The first step in making a POA from overseas legal in UAE is preparing the POA in Arabic or English. As soon as the POA has been prepared and approved by all parties involved, it then has to be brought to a public notary in the country where it was made.

The followings steps have to be completed in order to utilize the POA in UAE:

1. Step 1: Ministry/Dept of Foreign Affairs attestation (MOFA of principal's home country)
   The country in which the power of attorney was drafted has to provide document attestation. The government agency that is to attest to the document should be the home country's Ministry/Dept of Foreign Affairs. The department or ministry's function in attesting a POA may be given or assumed by another government department or similar ministry, depending on whether a POA is signed. But, this function often lies with a country's MOFA where the stamping and sealing process of a POA is understood and given by such department.
    
2. Step 2: UAE Embassy attestation
   The next step in the legalization process of a POA from overseas to be used in UAE is ensuring a POA is attested by UAE Consulate or Embassy that's in the country where the legal document was originally signed. A UAE Embassy carries out attestation as routine.
    
3. Step 3: UAE Ministry/Dept of Foreign Affairs attestation
   As soon as the POA has been sealed or stamped by the relevant country's UAE embassy, it's then couriered onto UAE where it will also undergo attestation from the Ministry/Dept of Foreign Affairs. If the legal document has gone through the previous attestations by the relevant ministries, then the UAE MOFA which is stationed in UAE will stamp or seal the document in order to confirm its authenticity
    
4. Step 4: power of attorney official translation to Arabic
   As soon as the POA has been stamped or sealed by the Ministry/Dept of Foreign Affairs located in UAE, it then has to be officially translated into Arabic. The translation has to be done by a legal translator that has been certified and licensed by UAE MOJ or Ministry of Justice. The ministry does not only have to carry out the document's translation by text but also the stamps and seals that were affixed on the POA. As soon as the legal translation process has been completed, the mini8stry will provide a print out of the translation with their letterhead, as well as stamp or seal, that's attached to the original document or POA that's written in English or in any other language.
    
5. Step 5: Ministry of Justice stamping
   As the final step of the legalization process, the POA is required to have the stamp of the Ministry/Dept of Justice in UAE in order to confirm the fact that the translation has been legal and carried out by a licensed translator. As soon as the ministry has placed its stamp or seal onto the legal document, the PA will be used by an agent in exercising the authority that has been provided by the POA.

Take note: the attestation of a POA is somewhat lengthy. It can take around two to four weeks, depending on the power of attorney's language and the backlog of all relevant ministries. In order for you to ensure that you are going through the POA's legalization process correctly, it is advised that you seek the help of experts. At Notary Public Dubai, we regularly assist our clients in having POAs legalized across different ministries from 80+ countries. If you want to talk to our team of attestation experts today, don't hesitate to give us a call!

What can an agent do with a POA in UAE?

An agent can make decisions on a principal's behalf even after incapacitation or inability to carry out decisions, depending on the kind of POA assigned.

What are the kinds of POAs?

There are 4 different kinds of POAs namely:

• Durable POA
• Limited POA
• Springing POA
• General POA