Using a Foreign Will in the UAE: Translation and Its Limits

Attestation

A document issued abroad is attested by the issuing country’s foreign ministry, then by the UAE embassy or consulate there, then by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. An apostille alone does not do the job: the Hague Conference status table, checked in November 2026, does not list the UAE among the contracting parties. See apostille vs attestation and our MOFA attestation guide.

Legal translation into Arabic

Arabic is the language of the onshore courts. Under the Civil Procedure Law (Federal Decree-Law No. 42 of 2022), foreign-language documents are filed with a certified translation, and under Federal Decree-Law No. 22 of 2022 a court accepts only translations by translators or translation houses registered with the Ministry of Justice. The whole document is translated, stamps and attestation stickers included, so the usual practice is to attest first and translate last.

For the full step-by-step on an estate file — from collecting originals to releasing assets — see foreign probate and inheritance document translation.

Attestation and translation make the will readable; they do not decide its effect. A will that was not registered in the UAE is put before the court by the beneficiaries, and the court decides whether and how to give effect to it.

Judges and practitioners have explained in the UAE press that where a foreigner relies on the law of their home country, the party relying on it is expected to produce that law with a legal translation as well. That is slower and less certain than executing a will registered here.

If your family has to rely on home-country law, the translation task is larger than the will. In practice that means:

• The legal text, not a summary. The provisions relied on, taken from an official source, with the title, number and date of the law.
  
• Consistent terms across the will and the law. If the will says “executor” and the statute says “personal representative”, the Arabic should show how the two relate rather than blur them.
  
• The same names everywhere. The deceased, heirs and executors written in Arabic exactly as in the will, the death certificate and the passports.
  
• Time. Statutes are long and technical; start early rather than at the hearing date.

Lawyers generally recommend a separate UAE will for UAE assets, drafted so that it and the home-country will do not cancel each other. From the translation side, three points keep the two consistent:

Revocation wording

A standard “I revoke all previous wills” clause could reach the home-country will. Whatever limit your lawyer writes into the English — for example, to UAE assets only — must be carried into the Arabic with exactly the same scope.

Asset descriptions

Property, accounts and shares should be described the same way in both wills and in the UAE title documents, so no asset falls between them.

Names and roles

Executors, guardians and beneficiaries named identically in both wills, with the same Arabic spelling.

Which registry to use for the UAE will is covered in which UAE will registry needs a translation.

• Start attestation as soon as possible; it is the slow part and depends on offices abroad.
  
• Keep originals intact. Do not unstaple, laminate or annotate them.
  
• Ask for the names in the translation to match passports exactly.
  
• Check that the home-country document is complete — every page, every schedule.

Is a will made abroad valid for UAE assets?

It can be put before a UAE court once attested and translated, but the court decides whether and how to give effect to it. That is slower and less certain than a will registered here.

Does an apostille replace attestation?

No. The UAE is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so the full attestation chain applies.

Should I attest or translate first?

Attest first, then translate, so that the translation covers every stamp and sticker on the page.

How much does the translation cost?

From AED 80 per 200-word page for Arabic and English, AED 100 for French, AED 150 for German, Italian or Turkish, and AED 250 for other languages such as Chinese, Russian or Urdu (all excl. 5% VAT). Urgent work is priced on request, and large files receive discounts. See our pricing page.

We translate foreign wills, probate orders, extracts of foreign law and civil-status documents into Arabic for use before UAE courts and authorities, including the stamps and attestations on them. Smart World Legal Translation (SWLT) is an MOJ-licensed legal translation office in Abu Dhabi, led by Dr. Hani Elimam, an MOJ-licensed translator. For advice on whether to rely on a foreign will or make a UAE one, see the UAE will drafting service at Smart Legal Services.

This article is general information about the translation side of wills and inheritance in the UAE. It is not legal advice. Laws, registry rules and fees change; confirm current requirements with the registry or authority concerned and take advice from a lawyer on your own situation.

Send scans of the attested will and any probate order, and tell us which court or authority will read them. Smart World Legal Translation is led by Dr. Hani Elimam (MOJ-licensed translator, AIIC member), has translated legal documents since 2014 and is rated 4.8/5 on Google. Send your documents on WhatsApp (+971 50 864 8439), email info@swlt.ae, or use our contact page.