Making a UAE will or power of attorney when you are not a resident
You do not have to live in the UAE, and for a will you do not have to come here at all. The DIFC Courts state that you do not need to be a resident and that a will can be registered by video call "from any part of the world". Abu Dhabi goes further on nationality: its Civil Wills Office registers a will for anyone who is not a UAE citizen, "regardless of your religion". A power of attorney is different again: there is no nationality rule, but where you sign decides how many steps follow.
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Who may register a will, registry by registry
The two registries that publish their conditions do not apply the same test, and the difference matters more than anything else on this page.
The DIFC Courts Wills Service requires that "You are not Muslim and have never been a Muslim", that "You are at least 18 years of age", and that "You own assets in the UAE and/or have minor children residing with you in the UAE". On residency it is explicit: "You do not need to be a resident of the UAE to register a DIFC Courts Will at the Wills Service."
The Abu Dhabi Judicial Department answers the religion question the other way. Asked "Can Muslims register a Will?", its Civil Family Court page answers: "If you are not a UAE citizen, then, regardless of your religion, you may register a Will with Abu Dhabi Civil Wills Office." Its law defines a will as "a document prepared by an expatriate stating how they would like their assets to be distributed upon their passing".
Neither registry asks what passport you hold. The tests are religion, age, assets and, in Abu Dhabi, not being a UAE citizen.
| DIFC Courts Wills Service | Abu Dhabi Civil Wills Office | |
|---|---|---|
| Religion | Not Muslim, and never a Muslim | Any religion, if you are not a UAE citizen |
| Residency | Not required | Application links are published for residents and non-residents alike |
| Age | At least 18 | Not stated on the page we read |
| Assets | Assets in the UAE and/or minor children residing with you here | A will covering the UAE estate |
| Signing from abroad | Yes, by video conference, with witnesses anywhere | Registration is by application to the Civil Wills Section |
Source: DIFC Courts, Wills FAQ
Do you have to fly to the UAE to sign a will?
For a DIFC will, no. The DIFC Courts state: "All DIFC Courts Wills are registered through electronic signatures. You may complete the registration virtually from any part of the world." And again, on travelling: "Testators and Witnesses from any part of the world may attend the appointment virtually and do not need to visit the UAE to sign the Will."
The appointment itself is short - the Courts publish "approximately 20 minutes" - and must be booked through the Wills Service portal. Two witnesses attend with the testator. Our guide to registering a DIFC will walks through the appointment, and DIFC vs Dubai Courts vs ADJD compares the routes.
- Witnesses must be at least 18 and hold "a valid passport, Emirates ID, or any other government issued photographic ID".
- "Witnesses may join the Will registration appointment via the virtual meeting link from anywhere in the world. Thus, Witnesses are not required to be residents of UAE."
- Witnesses must not be beneficiaries or guardians, or their spouses.
- Guardians and spouses of guardians "are not permitted to attend the Will signing appointment".
- Spouses may register mirror wills in a joint appointment.
What Abu Dhabi publishes for people who live elsewhere
Abu Dhabi runs its route on documents rather than a video appointment, as our guide to registering an ADJD will sets out. Its Civil Family Court publishes a standardised will template "in both English and Arabic", and states that "For a Civil Will to be recognised as legally valid, it must be registered. You can do this by submitting the relevant application and a copy of the Will to the ADJD Civil Wills Section."
Its published registration fees are AED 950 for a regular will and AED 2,500 for a special will. For the separate inheritance application it publishes two links, one "If the applicant is a UAE resident" and one "If the applicant is not a UAE resident", which is a plain signal that non-residents use the same office.
It also publishes what happens without a will, for the people this page is written for: under Article 11(2) of Law No. 14 of 2021, if a non-UAE resident dies without a will, "The surviving spouse shall receive half of the inheritance and the other half shall be distributed equally between the children of the deceased (no difference between males and females)."
A power of attorney has no nationality test, but it does have a geography one
No UAE authority we hold publishes a nationality or religion condition for granting a power of attorney. What changes with your circumstances is not whether you may, but how the document reaches a UAE counter.
