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Hassle-free certificate verfication from Sept 3

DUBAI — Come September 3, foreigners, particularly Asians, would not be required to go through the tedious multi-layered degree attestation process in their respective countries, following the introduction of a centralised single-window verification process by the UAE government to root out the menace of fake degrees.

Thousands of job-seekers who are drawn to the UAE by the opportunities available in the country had to go through several layers of authentication and attestation process of educational degrees to obtain UAE residence visa, and usually land up spending heavily in getting it done through private companies offering the service in the country.

Under the new system, all one has to do is pay Dh500 and hand over the certificates to Emirates Post, who in turn hand it over to Integra Screen, which is one of the world's leading provider of immigration screening and document verification services, selected by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs to offer the degree verification programme.

The programme involves conducting educational background verification for all individuals who are required to produce supporting certificates prior to obtaining their residence visa in the UAE.

Paul Kane, Director of Business Development for Integra Screen in Dubai, said the company was equipped to handle large volumes of degree verification applications. "Figures are very sketchy at present, but roughly we expect around 8000 to 10,000 applications a month through the 78 post offices of Emirates Post located throughout the country."

Integra Screen has signed a contract with Emirates Post to be their exclusive partner in the Ministry of labour's UAE degree verification programme, he said, pointing out that this programme will eliminate the degree attestation procedures. It will be a mandatory service for every job-seeker in the UAE, Kane said, assuring that it would be fool-proof and cost-effective compared to the private attestation companies currently offering attestation services in the UAE.

"The process is simple. A candidate seeking the service will have to submit a copy of the degree certificate along with an application form (available at post office or typing centres in the country), a copy of marksheet, examination seat number and passport copy in a special envelope designed for this service for a fee of Dh500. On submission of the documents, the candidate will be issued a personal ID number which he can log on to Emirates post website to track the status of the degree verification," he said.

He said the Integra Screen system will be linked to Emirates Post and the Ministry of labour and Social Affairs systems which will receive latest updates on the verification status of a candidate's degree. Once the verification is completed with the respective university of the candidate, the verified copy will be delivered by Emirates Post to the candidate.

Kane said if the degree was found to be fake, the candidate will face forced exit according to the laws of the country.

He said the verification process could take a month to six week time, or more, depending on the time taken by the institution. The service will be available to expatriates from all countries and any university across the world, Kane said.

Abdullah Al Daboos, Director General of Emirates Post, who signed the deal with Integra Screen, was quoted as saying : "We are delighted to partner Integra Screen, which is the ideal company in terms of customer service."

Asians to gain the most

DUBAI — Indians and Pakistanis stand to gain the most with the introduction of the centralised verification process through Empost. While Indian job-hunters go through the grind of a five-layered process, Pakistanis have a three-stage process for the verification and authentication.

The system followed in India entails notarisation at the first stage, followed by authentication by the General Administration Department of the State government. The process then shifts to New Delhi where the HRD Ministry authenticates the certificate followed by attestation at the Ministry of External Affairs.

At the final stage, the certificate is attested by the UAE Embassy or consulate. The entire process, not including expenses incurred on travel and stay, costs about Rs1500 (less than Dh125).

In the case of Pakistan, it is a far more easier and less expensive affair. The Ministry of Education authenticates certificates free of charge, which is then attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a nominal cost of Rs50 (about Dh3). The certificates are then attested by the UAE Embassy or consulate for a fee of Dh50.

Finally , the certificates are required to be attested by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs for a fee of Dh50. — M.R.

End of road for pvt firms

DUBAI — Private attestation companies in Dubai offering the service to exaptriate job-seekers for about a decade now fear closure following the appointment of Integra Screen to carry out the degree verification process in cooperation with Emirates Post.

Although, many of these firms are still not clear about the new system and claim that they have only seen media reports about it, they believe it could be the end of the road for them.

However, some have expressed apprehension about the fool-proof method adopted by Integra Screen on authentication of the documents.

"How can one company reach out to all universities across the globe?" questioned an official of Index, a leading document attestation company in the UAE. "The attestation procedure is fool proof because it involves several steps and departments both in the applicant's country and within the UAE."

"Besides, our service charges are also not very high. For India and Pakistan, the attestation fee is around Dh600, while for UK and the US, it is Dh800 and Dh1,200 respectively. The time taken is around 15 days to a month," an employee said, adding that the company also offers a degree verification service to verify the authenticity of the attestation of documents carried out by a company in the UAE. — M.R.

UK PROCESS

DUBAI — Currently, attesting university and college degrees for work permits in the UAE is a lengthy process for British expats.

The job-seeker must first have the degree notarised by a notary public. After notarisation, the certificate is sent to the Legalisation Department at the FCO in London for legalisation.

The Legalisation Department then contacts the university or college to confirm the degree is genuine, before certifying it. It takes upto 15 working days for this stage of the process to be completed. The certificate is then attested by the UAE Embassy in London.