Taxation
4 Mins
How to Make a Power of Attorney in Dubai for India (2026)
Apoorva K
Team Rupeeflo
Living in Dubai doesn't stop life in India from needing your signature. Parents get older, flats need selling, accounts need looking after, and flying home each time isn't realistic.
A power of attorney lets someone you trust act for you. But a POA signed in Dubai has to satisfy two countries. The UAE side is simple: one appointment and one signature, a short drive from your home. The Indian side depends on what the POA is for and which state it will be used in.
This guide walks you through the full sequence, from drafting and attestation to stamping and registration.
Power of Attorney vs Affidavit: Which Document You Need for India
Power of attorney (POA): lets someone you name act for you and sign in your name.
Affidavit: your own sworn statement of facts. It doesn't let anyone act for you.
So if someone in India needs to sign, pay, collect money or register something on your behalf, you need a POA. If an office only wants you to confirm a fact, such as your address or a change of name, an affidavit is enough.
Sometimes you need neither. To let someone run your Indian bank account, many banks offer a mandate, which uses the bank's own form and KYC and doesn't need registering. And if your bank or broker in India only wants notarised copies of your documents, we can notarise them over a video call from your phone.
Document | What it does | When you'd use it from the UAE |
|---|---|---|
Power of attorney | Lets a person you name act and sign for you | Selling, buying or renting out property; dealing with banks, courts and government offices |
Affidavit | Your sworn statement of facts | Declarations an office asks you to confirm, such as name or address |
Bank mandate | Lets a named person operate one bank account, on the bank's own form | Day-to-day payments from your NRE or NRO account |
You sign both a POA and an affidavit the same way from the UAE: in person, in front of the Indian mission's official.
Types of Power of Attorney for India and What Your Attorney Can Do
General vs Special Power of Attorney
A general power of attorney (GPA) gives your attorney a wide range of powers, such as managing your property, dealing with your bank and representing you before government offices. A special power of attorney (SPA) covers one task or transaction, such as selling one named flat.
For most people in the UAE, a special POA is the safer choice. It does exactly what you need, it ends once that task is done, and your attorney can't use it for anything else. Choose a general POA only when someone needs to handle your affairs in India on an ongoing basis.
What Your Attorney Can and Cannot Do for You
Your attorney can do only what your POA lists. Within that, they can sign documents, appear before offices, make payments and receive money in your name. There are limits you should know before you sign:
A POA doesn't make your attorney the owner of your property. In India, property changes hands only through a registered sale deed, and the Supreme Court has held that "GPA sales" don't transfer ownership.
Your attorney can't give evidence in court about things only you know. They can speak only about what they did themselves under the POA.
On your NRE and NRO accounts, your attorney has limited powers. They can make local payments and investments in India for you. They can't send money abroad to anyone except you, give gifts from the account or open NRE accounts in your name.
Who Can Give a Power of Attorney From the UAE, and Who You Can Appoint
Any adult of sound mind can give a power of attorney. What changes with your passport is the set of documents you carry to the centre.
What to Bring by Passport Type
The paperwork is the same for everyone except the passport. The Indian mission attests documents for Indians and foreigners, so holding a foreign passport doesn't stop you from making a POA for India.
Your passport | What to take to the centre |
|---|---|
Indian passport | Original passport, copies of its first five pages and your UAE residence visa page, a recent passport photo |
Foreign passport (OCI cardholders and others) | Original foreign passport, your OCI card if you have one, your UAE residence visa page, a recent passport photo |
Choosing Your Attorney in India
Any adult of sound mind can act as your attorney. They don't have to be a relative, and the law doesn't require them to live in India. In practice, though, your attorney is the person who stands at the sub-registrar's counter and the bank for you, so most people choose a parent, sibling or spouse who lives near the property.
Before you decide, weigh three things:
Registration in Kerala: a property POA given to a close relative doesn't need registration there, while one given to anyone else does (see Step 7).
Two attorneys: if you name two people, say clearly in the POA whether either can act alone or both must sign together.
Time: your attorney has to get the POA stamped within three months of it arriving in India (see Step 6), so pick someone who can make those visits.
Protecting Yourself From Misuse
A POA lets someone sign in your name, so build the limits into the document itself:
Use a special POA for a one-off task like a sale. It ends once that task is done.
Add an end date, so the POA stops even if the task takes longer than planned.
List each power separately instead of a broad "all acts" line. Your attorney can do only what's listed.
Say whether your attorney can hand the work to someone else. By default, an attorney can't pass on work they agreed to do themselves, but writing it down removes any doubt.
Ask for a copy of everything signed in your name: sale deeds, receipts and bank instructions.
