Notarial and documentary services guide for Oman
Documents, certificates, letters and notes available at the British Embassy Muscat.
Overview
The British Embassy can provide certain notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Oman.
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.
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 registry office, tax authorities, immigration office or another authority either in Oman, the UK or in a third country. Only the relevant authority can confirm which service you will require. This information cannot be verified by the British Consulate.
Services we provide in Oman
Consular staff in Muscat can:
- administer an affirmation or affidavit
- witness a signature
- prepare a document in English (this is not a translation service)
For documents relating to marriage, such as a certificate of no impediment (CNI), 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 Oman.
What to bring to your appointment
For all services, you must attend in person and bring:
- your passport
- originals of all documents
- proof of address and identity
For all appointments for notarial services, you will need to bring acceptable proof of your identity, such as passports and residence cards.
Payment
We accept payments by credit card.
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 what format they need and then have the text of the document drawn up or checked by a professional.
If you are applying for an affidavit or affirmation of marital status, visit getting married abroad for the affidavit or affirmation template.
Consular staff will help you prepare your oath/affirmation/affidavit, but be prepared with specific information you wish to include.
What you will need to bring with you:
- the oath, affirmation or affidavit that you will swear or affirm
- proof of identity/address
- the correct fee - see the list of fees and payment options
Book an appointment for an oath, affirmation or affidavit the British Embassy Muscat
Witness a signature
This service is for customers who need to sign a document and have their signature witnessed by a consular officer. The document must be prepared before your appointment as we will not draft documents for you. We do not handle wills, power of attorney, or witness deed polls.
Before we can process this service, we need to know why the relevant authority is requiring your document to be signed by an embassy consular officer and not by a local lawyer, work colleague, friend, etc.
Do not sign the document before your appointment.
Local authorities require you to provide a letter of no objection for spouse/children to change sponsorship. You will need to show proof of relationship, i.e. a marriage certificate or birth certificates of children.
What you will need to bring with you:
- the document that you will sign before a witness
- proof of identity/address
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
Book an appointment for witnessing a signature at the British Embassy Muscat
Prepare a document in English
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. Consular staff must clear the wording with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office in London, which means that 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. Contact the Embassy before making an appointment.
We can prepare these documents in English.
What you will need to bring with you:
- proof that the content is correct and unambiguous
- proof of identity/address
- the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options
Book an appointment to prepare a document in English at the British Embassy Muscat
Information notes
No objection to British Nationals holding other nationalities
The British Embassy in Muscat has no objection to British Nationals holding other nationalities. With immediate effect, the British Embassy in Muscat will no longer be issuing No Objection Letters for this purpose.
Download the information note here:
Services provided elsewhere
The following list includes services not provided by the British Embassy and for which appointments will not be accepted.:
Pension
We no longer provide life certificates for British nationals claiming a British pension abroad. Refer to the list of people working in a recognised profession (PDF, 17.8 KB) who can do this for you.
Certifying passports
We no longer provide certified photocopies of British passports to be used overseas. Customers requiring a certified copy of their UK passport are requested to make an appointment with either of the law firm, Denton & Co on +968 2457 3000 or Addleshaw Goddard on +968 2495 0700.
Educational certificates
From 1 February 2014 British educational degrees and vocational certificates will only need to be verified by the British Council. Once verified the document can be taken directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for endorsement. It is not necessary for the Embassy to further stamp and legalise the British Council signature. Call the British Council call centre on 800 24680 for more information.
Legalising UK Registry documents
We are unable to legalise or provide certified copies of marriage, birth or death certificates, you will have to send these certificates to FCDO legalisation office in Milton Keynes. Detailed guidance is available on the website.
Any Document with FCDO legalisation (Apostille) can be directly used in Oman it does not need further stamping by the British Embassy. Alternately, the certificates can be legalised (Apostille) at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office’s legalisation office in UK.
Note that this list is non-exhaustive and consular staff reserve the right to decline requests for any other service not mentioned above.
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 5 July 2023 + show all updates
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Updated information note - no objection to British Nationals holding other nationalities.
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Modified
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added latest update related to providing no objection certificate to British Nationals holding other nationalities
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4441 services guide amended for payment by card
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First published.