United Arab Emirates: UAE embassy in Ireland-Visa

islander35

Hi moving to Dubai in August and so far have gotten certified copies of my degree signed by a solicitor and have the degree attested(?) by the Department of Foreign affairs. Next step I think is to send it to the UAE embassy in Dublin to start visa application process. Tried contacting them by phone but no answer, eventually got an answer from them by email about what to do next. They said to send the docs and 60euro per document IN CASH by post to them. Seems very dodgy to me that they specified in cash. Has anyone done this before and how long did it take? Definately not sending cash in the post!

Victor

http://www.dfa.ie/uploads/documents/Protocol/Diplomatic%20List/diplomatic%20list%20june%2011.pdf

EMBASSY OF THE UNITED ARAB EMIRATES Glandore Business Centre, Fitzwilliam Hall, Fitzwilliam Place, Dublin 2
Tel: 01 669 8588. Fax: 01 669 8557
E-mail: dublin@mofa.gov.ae

islander35

Thanks for that. I have been in contact with them but to be honest they haven't been very helpful. Just wondering about the sending cash in the post part and if anyone has dealt with them before.

Victor

Can you have someone bring it to them and get a receipt?

siobhan.m

islander35 wrote: »

Hi moving to Dubai in August and so far have gotten certified copies of my degree signed by a solicitor and have the degree attested(?) by the Department of Foreign affairs. Next step I think is to send it to the UAE embassy in Dublin to start visa application process. Tried contacting them by phone but no answer, eventually got an answer from them by email about what to do next. They said to send the docs and 60euro per document IN CASH by post to them. Seems very dodgy to me that they specified in cash. Has anyone done this before and how long did it take? Definately not sending cash in the post!

Hi I had to do this for my boyfriend a couple of months ago, it was €40 then and I just went in person, had to pay cash there and then and collect a few days later. I would also recommend going in person or getting someone else to if you're not in Dublin.

mandymo

Hi I sent my degree to the embassy in London. I live in Dublin and was told that i had to send it to the embassy in london. It cost me 20 pounds and 8 pounds for postage I had it back within a week.

soreal

i called the embassy, and they refer me to the irish arab board of commerce. they told me they can do every thing, solicitor, foreign ministry , uae embassy for 170 euro or something..
i am sure i can cut on that by doing it my self...
can you guys give me an idea how much the solicitor will cost, can you recommend one?
what about the foreign ministry ?
UAE embassy?

how much/long it takes, and what was the over all cost of the process?

thanks in advance..

afordy

Hi, I am also a bit confused on the whole process. I am moving to Abu Dhabi so need to get degree stamped by college, dfa and uae embassy. I emailed the dfa and they said if you have the degree signed and stamped by the college, you do not need a solicitor do sign it? I wonder if this is correct because i really dont want to travel to dublin to find out they cant stamp it because a solicitor hasnt signed it. Also does anyone know will both the dfa and uae embassy stamp the degree there and then as im not from Dublin so it would be difficult to make a few trips to get this done? Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Bluefoam

I did this when I moved to Dubai almost 18 months ago. I didn't need a Solicitors stamp - although I did get a copy of mine attested by my solicitor. You need the Irish Foreign affairs Dept Stamp from the walk in service on Stephens Green. I had to send mine to London to get the UAE stamp - It just happened that my mother was going there, so she went in with it.

I had to leave before I got the documents back & the copy stamped by my solicitor were useless... BTW. dont send anything in the post. It will take about 4 weeks & only ever send stuff to your work address - there is no postal service as we know it in Ireland. Anything sent to your home address will just disapear...

acarter

Hi all,

Here's a quick note to let you know how I got on with this process.

I went to the Dept. of Foreign Affairs with my degree (which is in Latin - no issues there so far), handed in my degree and 20 euro and they had it back to me in 20 mins or so. They just stamp the back of it. I headed to the UAE embassy in Fitzwilliam Hall (the entrance is really on Leeson St) but they told me to go to the Joint Arab-Irish Chamber of Commerce instead at 60 Merrion Square (that's on the south side of the square). I paid my 136 euro (bit of a rip-off I think but what can you do) and told me it will take 5 working days before they ring me to collect it. I also had to give them the name and address of the company I'll be working for in Dubai. They send it up to the embassy in Fitzwilliam Hall to be authenticated, but the embassy don't deal with the public anymore, hence having to go to Merrion Square.

I hope that helps out some people.

Regards,
A

niamh008

Thanks acarter for the info. I'm just starting the whole process and it seems a bit complicated but what harm. Hope you get on ok over there!

acarter

You're very welcome Niamh, thanks!

Bit of an update: the Chamber of Commerce contacted me 5 working days later to let me know I could pick up the degree. After I had done this, I got it stamped by a notary public (I should point out that I was asked by my company for the degree to be legalised by the Dept of Foreign Affairs, UAE Embassy and a notary public - I'm not sure if everyone has to do this). The important thing about the notary public part is to make sure you make an appointment as solicitors are often out of office. It cost me fifty quid. :mad:

I headed up to Reads then to get the degree scanned because it's A3 sized and doesn't fit on a normal scanner (only cost 2 euro). I emailed it to the company and they got back to me the following day saying it needed to be accompanied by an English translation because it is in Latin. As an ex-TCD student, you can get these translations for free from the Student Records office at Front Gate.

