Apostille vs. Attestation: Unveiling the Differences.

Apostille and Attestation have been creating confusion among people for a long. More often than not people consider both the same.

They believe that one can use one in lieu of the other. Seldom have they realized that apostille cannot replace attestation either vice versa.

As a matter of fact, an apostille is not accepted in those countries which haven’t signed the agreement concluded in Hague Convention in 1961.

Certificate attestation services in your areas like UAE, America, or any other countries can be approached by searching for attestation services in UAE or America online.

What is the difference between apostille and attestation? Go through this article and know more about apostille and attestation differences and details.

What is Apostille?

A treaty was signed by the member nations of the Hague Convention in 1961.

Which stated that apostille could be used for confirmation of the genuineness of the documents and certificates.

Consequently, the individual who wants to use educational, non-educational, or commercial documents issued in one country can obtain an apostille certificate stating the authenticity of the same, for submission in the member country.

The point to note here is that UAE was not part of the Hague Convention in 1961.

Therefore, you cannot use apostille while submitting the documents for official purposes in the country.

All the certificates including degree certificate, divorce certificate, article of association, diploma certificate, memorandum of association, power of attorney, police clearance certificate, and so on have to be attested by the authorities in both countries.

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What is Attestation?

Attestation is the process of authenticating the documents and certificates by the competent authorities in the country of origin and the UAE.

The authorization, legalization, or attestation is done on the original document. Hence, it is not a separate certificate as an apostille.

The process of attestation involves the following steps:

• Attestation by the certificate issuing agency
• Attestation of the document by the responsible ministry. For example, if you are doing educational certificate attestation in India,  it will be attested by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (HRD)
• Attestation by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA)/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)
• Attestation by the consulate/ embassy of the UAE in the home country
• Final attestation by MOFA in the UAE

Once the certificate or document has been attested by MOFA in the UAE, you can use it for official purposes in the country.

The Differences Between Apostille and Attestation?

The key factors and the difference between apostille and attestation are appended below:

Apostille

• Hague Convention Treaty of 1961 is the basic point for Apostille.
• The apostille certificate is separate unlike attestation, which is done on the original certificate itself.
• It doesn’t require diplomatic involvement.
• The coding system is formulated for communicating the authentication and language doesn’t become a barrier.

Attestation

• Laws in the land of UAE are fundamental for attestations.
• The original certificate is mandatorily required for attestation.
• It will go through the diplomatic channel in the country of origin and will require attestation by the embassy/ consulate.
• Unlike apostille, attestation doesn’t have any coding system. The seal and sign of departments, ministries, and authorized members will confirm the attestation.

Why do you Need to Get Your Documents Attested?

The authorities in the UAE will not accept any certificate or document if not attested by the authorized departments.

Attestation is the only methodology to identify if the certificate is original or fake.

UAE witnesses the footfall of countless immigrants every year, in search of jobs and entrepreneurship.

Lack of adequate systems for examining the documents can result in unqualified individuals obtaining the job.

It will have a cascading effect in a developed country like UAE, where lakhs of organizations are operating.

The federal laws in the country have been formulated to assist the organizations in choosing the right individuals for the job.

With a qualified and experienced person appointed on the job, the productivity of the firm will go up.

It may not be the case with a non-qualified individual with fake certification.

However, it is advisable to assign the attestation task to a reliable attestation service in Abu Dhabi or other regions in the country.

Else the drawn-out attestation job may cause unexpected impediments.

You may pursue the following steps, to confirm the credibility of attestation service in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, or other regions in UAE.

• Track record of the firm
• Testimonials from clients
• Packages they offer
• The methodology they follow for undertaking the attestation
• The dependability of their international courier partner
• Time schedule for completing the attestation
• The professionalism they display

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You can discuss with the attestation services in UAE to understand their capabilities.

Avoid choosing fake attestation agencies at any cost. It can turn troublesome for you and may result in a lifetime ban for you.

Being in the UAE, you need to attest all the documents, not apostille.

That is the biggest difference between apostille and attestation, with respect to you.

Hope this blog has helped you in a better understanding of the difference between apostille and attestation.

If you have any doubt or want to give any suggestion regarding this blog you can comment us below we will definitely reach to you.