Graduated from a UAE university? You still need to get your degree attested - here’s how
Explained: The process, required documents and cost of online degree attestation
Dubai: If you are a university graduate who is applying for a job in the UAE, or a postgraduate degree, you may be required to submit an attested education degree or certificate for the university application process. While students who have graduated from a university outside the UAE need to follow a different attestation process , graduates of UAE universities are also required to get certain attestations.
What is the process and when do you need to do it? Here is all you need to know.
What is the attestation process for degrees issued in the UAE?
While degrees issued by a university outside the UAE need to be attested by the UAE’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MOFAIC), a degree issued by a UAE university would require the attestation to be done by the Ministry of Education (MOE). The process is easy and you can receive the attested degree in a few days.
While some colleges or higher education institutions in the UAE get the degree attested before it is awarded to the student on graduation, some private universities may not have this practice in place. This is why it is important to ask your university registrar or administration whether the documents you receive upon graduation will be attested.
If your documents are not attested, you can complete the attestation process through the MOE website – moe.gov.ae.
Applying for attestation online
Here are the steps you need to follow to attest your degree online:
1. Visit the MOE website - moe.gov.ae - and click on the 'E-services' category on the menu tab.
2. Once you are on the ‘services catalogue’ page, click on the 'services for individuals' section and click on the first option - 'attestation'.
3. Next, click the first section, 'Request for attestation of academic and professional university qualifications issued from within the country’.
4. After that, click on the green button to start the service.
5. Then, log in with your UAE Pass . You can also access this service by creating a separate MOE website account.
6. Once you log into the service with your UAE Pass, your details in the application form will automatically be filled in by your UAE Pass account since your UAE Pass account and Emirates ID are linked. If you have created a separate MOE website account, you would be required to fill in these details manually. These are all the details you would need to fill:
• Full name
• Nationality
• Unified Number (UID) – this is not mandatory.
• Contact information – email ID, mobile number
• Address information: Your Emirate
• Emirates ID number and expiry date.
7. Next, click the submit button.
8. Once the personal data is filled in, upload the required documents, like an academic transcript or graduation certificate.
9. Complete the process by making the payment for the service.
If MOE approves it, the attested document will be sent to you via email.
Required documents
Depending on the type of degree you wish to get attested, the required documents vary.
Diploma or bachelor's degrees:
• Passport copy or Emirates ID copy.
• Graduation certificate / Statement of graduation.
• Academic transcript.
• Previous qualification (attested copy of a secondary school certificate or diploma if issued by a private institution in the UAE or an equivalency certificate of the same if issued by an institution outside the UAE)
Graduate Diploma or master's degrees:
• Passport copy or Emirates ID copy.
• Graduation certificate / Statement of graduation.
• Academic transcript.
• The previous qualification - attested copy of a bachelor's degree if issued by a private institution in the UAE or an equivalency certificate of the same if issued by an institution outside the UAE.
Doctoral degrees:
• Passport copy or Emirates ID copy.
• Graduation certificate / Statement of graduation.
• Academic transcript.
• The previous qualification - attested copy of a master's degree if issued by a private institution in the UAE or an equivalency certificate of the same if issued by an institution outside the UAE.
Each document must be notarised with a certified seal and signature by the issuing institution. Additionally, each document should include the student's ID and specialisation or major.
Requirements for attesting documents for continuing students:
Documents to be attested (To who it may concern letter / Transcript)
Requirements for attesting documents for education faculty members:
Documents to be attested (To who it may concern letter)
Attestation requirements in case the student has transferred hours:
- Transferred hours transcript issued from institutions of higher education in the UAE (Attested by the MOE or copy of transcript in case it was issued from public institution)/
- Transferred hours transcript issued from institutions of higher education outside the UAE (provide its authenticity from the institution otherwise a correspondence will be done by the MOE with the UAE embassies or cultural attache).
Documents to be attested must be issued from a licensed institution providing recognised programs by the MOE.
Student ID and specialisation must be mentioned in the documents to be attested.
The documents to be attested must be notarszed with a certified seal and signature by the issuing institution.
Document to be attested must be attached as a separate file in the required documents field.
How much does it cost to attest a document?
As per MOE, it costs Dh50 for each document, and it takes three working days to get attested.
This article was originally published on August 2, 2022 and has been updated since.