Frequently Asked Questions

Practically any document can be legalised for use in Qatar, though the steps required to make it recognised will differ. Some of the most common documents which are processed include:

• Birth, Marriage, Death or Adoption Certificates
• Decree Absolute or Divorce Documents
• Probate, Wills, Affadavits and Letters of Administration
• Education Certificates including Degree Qualifications, GCSE, A-Level/O-Level Certificates
• Certificate of No-Impediment (CNI) or Single-Status Declarations
• Criminal Records Bureau or Disclosure Scotland Certificates
• Notarised Power of Attorney
• British Passport (Certified Copy of the photo page)
• Companies House Documents
• Export Certificates
• Translations (Signed by a Notary Public)
• Medical Documents
• County-Court Documents

Whatever the document, we can help you legalise it. To speak to on of our specialists about processing your paperwork ready for use in Qatar, get in touch with us.

In basic terms, legalisation is the process of taking a document issued in one country and making it legally recognised in another. This can also be known as attestation, verification or authentication, usually dependent on the country you're dealing with. The steps involved in legalisation will vary dependent on several factors, including:

• The country the document was issued in
• The country you will be presenting the document
• The document type
• When the document was issued
• The language of the document
• The purpose of the legalisation

It's important to check out the correct process for your personal circumstances before you begin any legalisation work. There are many nuances involved at each stage of the legalisation procedure, and making an error can be costly and cause you unwanted delays.

An Apostille is a stage of the legalisation process. In some cases it can be the only stage necessary, provided the document being processed was issued in, and is being presented for use in, a Hague Convention country. An Apostille contains the same information in each Hague country, but is issued by a different government body. For example, in the UK Apostilles are issued by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO), and in the Republic of Ireland they're issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA).

If you're presenting the document outside of a Hague Convention country, it will need further legalisation. Qatar is an example of a country where this is required, therefore if a document is destined for Qatar, it will need a further stamp applied after the Apostille by the Qatar Embassy in the country where the document was originally issued.

If they were issued outside of Qatar, then no. All documents must be legalised within their country of origin, so if you have paperwork or certificates from another country, they will need to be returned there for processing. Once the in-country stages have been completed, the final stage can be handled within Qatar itself at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA).

There are no absolute rules when it comes to which documents need to be legalised. We always advise that you speak with your HR/onboarding team to check what they require. The last thing you want is to pay for documents to be legalised that are unnecessary.

Most employers in Qatar will require not only your degree certificate and transcript to be legalised, but also a letter from your education provider to accompany them, although this does depend on where your qualification was issued. Where a letter is required, the Qatari authorities are very specific about the wording, what should, and often what should not, be included, so please get in touch with our team to make sure you get the most up-to-date advice for your own specific circumstances.

Yes, any foreign document being presented in Qatar will need to be stamped at the Ministry or Foreign Affairs before it will be legally recognised. You can arrange this yourself, some employers will take care of this for you, or alternatively we're here to get it done - just ask!