# Education Certificates



## neilrock

I have been offered a job in Dubai but dint have a degree. I've been asked to provide all my educational certificates so they can apply for a work visa.

I can't find anywhere that says you need a degree or not for a work visa. The answer I'm getting us that they need to be able to show why an expat is being hired at the grade I am.

Any advice/thoughts welcome.

Thanks.


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## New2011

I'm in the same situation. I don't have a degree and can't find my BTEC so have applied for a copy but not sure how long it takes. In the meantime I have had my GCSEs certified by a Notary and hoping that will be OK. I have asked my new company today what they think so will let you know what they come back with.


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## tigertmoore

Gentlemen; I believe this ? has been answered QUITE a few times before but really there are several questions first... WHERE are you working and WHAT is to be your title? 

In the Free Zone there is no government rule of diploma per se but again that depends on what job you'll be doing. Elsewhere here in Dubai and the UAE yes you may have to show your typical diploma and no I do not mean one you purchase from some fakery mill as the UAE government knows all about those... but then again depending on your position and job title you may not. 

And the WHAT part; are you to be a manager? A teacher? Nurse, lawyer or such? Have a degree or forget it. 

Best pose this ? up to your offering employer right quick. No good whatsoever to get over here and find out your pooped and they can't get you a work visa and then the trip and time and money wasted and escorted back to the airport you go.

And just so ya know, the rules over here are difficult enough that my large co actually has a fella on-call who's sole duty is to go through each level and step required and there are many to gain that magical slip of approval... 

The steps for Attestation of Degree for me as American are a bit tougher than for others and here's what our HR Director had to go through with me:

1. Get my original UCSD Degree. 
2. Take that Degree and have it notarized by UCSD as genuine and mine. 
3. Take that Attestation to the California Registrar of Education for their Attestation that UCSD is a properly "registered blah blah" University. 
4. Take those affidavits to the Secretary of State (California) for their perusal and letter of Approval. 
5. Take those affidavits to the United States Consulate for their letter of approval. 
6. Take all those documents to the United Arab Emirates Consulate in Washington DC for their approval and letterhead stamp. 

Finally bring all those in original wet-signature form here and HR submits all those to the government agency here and I'm golden. 

What a mess. 

Even worse for me as I did not travel here with degree in hand... haven't even seen the darn thing in many long years as it was tucked away safe back home... 

We used an Attestation Service company who carried out each and every detail and they did get it done... cost about USD 900 bucks for the whole mess including Fedex charges. 

But do please check in with your HR Dept or Big Boss and simply tell them what cert's or degrees you do have and are they acceptable here or your lack thereof you have and it might be just fine and it might throw a complete stop to your offer. 

Best luck!

TT


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## pamela0810

A degree is not absolutely essential out here in Dubai. There are many, many, many people who work in Dubai in very senior positions and do not have degrees. It doesn't really matter because the company that hires you knows about it already and still offered you the job (unless of course you didn't tell them about it before).

You do need a degree to get a managerial level or higher residency visa. However, a lot of the visas in Dubai do not really reflect the actual job title that you hold. You could be a Vice President of a particular segment and your visa could just say "Sales Manager". It doesn't make a difference and is only a formality.

The Managerial title on your residency visa helps when you have to travel and apply for visas in other Gulf Countries but again your problem is solved because you have a British passport and can get a visa on arrival.

@ TigerT, you have made a simple procedure sound extremely complicated. There are people who get their certificates attested every single day and the fact that you paid someone to do the legwork for you makes me wonder why you're making such a big deal about it. 
Also, your company is not the only one that has hired a person whose sole job is to go through each level of whatever it is you are talking about. They are called Government Relations Officers or Public Relations Officers or PROs and any big company will have one due to the size of their staff.


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## tigertmoore

Pardon the reality and yes of course there are thousands and more who go through the attestation process but I am not making anything difficult myself. I forgot to mention that I had to go get an Attorney writ here, have that Notarized and then sent to my son so he could get the whole process started back in San Diego. 

I stated clearly what I had to go through. If anyone else had to go through more or less then good for them. 

Working as a senior director within the family group of Dubai Investments did not make it any easier. 

But then this does all remind me that there are rules here and then there are guidelines here and sometimes it simply depends on the gamble of the day as to which you follow; rules or guidelines.


