UAE EDUCATIONAL DEGREE LEGALIZATION AND ATTESTATION PROCESS

Bringing Education Degrees and Certifictes to the UAE

This publication on UAE Educational Degree Legalization addresses the need to bring education degrees when seeking employment, higher education or visa requirements purposes (golden visa) in the UAE.

Documents brought to the UAE will need to be legalized. Below we list the advantages of legalizing education degrees when coming to the UAE and highlight the legalization route of educational documents.

Advantages of UAE Educational Degree Legalization

Legalizing education degrees in the UAE is an essential process for several reasons:

1. Validation of Authenticity: The legalization process ensures that the degree certificate is genuine and issued by a recognized educational institution. This helps prevent fraud and ensures that only qualified individuals hold certain positions.
2. Requirement for Employment: In many professions, particularly in sectors like education, healthcare, law and engineering, employers in the UAE require legalized degrees before offering employment. It serves as proof that the candidate has the necessary qualifications.
3. Visa and Residency Applications: When applying for a work visa, residency, or family sponsorship, the UAE government often requires legalized degrees as part of the documentation. This ensures that individuals meet the required educational criteria for their visa category. Occasionally time constraints force the processing of a visa under a position that does not require the legalized degree and making the due change once the legalized document reaches the UAE. This option is not always viable for position circumstances or the length that would involve this temporary set up.
4. Higher Education Pursuits: If you plan to pursue further education in the UAE, universities and educational institutions often require that your previous degrees be legalized to ensure that your academic credentials meet their standards.
5. Professional Licensing: Many professional licensing bodies in the UAE require legalized degrees as part of the licensing process. This is particularly common in fields like law, medicine, and engineering, where professional standards are strictly regulated.
6. International Recognition: Legalization gives your degree international recognition, making it easier to use your academic credentials in other countries if you decide to move or work abroad in the future.

What does the UAE Educational Degree Legalization process involve?

The legalization process typically involves attestation from various authorities, including the Ministry of Education in the country where the degree was issued, the UAE Embassy in that country, and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs once the document reaches the UAE.

For a document to be recognized in the UAE, it generally needs to go through a process of legalization, also known as attestation. This process ensures that the document is genuine, legally valid, and recognized by the UAE authorities.

What are the Steps of the UAE Educational Degree Legalization process?

The steps typically involved in this process are as follows:

1. Notarization

The document must first be notarized by a notary public in the country where it was issued. This step is often required for both personal documents (e.g., birth certificates, marriage certificates) and educational certificates. For educational documents this step is often substituted by the signature of the person (within the educational institution) registered with the Ministry of Education of the relevant country.

2. Attestation by Relevant Authorities

Educational Documents need to be attested by the Ministry of Education or the relevant educational authority in the issuing country. This step ensures that the person signing the degree or certificate is listed with the authority hence recognizing the validity of the degree or certificate.

3. Attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) in the Issuing Country

After being attested by the relevant authorities (generally the Ministry of Education of the relevan country), the document must be submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the issuing country. This attestation verifies that the previous attestations are legitimate.

4. UAE Embassy Attestation

At the country of origin, the document then needs to be attested by the UAE Embassy or Consulate in the country where it was issued. This step ensures that the UAE recognizes the document as authentic.

5. Attestation by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA)

Once the document reaches the UAE, it must be attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This final step confirms that all previous attestations are valid and recognized by the UAE government.

6. Additional Attestation (If Required)

Depending on the nature of the document, additional attestations might be required by specific ministries or government departments in the UAE. For example, educational documents might need to be further attested by the UAE Ministry of Education.

Key Points on UAE Educational Degree Legalization

First, original documents. Keep in mind that you will need to obtain original documents for attestation, not photocopies.

Second, translation. If the document is not in Arabic, it may need to be translated by a certified translator, and the translation may also need to be attested.

Third, time. The entire process can take several weeks, depending on the country of origin and the specific requirements. Plan ahead!

Conclusion to UAE Educational Degree Legalization and Attestation Process

Attesting documents is crucial for ensuring they are legally valid and recognized for purposes such as employment, visa applications, higher education, or business activities in the UAE.

Bringing legalized documents will increase the credibility of the job applicants and candiates.

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We hope this post will help you understand the advantages of bringing legalized educational documents to the UAE and the steps involved in legalizing educational documents in the UAE and remain available for any questions regarding this post of general application.

For more information published in English you can visit all our publications at this link as well as the videos in English of our Managing Partner Maria Rubert.

*The information on this page is not intended to be legal advice. This article is intended to provide an initial introduction to the concept of legalizaing education degrees in the UAE.