If you hold an Emirates ID, more of the route is online. Dubai Courts publishes an attestation route where online attestation requires a valid Emirates ID, and a party relying only on a passport must appear in person. The federal Ministry of Justice publishes a digital power of attorney signed with UAE Pass.
If you are abroad with a passport, the document is signed where you are and then travels: a local notary, your own country foreign ministry, the UAE mission there, and UAE attestation. We have a page for each of the corridors where both governments publish their step, including the UK, the United States, India, Pakistan, China, Saudi Arabia, the Netherlands, Jordan, Germany and Italy.
The receiving authority is the one that decides. Dubai Land Department, for example, lists a valid passport copy for non-resident owners rather than requiring an Emirates ID.
| Your situation | Will | Power of attorney |
|---|---|---|
| In the UAE with an Emirates ID | DIFC by video call or in person; Abu Dhabi by application | More of the published routes are open, including online attestation and the federal digital POA |
| In the UAE on a visit, passport only | Same registries, same conditions | Dubai Courts publishes in-person attendance where a party has no Emirates ID |
| Outside the UAE entirely | DIFC by video call from anywhere; Abu Dhabi by application | Sign locally, then the attestation chain in your country and the UAE mission |
Which nationalities can use this?
For a power of attorney, no authority publishes a restriction by nationality. For a will, the published conditions are about religion and citizenship rather than nationality: the DIFC route is for non-Muslims, and the Abu Dhabi route is open to any religion provided you are not a UAE citizen.
If you are a Muslim expatriate, Abu Dhabi is the route that publishes an answer for you, and the estate question is one for a lawyer rather than for us. If you are a UAE citizen, neither of these registries is published as being for you.
The Deedbox prepares the documents; it is not a law firm and cannot advise on which succession law applies to your estate.
What we cannot tell you from published sources
Dubai Courts publishes a wills route of its own, and we have not been able to verify its current conditions: its legacy service pages have been unreachable through an extended maintenance window. We do not describe that route as if we had read it.
Nor does any single federal page settle what happens to a foreign national dying in the UAE without a will. The federal position is conditional rather than universal, which is why the registries publish their own intestacy rules.
Questions
Can I make a UAE will if I do not live in the UAE?
Yes, on what the registries publish. The DIFC Courts state that you do not need to be a resident and that registration can be completed virtually from any part of the world. Abu Dhabi publishes application routes for residents and non-residents alike.
Do I need an Emirates ID?
Not for a DIFC will: witnesses may present "a valid passport, Emirates ID, or any other government issued photographic ID". For a power of attorney, an Emirates ID opens more online routes, and a passport-only party may have to attend in person for the Dubai Courts route.
Can a Muslim register a UAE will?
The DIFC Courts route requires that you are not Muslim and have never been a Muslim. Abu Dhabi answers its own version of this question: if you are not a UAE citizen, then regardless of your religion you may register a will with its Civil Wills Office.
Do my witnesses have to be in the UAE?
No, for a DIFC will. The Courts state that witnesses may join the appointment by the virtual meeting link from anywhere in the world and are not required to be UAE residents.
Can someone else sign the will for me under a power of attorney?
No. A will is signed by the testator, which is why the registries publish remote signing rather than representation. A power of attorney is for acts during your lifetime.
What does The Deedbox do in all this?
We prepare the document to the wording the receiving registry or authority expects, and coordinate the steps that follow. We are not a law firm and not a notary, and we do not register a will in your place or attest documents ourselves.
What this page does not do
- Eligibility conditions are those each registry publishes, read on 23 September 2026. A registry can change them.
- Dubai Courts is deliberately not described here: its service pages were unreachable during an extended maintenance window.
- Whether a will or a power of attorney achieves a particular outcome for a particular estate or transaction is a legal question, and this page does not answer it.
- The Deedbox is not a law firm and not a notary. It does not legalise, apostille or attest documents, and does not act for anyone before a mission, a foreign ministry or a court.