How UAE Employers Check Your Degree and Certificates

Attestation is usually asked for employment and work permits, professional licensing and some visas. For a document issued abroad, the chain generally starts with the issuing authority and the foreign ministry of that country, continues with the UAE embassy there, and ends with the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The exact steps depend on the country. Our MOFA attestation guide explains the UAE end of the process.

For a university degree, MoHESR's "University Certificates Recognition" service replaced the older "Qualification Equivalency" and no longer requires the degree to be attested first. Recognition matters for government jobs, some licences and further study; many private employers ask for attestation instead, or for both. School certificates follow a different route through the Ministry of Education. Details are in our UAE degree recognition guide.

Health regulators and some other licensing bodies do not rely on copies. They send your degree, licence and experience letters to a verification agency, which contacts the issuing university, regulator and past employers directly. Names, dates and job titles must match across every document, so inconsistencies in your CV surface quickly.

A degree, transcript or experience letter in Russian, Chinese, French or another language usually needs a certified translation into Arabic or English before an authority will accept it. SWLT provides MOJ-certified translation, Arabic⇄English from AED 60 per 200-word page plus 5% VAT; see degree certificate translation.

An interactive CV puts each qualification next to its document, so a recruiter or committee can see the degree, licence or letter while shortlisting. Its "Smart Verified" badge means our team compared the document with the original you showed us. It is not attestation, recognition or primary source verification, and it does not replace them; it makes the official checks smoother because your documents are organised and consistent. For spelling names and titles the same way across languages, see Arabic and English CVs in the UAE.

Many employers and many work permit categories ask for an attested degree, but requirements depend on the job, the employer and the authority involved. Ask your employer or the licensing body exactly which documents and stamps they need before you start.

Attestation confirms that a document is genuine through a chain of official stamps. MoHESR recognition confirms that a university degree is recognised in the UAE. For university degrees, recognition no longer requires attestation first.

If it is not in Arabic or English, an authority or licensing body will usually ask for a certified translation. Keep job titles and dates identical to your CV.

No. It shows that SWLT compared the document with its original. Official attestation, recognition and primary source verification are separate processes run by the authorities and their agencies.

Your interactive CV keeps every certificate with its original and its certified translation, ready for employers, committees and licensing bodies. Smart World Legal Translation (SWLT) is a UAE Ministry of Justice-licensed legal translation office in Abu Dhabi, serving all emirates online. Message us on WhatsApp (+971 50 864 8439) or email info@swlt.ae.