As expats living and working in the UAE, we are all extremely lucky that the visa application process can be completed so quickly, with minimal visits and none of the interviews which are common in other countries. That being said, it is still important to ensure that your documentation is up to date, valid and conforms with the requirements of the government ministries.
One area where delays can occur, but also be widely avoided, is in providing adequate documentation for your role. When applying for onshore applications, the Ministry of Human Resources & Emiratisation (MOHRE) provide a list of approved job titles and indicate the required qualification level for that role. In order to complete an application for a skilled position an educational certificate will need to be provided. The MOHRE employ stringent measures to ensure that the education certificates are genuine and as such require all educational documents to be attested.
In order to ensure that your education certificate will be accepted for your visa application we would strongly recommend having your documents attested before beginning the application as having to pause midway through the application for an attestation will incur delays. All documents need to be attested in their country of origin by the local authorities and the UAE Embassy before being attested here in the UAE by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – this process can take at least two weeks to complete.
Great progress has been made moving the application process online, which really speeds things up, but can also increase inflexibility in the system meaning that older styles of attestation may no longer be accepted. It is important to remember that each new visa application is treated as a new application, even if you have been resident in the UAE for a long time, documents which have been previously used may no longer meet the current standards and may require new stamps.
Please contact us for further information