UK Degree Attestation for the UAE

For most UK degrees, the route involves solicitor or notary certification where required, an FCDO apostille, followed by attestation through the UAE Embassy in London and the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

A degree may first need certification by an eligible UK solicitor or notary before receiving an apostille from the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). Under the current London service, the UAE stage provides attestation by both the UAE Embassy and UAE MOFA.

Benchmark coordinates the applicable stages while you remain in the UAE.

For UK birth, marriage, death, single-status, police clearance and other personal documents, visit UK certificate attestation.

UAE employers and authorities may request an attested UK degree as authenticated evidence of an overseas qualification.

Common uses include:

• employment and qualification verification;
• professional licensing;
• university or postgraduate admission; and
• government or regulatory submissions.

Requirements can differ between employers, universities and licensing authorities. We check the degree and its intended use before confirming the service.

Studying in the UAE does not necessarily mean your qualification was issued here.

Graduates of Middlesex University Dubai and Heriot-Watt University Dubai, for example, may hold qualifications awarded through a UK institution even though they studied in Dubai.

The awarding institution, certificate, place of issue and receiving authority help determine the appropriate route. More than one recognition or certification option may apply, so the actual degree should be checked first.

Degree issued outside the UK? See our degree attestation UAE service for qualifications awarded in other countries.

We also assess selected UK educational and vocational qualifications, including Pearson BTEC HNC and HND, ATHE, Qualifi and OTHM awards.

Eligible NEBOSH and selected ACCA professional qualifications can also be checked.

The awarding organisation alone does not determine the route because regulatory status and requirements can differ between individual qualifications. This is particularly relevant to UAE residents who studied locally, through a training centre or online but received a UK-awarded qualification.

We assess PGCE, QTS and iQTS documents for employment or professional use in the UAE.

A PGCE is an academic award, while QTS is a professional teaching status. These are different document types with different issuing bodies, so we review the certificate or official record before confirming the applicable requirement.

Send a clear scan or PDF of your UK degree and tell us what it will be used for in the UAE.

The original degree certificate remains the preferred starting document. If it is currently in the UK or elsewhere, send a clear scan of the genuine certificate first. We will confirm whether the original or an acceptable certified copy is required.

A transcript or additional university evidence may be relevant in individual cases but is not a universal requirement.

Some document conditions should be identified before submission:

• Laminated certificates cannot be processed through the UAE Embassy London attestation service.
• Bundled apostilles are not accepted where certificates require separate apostilles.
• Academic certificates issued outside the UK, Ireland or Iceland are not legalised through the UAE Embassy in London; the appropriate UAE mission should be confirmed according to the country of issue.
• Name differences, damaged certificates and unclear awarding details should be checked before submission.

Benchmark Attestation Services has supported clients in the UAE since 2013, with a customer-facing office in Oud Metha, Dubai.

Our UK degree service provides:

• document and awarding-body pre-check;
• coordination of UK certification, FCDO apostille and applicable UAE attestation stages;
• collection support in eligible Dubai locations; and
• a quotation based on your certificate.

Benchmark prepares and coordinates the service. Final acceptance remains with the relevant issuing, attestation and receiving authorities.

If your qualification also requires formal recognition in the UAE, that is a separate process covered under our certificate equivalency UAE service.