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## pamela0810

tigertmoore said:


> Pardon the reality and yes of course there are thousands and more who go through the attestation process but I am not making anything difficult myself. I forgot to mention that I had to go get an Attorney writ here, have that Notarized and then sent to my son so he could get the whole process started back in San Diego. - Again, seems like a simple procedure to me.
> 
> I stated clearly what I had to go through. If anyone else had to go through more or less then good for them.
> 
> Working as a senior director within the family group of Dubai Investments did not make it any easier. - How does it make it any more difficult?
> 
> But then this does all remind me that there are rules here and then there are guidelines here and sometimes it simply depends on the gamble of the day as to which you follow; rules or guidelines.


There are rules to be followed when hiring an employee legally in Dubai, not guidelines. A person holding a position as senior as your's should know that if a company does not follow the rules and does anything illegal, it could land itself in some very hot waters.

The OP's company is going through procedures legally. Let's not confuse him even more. Bottomline, he needs his certificates attested, if he doesn't have a degree, he doesn't get a managerial title on his visa.


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## neilrock

Thanks guys, that's useful... 

For those ex-UK members, the UK procedure is:

1. Get your certificate notarised.

2.Get it legalised by the FCO at Milton Keynes.

3.Get it attested by the UAE Embassy.

Does not having a managerial visa make much if any difference? I doubt it.


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## neilrock

Apologies TT, in answer to your questions, I will be working for Mashreq Bank and the office is based at Internet City but being a bank, they have offices/branches all over UAE.

Job title internally is Corporate Segment Manager - Business Development.

Thanks.


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## expatkid

neilrock said:


> I have been offered a job in Dubai but dint have a degree. I've been asked to provide all my educational certificates so they can apply for a work visa.
> 
> I can't find anywhere that says you need a degree or not for a work visa. The answer I'm getting us that they need to be able to show why an expat is being hired at the grade I am.
> 
> Any advice/thoughts welcome.
> 
> Thanks.


gulfnews : UAE Cabinet to limit entry of unskilled expat workers

I think the above link should give u some info asto why your company is pressing for your degree.


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## wandabug

neilrock said:


> Apologies TT, in answer to your questions, I will be working for Mashreq Bank and the office is based at Internet City but being a bank, they have offices/branches all over UAE.
> 
> Job title internally is Corporate Segment Manager - Business Development.
> 
> Thanks.


You need an educational cert attested for your residence visa (if a non freezone company). Any will do, even a GCSE qualification. However, for a Managerial position you need a Degree level certificate. If you do not have a degree all that will happen is your Res Visa will list you as something else (like a clerk), it doesn't matter and will make no difference to your position within the company. If your employer did not insist on a degree when they offered you the position just send them a O Level or Gcse Certificate. You only need to attest one for your visa, FCO and UAE Embassy charge per certificate so it can get expensive if you do more than one.


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## New2011

neilrock said:


> I have been offered a job in Dubai but dint have a degree. I've been asked to provide all my educational certificates so they can apply for a work visa.
> 
> I can't find anywhere that says you need a degree or not for a work visa. The answer I'm getting us that they need to be able to show why an expat is being hired at the grade I am.
> 
> Any advice/thoughts welcome.
> 
> Thanks.


@Neilrock - I checked with my company today and they said not to worry. They said it is standard in the UAE to have your certificate of education attested however they do not recognise GSCE / High school level as Education as everybody attends this. Only education above this. So, in my case they will apply for a visa without the attestation. They told me they have a Grade A sponsorship with immigration and a well known local sponsor so this should not be an issue. 
If you have anything higher then its worth doing here before you go. Its very simple and my partner did it all in a day before he left for his degree. Wish I had known this before I paid £120 to get the GCSEs certified by the Notary! Hope you get your answers.


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## wandabug

New2011 said:


> @Neilrock - I checked with my company today and they said not to worry. They said it is standard in the UAE to have your certificate of education attested however they do not recognise GSCE / High school level as Education as everybody attends this. Only education above this. So, in my case they will apply for a visa without the attestation. They told me they have a Grade A sponsorship with immigration and a well known local sponsor so this should not be an issue.
> If you have anything higher then its worth doing here before you go. Its very simple and my partner did it all in a day before he left for his degree. Wish I had known this before I paid £120 to get the GCSEs certified by the Notary! Hope you get your answers.


