Documents from countries that need legalisation for use in Saudi Arabia

Which countries’ documents still need legalisation for Saudi Arabia?

Documents from the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan and Nigeria still need legalisation for Saudi Arabia. The same usually applies to any country that has not joined the Apostille Convention. Legalisation is a chain of official stamps, usually ending with the Saudi embassy or consulate. Many people call it “attestation” or “embassy attestation”.

The Apostille Convention is an international treaty. Its member countries accept each other’s apostilles. An apostille is a single certificate that replaces the chain of stamps. The convention has applied to Saudi Arabia since 7 December 2022. The Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) is the international body that looks after the convention. It publishes the official list of member countries, called the status table.

The table below shows the route for some countries whose documents still need legalisation. According to the HCCH status table, which we checked on 19 October 2026, none of them had joined the convention for Saudi Arabia by then.

Thailand joined the Apostille Convention on 30 June 2026. The HCCH table shows the convention taking effect for Thailand on 28 February 2027. Until then, documents from Thailand go through legalisation. Before you use an apostille from Thailand, check the HCCH table or ask us.

The Gulf countries do not all follow one rule. Bahrain and Oman use the apostille for documents going to Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait use legalisation.

This list is not complete. If your country is not on the HCCH status table, legalisation usually applies. We confirm the route with you before you pay for anything.

• If your country has joined the Apostille Convention.

  Documents from apostille countries for use in Saudi Arabia

• The general rule for both routes, and how to check an apostille.

  Apostille or legalisation? Documents for Saudi Arabia by country

How does legalisation for Saudi Arabia work, step by step?

Legalisation for Saudi Arabia works as a chain of stamps, and the 7 steps below cover it from start to finish. Each office stamps the document to confirm the signature or seal of the office before it. The chain usually starts with your country’s foreign ministry and ends with the Saudi embassy or consulate in your country. Some Saudi offices also ask for a final step at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which is done in Saudi Arabia.

1. Ask which Saudi office will receive the document. This may be a court, a bank, a ministry or a notary. We call it the receiving office. What it accepts decides which stamps you need. Where a lawyer helps: we check this before you pay for any stamp or translation.

2. Sign private documents in front of a notary in your country. A power of attorney or a board decision is a private document. A notary, an official who checks your identity and your signature, confirms it first. The stamps then confirm the notary’s signature and seal.

3. Take the document to your country’s foreign ministry for its stamp. The foreign ministry confirms the signature or seal of the notary or of the office that issued the document. It sets its own steps, so check them with it first.

4. Have it stamped by the Saudi embassy or consulate in your country. This stamp confirms the foreign ministry’s stamp. Saudi embassies and consulates, also called Saudi missions, take payment through Enjaz, their payment system. A government fee may apply; the official page has the details.

5. Complete the final step at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, if the receiving office asks for it. On its e-services pages, the ministry calls this step “ratification”; many people call it “MOFA attestation”. Its online service starts with a sign-in through the National Single Sign-On, the Saudi government’s login. That login needs a Saudi digital identity, linked to an ID issued in Saudi Arabia. So this step is usually done in Saudi Arabia. Where a lawyer helps: we tell you whether the receiving office needs this step, and who can complete it.

6. Arrange a certified Arabic translation, if the receiving office needs one. Ask us first whether the certified translation should be done in your country or in Saudi Arabia.

7. Send the original as agreed with us. Keep a copy of every page and every stamp. The receiving office usually checks the original.

What does the Saudi embassy or consulate do in legalisation?

The Saudi embassy or consulate in your country adds its own stamp, after your foreign ministry has stamped the document. Its stamp confirms the foreign ministry’s stamp. That stamp links the chain from your country to Saudi Arabia. Whether a Saudi office accepts the document is still its own decision.

The stamp does not confirm that what the document says is true. Each mission sets its own steps, so check them with the mission in your country.

If your document is a power of attorney, see our page on a power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad. It covers the wording, the signing and the stamps.

What if there is no Saudi embassy or consulate in your country?

Then the route is decided case by case, so ask us before you start. We confirm it with you before you pay for any stamp or travel anywhere to get one.

How does a Saudi office check a legalised document?

A Saudi office checks the chain of stamps on the original. It looks for each stamp, in the right order. The chain should end with the Saudi embassy or consulate, or with the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs where the office asks for that step.

An apostille can often be checked online, by its QR code or on the issuing country’s register. Our page explains how to check an apostille. With legalisation, the stamps themselves are what the office checks. So the office usually asks for the original, with every stamp on it.

Will every Saudi office accept a legalised document?

Usually, if the chain of stamps is complete. But each office has its own rules. Some ask for the final step at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and some ask for a certified translation.

So we first check what the office receiving your document accepts. We tell you what that office has asked for. The decision to accept the document is the office’s own.

Does a legalised document need an Arabic translation for Saudi Arabia?

Often, yes. Saudi courts and many offices work in Arabic, so they usually ask for a certified translation. This means a translation made by an approved translation office.

The receiving office decides where the translation is done: in your country or in Saudi Arabia. It may also decide whether it comes before or after the stamps. So ask us before you arrange one.

Write your name exactly as it appears in your passport. A name in English letters can be spelt more than one way in Arabic. So ask the translator to use the same Arabic spelling on every document.

What should you check before paying for Saudi embassy attestation?

Check a few things before you pay any office or service provider:

• That your country really still uses legalisation. Several countries that used to need embassy stamps for Saudi Arabia now use the apostille, such as India, Pakistan and the Philippines. See documents from apostille countries.
• Which stamps the Saudi receiving office needs. This includes whether it wants the final step at the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• When and where the translation is done. Ask whether it comes before or after the stamps, and in which country.
• What the official fees are. A government fee may apply; the official page has the details.
• Who holds your original. Know who has it at each step, and how it comes back to you.

What to prepare

Before you contact us, have these details ready:

• What the document is, such as a power of attorney, a company document or a certificate.
• Who issued or signed it, and in which country.
• Which stamps it already has, if any.
• Which Saudi office will use it, if you know.
• Your full name exactly as it appears in your passport.

Please don’t send documents until we agree to act.

Frequently asked questions

Related

• Apostille or legalisation? Documents for Saudi Arabia by country
• Documents from apostille countries for use in Saudi Arabia
• Power of attorney for Saudi Arabia, signed abroad
• Handling a Saudi legal matter from outside the Kingdom