Notarial and documentary services guide for Saudi Arabia
Documents, certificates, letters and notes available at the British Embassy in Saudi Arabia.
Overview
The British embassy can provide a range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Saudi Arabia.
Where local notaries can provide services, the British embassy will not provide them. In many cases local notaries or lawyers can provide services more cheaply, quickly and conveniently.
You must make an appointment for each service that requires your personal attendance. Use the links after each service to make an appointment. A member of staff will contact you to confirm your appointment.
Before booking, make sure you have selected the correct service and that the document will be accepted by the relevant authority. This could be the local town hall, registry office, tax authorities, immigration office or another authority either in Saudi Arabia, the UK or a third country.
Services we provide in Saudi Arabia
- administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit
- arrange consular marriages
For information about documents relating to marriage, such as a certificate of no impediment (CNI) and affirmations or affidavits of marital status, see getting married abroad.
If you can’t find the service you are looking for on this page, see other services provided by the British embassy in Saudi Arabia
What to bring to your appointment
See the individual services below for details of supporting documents to bring. Make sure you have acceptable proof of address and identity, and payment for any fees. See the full list of consular fees
Payment
We accept payment by MasterCard or Visa, which will be deducted in GBP.
Proof of address and identity
For all appointments for notarial services you will need to bring acceptable proof of your identity.
We accept passports and iqamas as proof of identity.
Administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit
This service is for people who need to swear an oath, make an affirmation or make an affidavit in front of a consular officer.
The embassy will not draft documents for you. First check with the embassy or consulate what format they need and then have the document drawn up or checked by a professional.
The British embassy will only provide this service where the requesting authority and the applicant can provide evidence that no other alternative is acceptable. You should send your enquiry using our web form explaining in full detail why you need us to provide this service. If approved you will need to make an appointment for this service. You are also required to use the embassy formats which will be provided only when the service have been agreed.
This service and the acceptance of the wording provided are at the discretion of consular staff and we can refuse to undertake any such service.
What you will need to bring with you:
- the oath, affirmation or affidavit that you will swear or affirm
- the correct fee – see the list of fees
Book an appointment to administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit in British Embassy Riyadh.
Prepare a document in English or the local language
This service is for customers who require a signed and stamped version of one of our standard letters.
In a limited number of cases consular staff can write a statement of fact (‘preparing a certificate’) to help British nationals with various local authorities. The wording must be cleared with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London, which means these documents will take longer to prepare.
We can only provide this service if we have proof that the wording/content you require is correct and unambiguous. This service is provided at the discretion of consular staff and we can refuse to provide it. Please contact the embassy before making an appointment.
We can prepare these documents in English or in the local language. Please ensure you select the correct service and note the difference in fees.
What you will need to bring with you:
- original written evidence to support your request for a letter from the embassy
- the correct fee – see the list of fees
Book an appointment to prepare a document in English in British Embassy Riyadh.
Standard letters we provide include:
- letters to facilitate local burial or deceased’s repatriation. You will need to provide personal identification, proof that you are the legal next of kin or employer/sponsor, death notification from doctor or hospital and the deceased’s passport
- for letters of no objection to obtain a Saudi police clearance certificate, download
- for letters of no objection to change nationality in your Iqama, download
- for letters of no objection to confirm your British passport details, download
Arrange consular marriages
This service is for British nationals in Saudi Arabia who need to apply for ‘consular marriage’ at the Embassy in Riyadh. The consular Section is able to conduct Consular marriages at the Embassy in Riyadh and Consulate-General in Jeddah as long as neither party is a Chinese, Irish (unless dual nationality is held), Singaporean or Thai national. In addition, our local marriage warrant does not permit us to perform a marriage if one or both of the couple is a Muslim.
What you will need to bring for both yourself and your fiancée
- both original passports
- both original British birth certificates (the A4 long version for the British birth certificate)
- evidence in original of any previous marriage and its termination. Evidence of the marriage itself is not required if it was terminated by one of the more usual types of divorce decree granted by a court in the United Kingdom (decree absolute). Where a decree of divorce or nullity was not given by a court, the marriage officer must be satisfied that the divorce or annulment would be accepted as valid in English Law
- completed Notice of Marriage and Copy Notice of
- completed
A marriage notice should be posted in the Consular board for a clear ‘17 days’ as legal requirement. If no impediments has been shown then a date can be set. The date should be within 3 months of the marriage notice being posted (so within 3 months minus 17 days). If the 3 month deadline is missed, the process must start again from the beginning.
The ceremony is a consular ceremony, which is non-religious. You must make an oath during the ceremony, stating that you are free to marry. This can be via an affirmation.
- the correct fee – see the list of fees
If you wish to apply for a consular marriage please contact the consular section on +966 11 481 9100 and choose option 2.
Services provided elsewhere
Legalisation
Ask the UK government to get a UK document legalised (certified as genuine).
Data protection
The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office holds and uses data for purposes notified to the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998. Such personal data may be disclosed to other UK government departments and public authorities.
Disclaimer
This information is provided as a general guide and is based upon information provided to the embassy / consulate by the relevant authorities and may be subject to change at any time with little or no notice. Accordingly the FCDO and the British embassy / consulate will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information. For all notarial and legalisation services it is the responsibility of the customer to ascertain the precise requirements of the person requesting the notarial or legalisation service and to satisfy themselves that the service provided by the embassy/consulate will be accepted.
Last updated 20 March 2024 + show all updates
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Updated documents for 'Change of Nationality', 'Confirming British Passport Details' and 'Police Clearance Request'
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Updated attachments: Police Clearance Certificate, Change of nationality, Confirming passport details.
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The document has been updated.
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Updated - Notarial and documentary services guide for Saudi Arabia
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