The United Arab Emirates is represented in Canada by a single Embassy in Ottawa. The former UAE Consulate General in Toronto has been permanently closed, and the UAE does not currently operate consulates in Vancouver, Calgary, or Montreal. As a result, all UAE consular work in Canada is centralized at the Ottawa Embassy, which serves every province and territory.
The Emirati community in Canada is relatively small, but a much larger community of Canadians, dual citizens, and other foreign nationals lives and works in the UAE, in cities such as Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah, with strong return-and-go-back flows. This guide brings together the address, contact details, and working hours of the Embassy, summarizes its consular services, and explains how to prepare Canadian documents (university degrees, marriage certificates, powers of attorney, commercial documents) for use in the UAE.
| Monday | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
| Tuesday | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
| Wednesday | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
| Thursday | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
| Friday | 9:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. |
| Saturday | Closed |
| Sunday | Closed |
The UAE is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention. Even though Canada itself joined the Convention on 11 January 2024, Canadian documents going to the UAE still require the full consular legalization chain, not a single apostille. After the document arrives in the UAE, a final attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFAIC) is typically also required before submission to the receiving authority.
Many Canadian-issued documents must be translated into Arabic by a certified translator before the UAE Embassy will attest them, and certainly before submission to UAE authorities. We deliver ATIO-certified translations from English and French into Arabic accepted by the UAE Embassy and by the UAE MOFAIC. See our pricing for the per-document fee schedule.
Several document types must carry a Canadian notary public's signature before authentication: declarations, copies of passports, and translator certifications when the destination authority requests it. We arrange notarization through partner notaries in Toronto and Ottawa.
The signature of the Canadian notary, or the seal of the issuing vital statistics office or registrar, is then authenticated. Federal authentication is performed by Global Affairs Canada in Ottawa. Ontario also operates the Official Documents Services (ODS) for documents issued within the province. See the Authentication and Apostille page.
Once authenticated on the Canadian side, the document is presented to the UAE Embassy in Ottawa for the consular attestation. Consular fees apply and are typically paid by money order or certified cheque. We coordinate the submission so that the file is not bounced for a missing translation or wrong signature order.
After arrival in the UAE, most documents need a final attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC) before they can be submitted to a UAE employer, university, court, or registrar. This step is typically handled in the UAE itself.
No. The UAE is not a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. The full legalization chain (notary, Global Affairs Canada or provincial authentication, then UAE Embassy attestation) is still required.
No. The former UAE Consulate General in Toronto is permanently closed. The UAE Embassy in Ottawa is the only UAE diplomatic mission in Canada and serves all provinces and territories.
Yes, in many cases the Embassy accepts courier submissions, but processing times vary and tracking is your responsibility. We handle the courier round-trip, follow it through authentication and attestation, and return the completed file to you.
In nearly all cases, yes. UAE employers and the UAE Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation expect a certified Arabic translation alongside the English original. We translate diplomas, transcripts, and professional licences from English and French into Arabic.
