With the latest provision to facilitate online notarisation of the Power of Attorney (PoA) in the United Arab Emirates and the exponential growth opportunities in business and commerce in the countries, the knowledge of PoA becomes imminent for all concerned. The Law Reporters delves in the intricacies of PoA which will be useful to the ones looking for assistance.

What You Should Know About Power of Attorney (POA) In The UAE

Power of Attorney (POA) is a legal document through which a person or a company appoints another person or company that will make decisions on the former’s behalf. The person or company that provides consent is a ‘Principal or Grantor’.

On the other hand, the person or company that is authorised to act on behalf of the Grantor is called ‘Attorney-in-fact or Grantee’. Power of Attorney can be opted for in disputes related to real estate, private affairs, business and financial among others.

In order to avail a grantee in the UAE, the grantor of the power of attorney must be a mentally sound adult above the age of 21 years. When foreign business owners in the UAE have authorised grantees in another country, they have to get the POA translated to Arabic in order for it to be legal. Solutions in such instances will be offered by legal advisors in the UAE.

To obtain a power of attorney, the grantor is required to appoint a legal representative with a process that includes signing the POA document. The grantor is entitled to cancel the POA after an assigned task is complete or whenever the grantor deems fit. The document however, becomes invalid when/if the grantor is deceased.

Power of Attorney is entirely entitled on trust between the grantor and grantee. Any wrongdoing or misrepresentation is considered as fraud and the responsible party will be heard in the court. It is a noteworthy fact that signing of an irrevocable POA is not permitted in the UAE.

Categories Under POA

It is highly advised to be aware of the two types of POA in Dubai. Each based on the significance of need.General Power of Attorney is one type which enables the agent/grantee to have access to a wide range of powers. The grantee will possess the legal right to decide and act on behalf of the grantor in various matters. This form of POA is usually applied in purchasing real estate or setting up a business. The General POA however, will not enable selling rights to grantee when it comes to real estate, vehicles or shares of a company. Be advised that the grantee will be restricted to what is defined on the contract.The Special Power of Attorney has a more specific approach as it is only applicable to perform a mentioned transaction or is valid only for a limited amount of time. The Special POA gives enough power to a grantee only to sell real estate, vehicles or shares in a company. As this involves less risk, it is advisable to opt for the Special POA to get the task done.In both types of POA however, the task should be defined well since the third-party would not consider the POA if the details are not properly mentioned.

Advantages of a Power of Attorney

1. Specific tasks can be handled with ease
2. Physical presence of grantor in UAE is not necessary
3. Saves time, effort and money
4. Selling and buying of property is very simple, especially if both parties are not present in UAE
5. Legal advisors available locally can represent a foreign grantor in several matters
6. The grantee can update the grantor on various procedures

Risks Involved with POA

Although there are rules in place to keep the interests of a grantor safe, best practice involve good amount of research and finding a trustworthy representative while issuing POA. Since there will be a lot of power given to the agent, concerns regarding that representative is very likely to rise.

A great deal of trust and matching wavelengths are highly desirable for both parties in such a circumstance. Since the grantor’s interest is a priority, the grantee (agent) is expected to possess the right thought-flow, knowledge and expertise.

POA Validity in the UAE

The power of attorney has a fixed validity of two years and it can be extended upon renewal. The POA can be set to expire once the mentioned transaction is complete.In matters related to sale of real estate, a POA is valid only for two years while the POA will be valid for five years in matters related to the purchase of the real estate. The Dubai Public Notary can renew the POA for a fee. In order to revoke a POA, the original document and other allied copies must be submitted with a written request for revocation to the same office that issued the original POA.

POA Signing Procedure in the UAE

A good law firm can create the POA document for a grantor and get it validated by the public notary in the UAE. Later, the UAE Embassy approves the document after certifying it in the grantor’s country of origin.The procedure takes a few hours if the grantor is present in Dubai while applying for the POA. On the other hand, it would take upto two weeks if the grantor is not present in Dubai. In this case, the procedure speed will depend on the country where the POA document has to be legalised from.

When or if the foreign country legalises the POA request, the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs will certify and grant the document. A stipulated fee is also levied on the POA request. It is to be noted that all the documents will have to be submitted in Arabic language.

POA Signing Procedure Outside the UAE

The grantor can always apply for a POA in his/her country of origin and the rest of the procedure will be completed in the UAE. The grantor needs to sign the POA before a public notary in the home country, taking into consideration the document validation process of the UAE.

A non-Arabic speaker will have to prepare the document in a bilingual format which will enable the grantor to understand the POA in English and then get it translated to Arabic. A licensed legal translator who is approved by the UAE Ministry of Justice will have to translate the POA to Arabic. After which, the POA document has to be signed in either Arabic or bilingual format before a public notary.

The process of POA signing is as follows,

1. The grantor should sign the POA before a public notary in his/her country of origin.
2. In order to make the document acceptable on an international level, the POA document should be attested by the home country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. The document should be submitted to UAE Embassy or Consulate for certification.
4. The document is presented to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs where it is approved.

 Once approved, the document is legal.The Power of Attorney ensures convenience in the absence of the grantor. However, the grantor must take into consideration, the risks involved. A law firm will be able to help out in every manner possible since it is bound to handle any condition that requires legal intervention.