mais91

My wife managed to get all the attesting stuff done on Monday this week in London - bit of a long day! Make sure when you get your degree certificate stamped and signed by a solicitor that you make a note of the actual solicitors name - this delayed things for an hour or so as they had to phone the firm and check.

Also make sure once you have got the certificates stamped at the FCO that you wing it down to the UAE quick as they close at 1pm!! My wife just managed to get there in time - had to leave them and collect them after 2:30
Also you have to pay an extra £10 per document for same day service - so £30 per document at UAE plus £27 per document at the FCO!!

Good luck!!

Opponent

Firstly i have to say excellent forums guys, i have found answers to all my questions. However i need a bit of clarification on visas

What i would like to know is do i need to get my photocopies certified by a solicitor or Notary Public before going to the FCO as the difference in price is huge.

My understanding is that a normal solicitor's signature is fine as it says this on the UAE embassy and I only need to get my degree done

"Power of Attorney and similar legally binding documents have to be original and should be notarized by a Notary Public prior to the FCO attestations"

Any help will be appreciatied

Old Lob

Don't forget to get your criminal record attested too.

Old Lob

What the FCO does is check signatures. If there is a signature on the document- such as a registrars then they can check this and so you need do nothing else. If it does not have a signature - such as UK military discharge cert or driving license then you need to get it signed by a solicitor and then they check the signature (FFS) to avoid the solicitor spoiling your stuff by writing all over it (with a stupid fat fountainpen in tartan ink) then he can do a certified true copy and you submit that. You only need to get one degree cert'd the others just add to the cost.

Good luck. Go to Somalia instead - you don't need all of this hassle.

mais91

The FCO and UAE embassy stamp the original birth and marriage certificates so there is no need to have these signed by a solicitor. My degree certificate was the only document (photocopied) that needed a solicitors signature to say that it was a true copy.

Hope this helps

Opponent

Cheers guys thaks for the help. One more question, i havent been asked to privde a criminal record, where and why would i need this

Blue Cat

ignore him he is winding you up!!

Opponent

Ed Pies

Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr ... I am still looking for a straight answer on this.

HR at my new employer in Dubai, have told me that I only need my degree, and my marriage certificate attesting, and that I can just bring the kids birth certificates with me - is this correct?

I would go belt and braces and get them done anyway but I would rather not have to pay another £150 to get this done if I can avoid it.

Spugsy

you look like prince william dude.

Ed Pies

Yeah ... after a few too many late nights, and an unhealthy addiction to Kebabs.

Sam FTQ

Ed, it is highly likely that you will need to provide attested copies of your kids' birth certificates at some point so I would advise having it done now. Sorry, haven't been following your story, but why is costing you 150 quid?

Ed Pies

£30 per document at the Foreign Office
£27 per document at the UAE consulate
£15 per document lawyers fee.
+ train to London, day off work etc. etc. etc.

Hard to take for a Yorkshireman!

Unfortunately my contact states:
'All visa fees will be borne by the company. The employee undertakes to provide all the neccessary documents upon request at his/her own cost.'

Spugsy

come on lad, that's no too much cash - I had to send samples of my work over and that cost me £60 alone, think of the long term - once you get here you'll be earning more than enough to cover all that expense may times over.

Ey up!

Sam FTQ

Spugsy's right, just cough up and don't worry about it. It should all be worth it in the long run.