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To present a document for legalisation at the Embassy of Belgium in Abu Dhabi:
- the document needs to be issued in UAE.
- the document needs to be translated into one of the Belgian national languages (French, German, Dutch) by a certified translator.
- the document needs to be legalized by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- the translation needs to be legalized by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, if the translation was done by a certified translator in the UAE.
Issuing date of the document
Depending on the Belgian authority that is requesting the document, the document must have a maximum issuing date. Please verify this with the relevant authority before proceeding with the legalisation. If needed, you will have to obtain a more recently certified copy of the document first.
For use of your document at the Embassy in civil status matters (birth, marriage, divorce etcetera), the document cannot have been issued more than six months ago.
If the document concerns a certificate of no criminal record, the document cannot have been issued more than three months ago.
How to translate the document
You can either choose a certified translator in the UAE or in Belgium.
- Certified translators in the UAE are accredited by the UAE Ministry of Justice. You can use a translator of your choice, but please make sure that they have the proper accreditation for the language you need.
- This certified translation will have to be legalized by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs will legalise the translation after the document has been certified by the Ministry of Justice.
- Please note: There are currently no translators certified for Dutch language by the Ministry of Justice in the UAE.
- Certified translators in Belgium are designated by the Court of First Instance. Please consult the list of certified translators.
- For use in Belgium or at the Belgian Embassy, this certified translation will not have to be legalized by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Please note: For use in the UAE, a certified translation by a Belgian translator will have to follow the procedure for legalisation of a Belgian document.
Which language to choose?
For use in Belgium, the document will have to be translated into the language requested by the Belgian authority concerned: either French, Dutch or German. Please verify the mandatory language with the relevant authority before proceeding with the translation and legalisation.
For use of your document at the Embassy in civil status matters (birth, marriage, divorce,…), the Embassy accepts translations in the three national languages.
There is an exception for visa applications. Official documents submitted as part of a visa application will be accepted if drawn up in English, French, Dutch or German. If your document is established in any other foreign language, you must have it translated by a certified translator, but certified translations to English will also be accepted. Please note that if you will later on use the same translation in Belgium, it will only be accepted in French, Dutch or German.
How to submit at the Embassy
There are two options to submit your documents for legalisation:
- You can schedule an appointment to submit the documents in person.
or
- You can send your documents via courier to our address. Please include the following form in the envelope stating your request.
You must submit the following original documents:
- the original document, with the legalisation by UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- the original translation into one of the national languages, with the legalisation by UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
- If the translation was done by a certified translator in Belgium, a copy of the certified translation will be accepted, and the translation does not have to be legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- proof of payment.
For the cost of a legalisation at the embassy, please refer to the consular fees.
To avoid presenting invalid documents for legalisation, you can send a copy of your documents by email first for our verification abudhabi@diplobel.fed.be.
Once the Embassy has legalized your documents, a copy will be sent to you by email with a QR code, and the originals can be collected via courier (at your expense).