Know how to cancel it if you need to (see the section on validity below).
Choose someone you trust completely, because they will be signing in your name.
Notarised, Attested, Apostilled or Registered: What a POA Made in Dubai Needs
A POA made in the UAE has to be attested at the Indian mission, stamped in India, and in some cases registered there. It doesn't need an apostille, and a UAE notary's stamp on its own won't do.
Term | What it means | Does your POA need it? |
|---|---|---|
Notarised | A notary confirms who signed | A UAE notary's stamp alone isn't enough for India (see below) |
Attested | The Indian mission's official watches you sign and confirms your identity | Yes. This is the step you complete in the UAE |
Apostille | A single certificate that lets a document from one member country be used in another | |
Stamped | Stamp duty paid on the POA in India | Yes, within three months of the POA arriving in India |
Registered | Recorded at the sub-registrar's office | Only some property POAs, depending on the state |
UAE Notary or Indian Consulate: Where to Sign Your POA
A UAE notary can stamp your POA, but that stamp alone isn't enough for India. Some countries can certify a document for India with one extra stamp called an apostille, and the UAE isn't one of them. So sign your POA at the Indian mission's centre instead. Indian law recognises a POA that someone living abroad signs in front of an Indian consular official, and it takes one visit.
For other documents you need attested in the UAE for use in India, such as certificates, see our guide to Indian Embassy attestation in the UAE.
How to Make a Power of Attorney in Dubai for India, Step by Step
Steps 1 to 5 are yours, in the UAE. Steps 6 and 7 are done by your attorney in India.
Step 1: Decide What Your Attorney Can Do
Write down every task you need done, in plain words: "sell my flat at [address] and sign the sale deed", "receive the sale money into my NRO account", "pay the property tax". Then write down what you don't want your attorney to do, such as taking a loan against the property.
This list does two jobs. It tells you whether you need a special POA (one task, like a single sale) or a general one (ongoing affairs), and it becomes the core of the draft your lawyer writes in Step 2. The tighter the list, the safer the POA.
Step 2: Draft the Power of Attorney
Have the POA drafted by a lawyer in the Indian state where it will be used, because stamp duty and registration rules differ from state to state. The official at the centre checks your identity and watches you sign. Whether the wording works at your sub-registrar depends on the draft, so get it right before your appointment.
What to Include in the POA
Your full name, UAE address and passport number, and the same details for your attorney with their Indian address
The exact property description from the title deed (survey or plot number, address, registration number), if the POA is about property
Each power you're giving, listed clearly
Where any money received should go, such as your NRO account
Whether two attorneys can act alone or must act together, if you name two
An end date or end event, if you want the POA to stop on its own
Space for your passport photo on the first page, and your attorney's if they'll be present
Step 3: Book a POA Attestation Appointment at an Indian Consular Application Centre
The Embassy in Abu Dhabi and the Consulate in Dubai no longer handle attestation at their own offices. Instead, you book an appointment online at consularsevainuae.com and sign your POA at one of 12 Indian Consular Application Centres. Al Hind Tours & Travels runs them for now, and the Embassy is re-tendering the contract, so check the Embassy's website before you go.
New slots are released twice a day, at 9 AM and 9 PM. On the day, time your arrival close to your slot, since you're let in only 15 minutes before it. If you're 60 or older, you can walk in without booking.
Four centres, at Musaffah, Al Reem Island, Dubai Investment Park-I and Al Majaz in Sharjah, closed on 22 October 2026. These are the 12 still open:
Dubai Centre
Abu Dhabi Centres (Indian Embassy Services)
Northern Emirates Centres
Ajman: Indian Association Ajman
Umm Al Quwain: Indian Association, Al Ramlah
Ras Al Khaimah: Indian Relief Committee, Al Mamourah
Fujairah: Indian Social Club, Al Faseel
Khor Fakkan: Zarouni Building, Sheikh Khalid Road
Step 4: Sign the POA in Person at the Centre
You have to go yourself, with your original passport, and sign the POA in front of the official who attests it. Nobody else can do this step for you. The attestation is completed the same day.
Documents to Bring
The POA, not yet signed, plus one duplicate copy
Your original passport, with copies of its first five pages and your UAE residence visa page
A recent passport-size photo of you, and one of your attorney if they're coming with you
If your POA has lines for witnesses, the witnesses themselves, with their passports, so they can sign there too
Fees and Timelines
For a POA about real estate or movable property, the Government of India fee is AED 80, or AED 155 if the consular officer drafts or helps draft it. The centre adds a service charge of AED 19 including VAT, which covers form filling, photos, typing, printouts and photocopies. You leave with the attested POA the same day.
