What is a Power of Attorney? 

  • A Power of Attorney (POA) is a written, legal authorization, to represent an individual or act on an individual’s behalf in private affairs, property transactions, business, and other financial matters.
  • A POA is a very flexible document and can be drafted in a broad or restrictive manner, depending on the grantor’s needs and requirements.
  • Any Attorney elected under a POA is only entitled to act in accordance with the authorized powers specified in the document.
  • A POA is only valid during the grantor’s lifetime, and will ordinarily continue in effect until it is revoked, or expires according to its terms.

How is a Power of Attorney used when buying a property in Dubai?

  • A POA can be used by either a resident or non-resident when buying a property in Dubai, where one or both of the parties are unavailable to attend personally and require their Attorney to finalize the property transaction on their behalf.
  • An Attorney under a POA may be granted specific rights such as the right to purchase property, accept gift transfer, sign all documentation related to the purchase of property and land, represent the grantor before all developers, Dubai Land Department and the Registration Trustee Office where the transfer takes place and obtain a NOC.

How to issue a Power of Attorney for use in Dubai

  • For those residents in Dubai (or individuals who are able to attend personally in Dubai), the process is relatively simple. After the POA has been drafted and legally translated into Arabic, three copies of the POA must be signed by the grantor in the presence of the Dubai Notary Public who will then notarize the document. One copy will be kept by the notary, one by the grantor and one given to the assigned attorney.
  • For a non-resident looking to rely on a POA issued from a foreign country, the POA must be signed and notarized before a Notary Public in that country. Following this, the POA must then be legalized up to the UAE Embassy in that country (or the closest country with a UAE mission) and then attested with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the UAE which then allows the document to be used.
  • At Davidson & Co we can assist you with the implementation and notarization of a POA. For further information, please contact Davidson & Co on +971 4 343 8897 for further information.

Follow Us