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Use of fake stamps, seals for certificate attestations

Agents are having a field day duplicating the attestation process ever since the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs made it compulsory for unskilled workers to have secondary school certificate or its equivalent for getting a job in the country.

Several such cases have come to light, where original educational certificates were attested by middlemen using fake stamps and seals of the concerned ministries in India and Pakistan. Only when the documents are presented for authentication at the respective embassies for processing of visas that the fraud is uncovered.

Middlemen who run the business of getting certificates attested charge anything from Dh100 to Dh350. A few of them are alleged to be involved in the racket targeting uneducated labour workers.

The attestation of birth, school transfer or marriage certificates and diplomas by private institutions requires endorsement by a notary assigned to the UAE Consulate in Mumbai, followed by ratification by the State Home Department. Normally the procedure takes about 10 days.

While genuine agencies involved in the business charge from Dh250 to Dh300 per certificate and require at least 25 days, fly-by-night operators mostly hanging around the Indian and Pakistani embassies charge lesser amounts, giving reason for doubts.

It is also reported that the UAE authorities are taking legal action against those who are producing documents, though genuine, bear fake attestations, for ratification at the Foreign Ministry.

The UAE government introduced the new stipulation to rid the country of unskilled labour force and upgrade the standard of foreign labour force and increase the use of modern technologies.