The attestation chain at a glance
Official steps were checked on 14 October 2026. The first step depends on the country that issued the degree, so it is marked as practice.
| Step | Who stamps it | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Checks at home | Often the education ministry, a higher education body or the university in the country that issued the degree; each country sets its own rule | Common practice |
| 2. Foreign ministry | The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country that issued the certificate | MoFA UAE FAQ |
| 3. UAE mission | The UAE embassy or consulate in that country; online applications work only where the mission offers them, otherwise you go in person | MoFA UAE FAQ and service page |
| 4. MoFA UAE | The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs, applied for through its website or the UAE MOFA app, with the original sent by courier | MoFA UAE FAQ |
| Fee at MoFA | AED 150 per personal document, a group that includes educational certificates; a certificate and its transcript count as two documents | MoFA UAE FAQ |
| Recognition | A separate review of the qualification by the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) | u.ae, MoHESR |
| Check the stamp | MOFA Verify, using the reference number and issue date | MoFA UAE |
If there is no UAE mission in the country where you are, MoFA asks you to contact its call centre or use its Contact Us page.
Who needs a degree attested
Attestation confirms that the stamp and signature on a document are genuine. The UAE government portal says certain jobs require expatriates to show attested academic certificates to complete their residence and employment procedures. For job seekers this usually comes up in three ways: the employer wants the degree counted so that you are classed as a skilled worker, you apply for a jobseeker visit visa, which asks for an attested qualification certificate, or a licensing body for your profession, such as the teaching licence system, asks for it. Before you start a process that costs time and money, ask the employer exactly what it needs.
- Ask the employer or its government relations officer which documents they need: the degree only, the degree and transcript, or a recognition report as well.
- MoFA attests original documents written in Arabic or English, or accompanied by an official translation, and it rejects laminated documents.
- MoFA treats a certificate and its transcript as two separate documents, so budget for two fees if you need both.
- Practical tip: make sure the name on the certificate matches your passport, or get an official explanation of any difference before you begin.
MoHRE professional levels and degrees
The UAE government portal explains that the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation (MoHRE) sorts jobs into nine professional levels based on the International Standard Classification of Occupations, from legislators and managers at level 1 to simple professions at level 9. Work counts as skilled only when all of these apply: the job is at levels 1 to 5, the worker holds a qualification above secondary school or its equivalent, that certificate is attested by the competent authorities, and the monthly salary, not counting commission, is at least AED 4,000. The jobseeker visit visa sets its own bar: the applicant must be at skill level 1, 2 or 3, or have graduated in the last two years from one of the world's top 500 universities on the ranking the ministry approves, and must hold a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. Ask your employer which occupation and level the work permit will use, because that affects whether your degree is needed.
Step one: the country that issued the degree
MoFA sets out the order clearly: an original document issued outside the UAE must first be attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country that issued it, and MoFA expects the appropriate bodies to have stamped a document before it is submitted. What has to happen before your foreign ministry will stamp the degree is decided by that country, not by the UAE. In many countries the foreign ministry wants the education ministry, a higher education council or the university to confirm the degree first, but this is local practice and it varies. Ask your own foreign ministry which pre-checks it requires, and allow time for postal or appointment delays.
Steps two and three: UAE mission, then MoFA
After your foreign ministry has stamped the certificate, MoFA says the UAE embassy or consulate in that country can attest it, with the application made through MoFA's online channels. MoFA's service page adds that online applications for documents issued abroad are open only at selected missions; where a mission does not offer them, you apply in person, and each mission may set its own procedure. The final step is MoFA itself, through its website or the UAE MOFA app, with a courier collecting the original. MoFA charges AED 150 for each personal document, including educational certificates, and AED 2,000 for each commercial document; the total is shown before you pay, and courier charges inside the UAE are extra. If MoFA or a mission rejects an application, MoFA says the fee is refunded automatically within 14 working days, but delivery fees are not refunded. MoFA estimates up to 7 business days for attestation abroad and 1 to 3 business days for courier-based attestation inside the UAE.
Apostille: why it does not replace the UAE steps
Many countries now issue an apostille, a single certificate under the 1961 Hague Convention that replaces embassy legalisation between the countries that have joined it. The HCCH status table, last updated on 30 June 2026, lists 130 contracting parties and the UAE is not one of them, so there is no date from which the UAE started accepting apostilles. Saudi Arabia, by contrast, joined in 2022. MoFA's own guidance for documents issued abroad still asks for the foreign ministry stamp of the issuing country followed by the UAE mission, and it does not mention apostilles. Do not rely on an apostille alone; ask the UAE mission in your country how to complete the chain.
Attestation versus recognition (equivalency)
Attestation confirms that a document is genuine. Recognition, often still called equivalency, is a separate decision about the qualification itself. MoHESR runs a University Qualifications Recognition service for degrees from accredited institutions outside the UAE, and the government portal says the recognition report is an official document for employment, further study, visas and government services. Ministerial Resolution No. 34 of 2025 sets the conditions, including checks that the qualification is authentic and that the institution is legally established, licensed and accredited at home, and MoHESR said the number of documents required fell from 14 to four. We found no official rule that makes a recognition report compulsory for every private-sector job. Separately, since May 2025 MoHRE and MoHESR have offered digital verification of degrees earned abroad for private-sector workers at skill levels 1 to 4, built into the work permit process, with MoHESR as the verifying authority. Ask your employer early which of these steps applies to you.
- Teachers: u.ae says a teacher needs at least a bachelor's or four-year degree in the relevant field, attested certificates if the degree is from abroad, and the mandatory Education Professional Licence.
- A 2022 Ministry of Education guide to the teaching licence asked applicants to enter an equivalency or attestation number in their profile; check the current system before you apply.
- Health jobs: u.ae says physicians, laboratory technicians and some other professionals must pass exams set by the Ministry of Health and Prevention, the Dubai Health Authority or the Department of Health in Abu Dhabi before they are licensed.
How to avoid fake attestation agents
MoFA says anyone can submit an attestation application on your behalf, so getting help with the paperwork is allowed. The risk comes from offers that skip steps, promise a stamp without your original certificate, or offer a degree you did not earn. MoHESR says it refers suspected forgery of academic qualifications to the judicial authorities, that courts have handed down prison terms of up to three years and fines of up to AED 30,000 in such cases, and that Article 252 of the 2021 Crimes and Penalties Law allows up to 10 years in prison for forging an official document. It also urges employers to check qualifications through its approved verification channels. A fake stamp can cost you the job and the visa.
- Check a MoFA attestation on MOFA Verify by entering the reference number and the issue date.
- Be wary of anyone who says they can attest a document without the issuing country's foreign ministry stamp.
- Never buy a certificate or a recognition report, and apply only through the ministries' own websites and apps.