The DRND do recgonise GSCE/High School level certificates, and you only needed to attest one cert.


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## junkymoe

The laws before 2010 were much easier to those who don't have degree or higher. UAE embassies around the world will require to see a transcript of your grades to ensure that you did indeed attend the university you said you attended (this procedure was not in place before 2010). 

Additionally, the ministry of labour has refused several times issuing a visa with a "manager" title for those who do not have degrees. Companies can opt to hire their staff under various titles (on the visa only) such as "executive" or "officer" and yet have them work as managers in the company. 

Titles only make a difference when you apply for bank loans or if you wish to get a visit visa somewhere; other than that, no one cares what title you have on your residency.


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## marsgodlee

Hi Guys,

Anyone knows about the procedures in Singapore for the attestation of the education certifications for the UAE Employment? Is it the same as the other countries as mentioned?

Thanks for the advice.
K


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## bodget

on my recent contact regarding a position in dubai I was offered a supervisors job managing 39 people.I don't have a degree


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## neilrock

Can the moderators please close the thread? My question has been answered and were now going off topic....

Thx

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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## ash_ak

ArabBrands said:


> Do you know how long this took? I am in California and begin the process tomorrow.


I did this process from Texas and it took me a month from the time i sent it off to Washington. The Longest Time is with US Secretary of State's office in Washington, if you mail it to them, they take atleast 20 days, thats what happened in my case last month. Then the UAE Embassy takes about 3-5 days.


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## ash_ak

ArabBrands said:


> In response to Tiger T's description of the process in California, I have been on the phone for the last 2 hours and have been provided different information by the Secretary of State's notary office. The process is not presently as convoluted as described.
> 
> The state notary office said that I a) notarize the degree with any notary, then b) bring it directly to the state's notary office for the apostille. No need to go to the university. No need to go to the Department of Education.


i think it depends on the State you are in, for eg., in Texas, the Tx Sec. of State office website still mandates the below:

_A school transcript or diploma may only be certified by the educational institution that issued the transcript or diploma. The certifying official for the institution must complete the certification before a Texas notary public. Please note that notaries cannot make certified copies of school transcripts or diplomas._


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## Canuck_Sens

If you got an offer from the government and cannot provide your degrees I would recommend caution.

Not a long time ago a guy here in my dept was hired (from UK) and got fired after 6 months because he could not provide his degrees, he had none and never worried to talk about it with human resources. One "beau" day he simply got fired.

I also know that for some occupations labour might refuse the visa if you fail to demonstrate that you have the degrees to back your job offer


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## Latin

ArabBrands said:


> In California, the notary is merely certifying that I say it is a true document. Texas' process makes more sense in terms of protecting the degree's authenticity.
> 
> We now know the 2011 processes for California and Texas. Only 48 states left to go.


Hi Guys,

I´m from Ecuador and there is no UAE consulate here. According to this link: UAE Travel: Embassies & Consulates - UAEinteract the closest are locate at Argentina and Brazil. do I have to ado the attested process with them for my degree certificate? I already have a job offer from a Dubay company (no free zone).


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## bodget

wandabug said:


> You need an educational cert attested for your residence visa (if a non freezone company). Any will do, even a GCSE qualification. However, for a Managerial position you need a Degree level certificate. If you do not have a degree all that will happen is your Res Visa will list you as something else (like a clerk), it doesn't matter and will make no difference to your position within the company. If your employer did not insist on a degree when they offered you the position just send them a O Level or Gcse Certificate. You only need to attest one for your visa, FCO and UAE Embassy charge per certificate so it can get expensive if you do more than one.


I sat my gcse's with 3 different boards and lost my certificates some years ago on a house move.Are you saying I dont need to show all my gcse certificates?


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## neilrock

Ok... As OP and, now having gone through the whole residency visa process, yes, I passed the medical and have my visa stamp, if you are from the UK, my advice is to liaise with your PRO/HR contact.... If you dont have a degree or, no GCSE certificates, give them whatever you do have and, see if that is sufficient... It took me 3 attempts to get an affirmative answer but, persevere, that is just the start of UAE bureaucracy as you will find out, a gentle icebreaker shall we say.... Then, when they say yes, go through the attestation process.... Find out how to do that via the FCO website then, UAE website.... The process changes all the time so just google legalisation FCO or, attestation UAE embassy....

Sent from my iPhone using ExpatForum


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