Heirs must first go through consular legalization — a complex procedure involving many stages — to verify that documents sent abroad comply with the laws of the country that prepared or issued them.
Consular legalization of Russian documents for the UAE involves several stages:
- Preparation of notarial copies of documents
- Professional translation into Arabic, including notarized authentication of the translator’s signature (i.e., notarization of the translation)
- Certification by the Legalization Office of the Russian Ministry of Justice and the Consular Department of the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, including payment of state duty
- Certification by the Russian Ministries of Justice and Foreign Affairs and payment of state duty
- Certification by the Consular Section of the Embassy of the UAE in Moscow and payment of consular fees
In Russia, consular legalization takes over a month after all inheritance documents are obtained, and these become available no earlier than six months after the testator’s death. Consular legalization is a costly and time-consuming procedure.