Legalization of documents, powers of attorney and wills, consular support

The process is similar to the process of legalization of documents for the use in the UAE:

• the documents are certified by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• the documents are certified by the consulate of the country in the UAE where you intend to use them
• the documents are delivered to the relevant country where they are intended for use. If required, the documents undergo translation as per the requirements of the relevant country. It’s important to note that for use in Russia, documents must be translated into Russian and certified by a notary

The process varies depending on the location of the individual’s original personal documents.

If the documents are located in the country of origin of the documents, the process is similar to the legalization process for corporate documents.

When the documents are located within the UAE:

• the originals of the relevant documents should be submitted to the consulate of the country of origin of the documents in the UAE
• after certifying copies of the documents, the next step is to contact the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs to complete the legalization process
• if the personal documents are not in English, the final step involves having the documents translated into English or Arabic by a certified translator after they have been certified by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The power of attorney must be written in Arabic or in English with an Arabic translation.

Once the power of attorney is drafted, it must be signed before an Emirati notary public for authentication.

No, you can sign the power of attorney not only in person but also remotely by a video call with the notary after providing your Emirates ID or passport on camera.

Previously, the remote power of attorney signing procedure was available only to the residents with Emirates ID. Now the convenience of a remote signing procedure can be enjoyed by non-residents as well.

To obtain a Russian power of attorney in the UAE, you can apply to the Russian consulate in the UAE. It will take no longer than 5 working days to prepare such a power of attorney.

As of February 1, 2023, special legislation applies to non-Muslim UAE residents regarding their inheritance, rather than Sharia law.

As a general rule, in the absence of a will the inheritance estate will be distributed as follows:

• half of the estate is inherited by the spouse and the other half is divided equally amongst the testator’s children or
• if the deceased had no children, the inheritance will be distributed to his parents (if they are alive it will be distributed equally; or, if one of the parents is deceased, one half of the inheritance will be distributed to the surviving parent and the other half to the deceased’s siblings (if any)) or
• in the absence of the above-mentioned heirs of the first “order”, the property passes to the testator’s brothers and sisters (if any)

A will can be made at DIFC or with an Emirati notary (the procedure is slightly cheaper if you go to an Emirati notary) – both options do not require the testator to be a UAE resident.

The personal presence of the testator is not required either at DIFC (participation in a videoconference with 2 witnesses is sufficient) or with an Emirati notary (participation in a videoconference without witnesses is sufficient).

The will may be drafted in English (with an Emirati notary the text would need to be also duplicated in Arabic unlike with DIFC where a will in English is sufficient).