UAE: A Step-by-Step Guide for Attesting Academic Certificates

Academic certificate attestation in UAE is one of the requirements if you want to apply for a job or get into a reputable university for higher education. The procedure ensures that your degrees and certifications are legitimate and legal.

What is Certificate Attestation in UAE?

Attestation primarily means checking and certifying that a document presented therein is legitimate and legalized by a reputable authority. Most governments require document authentication before interfering in their markets or conducting major business in their country.

Furthermore, certain governments may need relevant documents used by a foreign government for security reasons. As a result, these documents must be authenticated by a reputed authority to prove that they were obtained legally.

In UAE, The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) attestation is a needed procedure to certify the authenticity of key certificates and documents required for the job, visa, study, medical, or any other purpose.

The MoFAIC is responsible for all UAE attestation services in the country, for documents issued outside or within the UAE.

Here we present a step-by-step guide for Certificate Attestation in UAE.

Certificate Attestation in UAE

MoFAIC has recommended residents and visitors who require attestation for academic degrees and other documents obtained outside the country to follow the proper procedure to avoid rejection.

These include ensuring that all documents are validated by the appropriate authorities in their respective home nations before being submitted to the Ministry for attestation.

For academic certificate attestation, the Ministry has stated that the documents must be verified and attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the respective country of issuance, as well as ratified by the UAE embassy or consulate abroad or the foreign mission of the country.

All documents submitted for attestation to MoFAIC must have been issued by the relevant authorities of the respective country.

Steps to follow for Academic Certificate Attestation in UAE

Step 1: Registration

• Visit the MoFAIC official web portal https://www.mofaic.gov.ae/en/account/login
• Select the customer type (Individual for students)
• Fill out the information and click submit
• SmartPass account users can login directly using their credentials. If you don’t have a SmartPass account, you may need to create one as it comes with several beneficial UAE smart services that are available for both Emiratis and foreigners.

Step 2: Application for Attestation

• Once logged in, the smart form will appear on the screen.
• Fill out the form.
• Attach the documents (academic certificates) you want to get attested.
• Choose the designated authority (MoFAIC) for attestation and submit.

Step 3: Approval & Payment

Following submission, your application will be routed to the authority of your choice for evaluation. If your application passes all of the requirements, you will receive approval to proceed with the payment.

Besides educational documents, the Ministry offers smart certification for medical, marriage, divorce, contract, and commercial invoices via its official website and smart application.