Step 5: Send the Original Power of Attorney to India
Send the signed, attested original to your attorney by a tracked courier, and keep a scanned copy for yourself. Indian offices work from the original, so a scan or photocopy won't do for the next two steps.
Ask your attorney to note the date it reaches India, because the three-month stamping window in Step 6 starts then. If the POA is for property in Kerala or Karnataka, tell them now that it may also need registering (Step 7), so they can plan both visits together.
Step 6: Get the POA Stamped in India Within Three Months
A POA signed outside India has no Indian stamp duty paid on it yet. Your attorney has three months from the day it first arrives in India to get it stamped at the Collector of Stamps' office.
Stamp duty differs from state to state, and it also depends on what the POA allows, so your attorney should confirm the amount at the local sub-registrar or Collector's office. Each state applies its own stamp law. Kerala's, for example, has the same three-month rule.
Don't let the three months pass. If the POA isn't properly stamped, the Collector can charge a penalty of up to ten times the duty.
Step 7: Register the POA if It Is for Property
Most POAs don't need registering. Property POAs in some states do, and Kerala and Karnataka have their own rules. Even with a registered POA, the property itself changes hands only through a registered sale deed, which your attorney signs for you.
Kerala: Registration Before a Sale
In Kerala, a POA that gives someone power to manage, develop, transfer or otherwise deal with immovable property must be registered, unless it's given to your father, mother, wife, husband, son, adopted son, daughter, adopted daughter, brother, sister, son-in-law or daughter-in-law.
In July 2026, the Kerala High Court ruled that this applies even when the POA was signed and attested at an Indian mission abroad. An unregistered POA can't be used to sell property. If your attorney isn't on the list above, they take the stamped POA to the sub-registrar's office for the property and register it there before the sale.
Karnataka: Registration and Proof You Are Alive
Karnataka requires registration of any POA that authorises the transfer of immovable property, with or without payment, and the rule has been in force since 13 August 2025. The same law requires whoever uses your POA to prove that you're alive at the time.
Draft rules published in 2026 say a POA signed before an Indian Consul abroad won't need separate registration in Karnataka. They also say your attorney can prove you're alive with a life certificate from an Indian Consul or a notary, valid for 15 days from issue. Until those rules are final, ask the sub-registrar whether your POA needs registering, and time your life certificate so it's recent on the day of the sale.
Other States
Ask the sub-registrar's office where the property is located whether a POA for that property must be registered before your attorney uses it.
Power of Attorney for Property in India From Dubai: Sale, Purchase and Rent
Property is the most common reason people in the UAE make a POA for India, and how it works depends on the deal.
Selling: your attorney signs the sale deed at the sub-registrar for you. Ask for the sale money to be paid into your NRO account. Our guide to selling property in India with a power of attorney covers the sale itself, and our guides to tax on property sale for NRIs and claiming back excess TDS cover what happens to the money.
Buying: your attorney can sign the sale agreement and the sale deed and complete registration for you. If you're taking a loan, see our NRI home loan guide for what the bank will ask for.
Renting out: your attorney can sign the rent agreement, deal with the tenant and collect rent into your NRO account. In Kerala, a POA to manage property needs registration unless it's given to one of the close relatives listed in Step 7.
Power of Attorney Validity in India and How to Cancel It From the UAE
How Long a Power of Attorney Stays Valid
A POA has no fixed expiry under Indian law. It stays valid until you cancel it, your attorney gives it up, the task it was made for is finished, or either of you dies or loses mental capacity. If you want it to end on a set date, write that date into the POA.
Cancelling a POA From Dubai
Sign a deed of revocation at one of the Indian Consular Application Centres, the same way you signed the POA.
Send it to your attorney and keep proof that they received it. The cancellation takes effect only once they know about it, and the same goes for banks and others dealing with your attorney.
Send a copy to every bank, office or buyer that holds a copy of the POA.
If the original POA was registered, have the revocation registered at the same sub-registrar's office.
Power of Attorney From Dubai for India: Questions UAE NRIs Ask
Can I make a power of attorney for India online from the UAE?
No. You have to appear in person at an Indian Consular Application Centre with your original passport and sign in front of the official. If you're 60 or older, you can walk in without an appointment.
Can my attorney send the sale money to me in the UAE?
Your attorney can send money from your account abroad only to you. From your NRO account, you can send up to USD 1 million to the UAE in each financial year (April to March), with proof of how you acquired the property and the tax forms your bank asks for. Our guide to repatriating funds from India walks through the process.
Can one POA cover both my property and my bank account?
Yes. A general POA can cover both. Some banks also offer their own mandate form for running an account, which is often simpler for day-to-day payments than using the POA. Check with your bank before you sign.
