Foreign-Issued POAs

A Power of Attorney executed outside the UAE may be used for a Dubai property transaction. DLD Circular No. 29/R/2025 sets out the conditions under which a foreign-issued POA is accepted. All conditions are cumulative.

The Conditions Under the Circular

A POA issued outside the UAE will be accepted only if all of the following apply:

The validity period has not lapsed under the rules below
The POA has been notarised by the competent authority in the country of issuance, legalised by the UAE embassy or consulate in that country, and attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFAIC).
The original physical document is presented. Uncertified electronic or scanned copies are not accepted.
If the POA is not in Arabic, it is accompanied by a full legal translation from a UAE-licensed translator and legalised thereafter as applicable.

Validity Periods

The validity rule for property POAs is nuanced and must be applied correctly to each instrument.

A POA issued through the Dubai Courts Notary Public that is, a UAE-issued POA — has indefinite duration unless the principal specifies an expiry date or revokes the POA.
A foreign-issued POA used for a sale transaction is valid for two years from the date of issue.
A foreign issued POA used for a purchase transaction is valid for five years from the date of issue.

An expired foreign POA may, in some cases, be revalidated through the Dubai Courts. Where revalidation is not available, re-execution is required.

The Authentication Chain

The authentication chain converts a foreign notarised document into a document recognised by the Dubai Land Department.

Step 1 — Notarisation in the country of issuance. The POA is notarised by the competent authority of the country where it is signed. In civil-law jurisdictions this is typically a notary public; in common-law jurisdictions, a notary public or commissioner of oaths.

Step 2 — Legalisation by the UAE embassy or consulate. After notarisation, the document is legalised by the UAE embassy or consulate accredited to that country. This step confirms that the notary’s signature is genuine and that the notary holds the office stated.

Step 3 — Attestation by MOFAIC. On arrival in the UAE, the document is attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This step confirms the legitimacy of the embassy or consulate legalisation.

Step 4 — Translation and registration. Where the document is not in Arabic, a full legal translation by a UAE-licensed translator is required, and may need to be legalised in turn before the document is presented at the Real Estate Registration Centre.

Original Document Requirement

The original physical POA must be presented at the registration centre. Uncertified electronic copies and scans are not accepted, even if the underlying document is otherwise compliant. This requirement is independent of the portal verification rule and operates in addition to it.

Translation Requirement

Where the POA is not originally in Arabic, a full legal translation by a UAE-licensed sworn legal translator is required. The translation should be bound with the original and presented together. Where the destination authority requires it, the translation may itself need to be legalised after preparation.

The Hague Apostille Convention Note

The United Arab Emirates acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention, which entered into force for the UAE in February 2026. For documents executed in a Convention member state, an apostille issued by the competent authority in the issuing country may replace the former full consular legalisation chain. Operational acceptance at the receiving UAE institution should be confirmed before relying on apostille-only attestation, as institutional rollout may lag the treaty’s entry into force. For documents executed in a non-member state, full consular legalisation through the issuing country’s authorities and UAE MOFAIC remains required.

Practical Timeframes

The full authentication chain typically spans several weeks. Notarisation is usually same-day; embassy legalisation, translation, and MOFAIC attestation are not. Sellers and purchasers planning to act through a foreign-issued POA should initiate execution well before the intended transaction date.

Common Failure Modes

The following are recurrent reasons foreign POAs fail acceptance at the DLD:

POA over the validity ceiling for the relevant transaction
Original physical document missing; scans presented in its place.
Incomplete legalisation chain — embassy step or MOFAIC step
Translation absent, or prepared by a translator not licensed in the UAE.

Principal’s identification details no longer matching current ID records.
For execution support, see poas.ae.