1. The Middle East is not one market
For document authentication, the Gulf splits four ways.
2. Convention parties
Bahrain
A party. Chinese documents take an apostille.
Saudi Arabia
A party. Apostille for documents within scope.
3. Consular legalization required
Kuwait
Commercial invoices and certificates of origin are certified separately.
The consular district arrangement was restored on 21 November 2022.
Qatar
Since 22 June 2021 the certificate of origin and the invoice must be certified together.
Iraq
The embassy’s commercial office handles certification, with limited receiving days.
Since 2 May 2018, certain goods require a certificate of conformity or inspection from an approved body.
Non-commercial documents require Arabic translation.
Iran
The certificate of origin, invoice and health certificate are submitted together.
Lebanon
The invoice must be legalized together with the certificate of origin, and an English statement is required.
4. Split regimes
Oman
Commercial and customs documents: consular legalization.
Civil documents: apostille.
Since 14 May 2026, Oman requires its authorised electronic certification system for certain documents.
The UAE
Accepts apostilles for many documents, but its customs authority still requires legalization for certain commercial categories.
5. What this means for exporters
A single Gulf policy does not exist.
The authentication route is decided per country, and in two cases per document type within the same country.
6. The common failures
Applying a Saudi or Bahraini practice to Kuwait or Qatar.
Assuming that apostille acceptance in the UAE covers customs documents.
Overlooking the requirement to submit invoice and certificate of origin together in Qatar and Iran.
Missing the Arabic translation requirement for Iraq.
7. A working table
One row per Gulf destination. Columns: Convention status, document types covered, translation requirement, whether documents must be submitted together, and the current receiving arrangement.
Update it when an embassy changes its practice, which happens without much notice.
8. Closing view
The Gulf is where the general rules fail most often.
Each country needs its own line.
*This article is based on the consular authentication guidance published by China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, updated October 2026, and embassy practice in the region.*