About a week after scanning the translation and emailing it to the company, I was told that my employment visa had been granted, and I was sent a copy of it to print and bring to the airport. It looks like it's all sorted now. I suppose it's a pretty long winded process but hopefully this will help people a bit, and good luck with life in Dubai! Bring on that tax-free cash!

A

fasttalkerchat

Sorry to jump in here.
Where did you all look for jobs in Dubai? I'm just considering my options at this stage.

acarter

Personally, I applied through the company's website for the position. I'm not really a regular boards.ie user but I'd imagine there are already discussions dedicated to the topic of job finding in Dubai where you'll get much more detailed information on the subject. There certainly are on other forum websites. I'm not an expert at all on this topic but here are my thoughts (you've been warned!).

There are a few websites for jobs like dubaijobs.net, bayt.com and monstergulf.com. These can be useful enough. If you're planning to go to Dubai without a job and enter on a 30 day tourist visa, you should contact a few recruiters before you arrive to organise meetings. I've heard of a few people jumping across the border to Oman and then re-entering to get their 30 day visa extended. I think you can do this for a maximum of 90 days altogether. At the same time, I wouldn't do too much messing around with visas in a place like the Middle East.

If you get a job, they'll sort out your residency visa. If you get a job with a company in a freezone (generally big, international companies), even if it's not your ideal job, you can then continue to try find your ideal job without the pressure of being in the country on a 30 day visa. Here's a warning: if you get a job with a company not in a freezone, and leave after a short time after finding your ideal job, they may blacklist you and your residency visa and you'll struggle to get work somewhere else. The bottom line is only work for a company in a freezone.

Just to highlight this: all the above points are things I've read about on other forums. I do not have direct experience of doing this, as I applied directly to my company and dealt with them only.

A

K.a75

Hi all,

I got offered a job in Abu Dhabi! But need to get a visa sorted! Have no idea where to start! Has anyone any suggestions on how I go about it?

Bluefoam

K.a75 wrote: »

Hi all,

I got offered a job in Abu Dhabi! But need to get a visa sorted! Have no idea where to start! Has anyone any suggestions on how I go about it?

If you have been offered a job, it is usually your employer who applies for the visa, as it relates directly to your job.

kraggy

acarter wrote: »

Hi all,

Here's a quick note to let you know how I got on with this process.

I went to the Dept. of Foreign Affairs with my degree (which is in Latin - no issues there so far), handed in my degree and 20 euro and they had it back to me in 20 mins or so. They just stamp the back of it. I headed to the UAE embassy in Fitzwilliam Hall (the entrance is really on Leeson St) but they told me to go to the Joint Arab-Irish Chamber of Commerce instead at 60 Merrion Square (that's on the south side of the square). I paid my 136 euro (bit of a rip-off I think but what can you do) and told me it will take 5 working days before they ring me to collect it. I also had to give them the name and address of the company I'll be working for in Dubai. They send it up to the embassy in Fitzwilliam Hall to be authenticated, but the embassy don't deal with the public anymore, hence having to go to Merrion Square.

I hope that helps out some people.

Regards,
A

Did you only have to pay 20 euro for the document to be apostilled by the DFA? I've just been on the phone to them and they said it's 40 euro per document.

Also, what was the breakdown of the 136 euro that you had to pay the Chamber of Commerce? They told me that per document, it's:

a. 60 for the embassy stamp
b. 36 for their own (Chamber of Commerce) stamp

acarter wrote: »

You're very welcome Niamh, thanks!

Bit of an update: the Chamber of Commerce contacted me 5 working days later to let me know I could pick up the degree. After I had done this, I got it stamped by a notary public (I should point out that I was asked by my company for the degree to be legalised by the Dept of Foreign Affairs, UAE Embassy and a notary public - I'm not sure if everyone has to do this). The important thing about the notary public part is to make sure you make an appointment as solicitors are often out of office. It cost me fifty quid. :mad:

I headed up to Reads then to get the degree scanned because it's A3 sized and doesn't fit on a normal scanner (only cost 2 euro). I emailed it to the company and they got back to me the following day saying it needed to be accompanied by an English translation because it is in Latin. As an ex-TCD student, you can get these translations for free from the Student Records office at Front Gate.

About a week after scanning the translation and emailing it to the company, I was told that my employment visa had been granted, and I was sent a copy of it to print and bring to the airport. It looks like it's all sorted now. I suppose it's a pretty long winded process but hopefully this will help people a bit, and good luck with life in Dubai! Bring on that tax-free cash!

A

I don't think you had to do this. A notary's stamp is only to certify that a photocopy is a genuine copy. Then you bring the photocopy to the DFA and they attest it. There's no point in getting a Notary to notarise something that the DFA has already attested/apostilled.

But seeing as you didn't mind your original degree being stamped by DFA, you didn't need to go to a Notary.

That's what the UAE/Chamber of Commerce people just told me on the phone.

BigBraveBear

K.a75 wrote: »

Hi all,

I got offered a job in Abu Dhabi! But need to get a visa sorted! Have no idea where to start! Has anyone any suggestions on how I go about it?

The company who employ you, have to get the visa for you. You just arrange your Degree to be Attested and Apostled etc. The company should give you the information on what you need to do.