UAE: How to get your academic certificates attested; a step-by-step guide

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) has advised residents and visitors who need their academic certificates and other documents issued outside the country attested to follow the necessary procedure to avoid being rejected.

These include ensuring that all the documents are authenticated by the concerned authorities in their home countries before submitting them to the ministry for attestation.

MoFAIC attestation in the UAE is (in most cases) a mandatory procedure to validate the authenticity of important certificates and documents required for employment, visa, study, medical or any other purposes.

All UAE attestation services in the country, for documents issued outside or inside the UAE, are provided by the MoFAIC.

The ministry has pointed out that to certify educational certificates issued outside the country, it is necessary to ensure that the documents are verified and attested by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country of issuance of the document, and to ensure that the document is ratified by the UAE embassy or consulate abroad or the foreign mission inside the country.

All documents submitted to MoFAIC for attestation must have been issued by the concerned authorities in that country.

Earlier, the MoFAIC warned Emiratis and students about fraudulent messages asking for financial support to help those studying abroad.

The ministry said some fraudsters claiming to be from UAE’s foreign missions in various countries or their employees, were sending the messages through mobile phones or emails asking for financial support to help students be admitted to various universities or for payment of their tuition so they can complete their studies. The ministry urged the public not to respond to such messages as they are fake.

It is worth noting that the ministry provides a smart certification service for documents, commercial invoices, medical documents and marriage contracts through its official website and smart application.

Procedure for attestation of certificates in the UAE

STEP 1: Register yourself

>Open the MoFAIC registration portal

>Select the customer type (individual or company)

>Enter the information in the required fields and submit

>People who already have a SmartPass account can use their credentials to log in. You may have to create a SmartPass account if you don’t already have one. The SmartPass account for individuals allows them to access all the UAE smart services available for both nationals and foreigners.

Step 2: Apply for MoFAIC attestation in the UAE

>Once you log in to the portal, the page redirects you to a smart form

>Fill in the form with the required information

>Attach the document that you want to get attested

>Select the intended authority for attestation and submit

Step 3: Application Review

After submission, your application will be sent for review to your chosen authority. If the application meets all the conditions, an approval is sent to you so that you can proceed with the payment.

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