Attesting a foreign qualification...

I

iDenTiTy

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Hi there fellow forumites.

I have a British qualification, which I need to have attested in order to get my employment VISA for the UAE.

What is the process to follow?
Is there an agency that I can make use of, or is it advised to follow the process myself?

Just to clarify, I am South African, living in ZA, but qualification is from the UK.

The documents are needed sooner rather than later, as my work there starts on the 3rd of March 2013.
 
I'm glad you brought this up as it'd probably be a good idea for me to attest my qualifications now for in case I want to go work overseas or in the UAE in the future. I had no idea this was a requirement, or that there was such a thing as "attesting". Did the UAE give you guidelines on what they want out of this?

A while ago I had to have SA qualifications certified for the UK by a notary public, and as far as I recall I contacted the British Council regarding this, and they had somebody in Johannesburg who could do that. I never went through with it, but maybe give the Council a ring and hear what they say?(http://www.britishcouncil.org.za/contact-us). I'd also try the British High Commission or embassy if the Council doesn't work out.

I also found this http://ukinsouthafrica.fco.gov.uk/en/help-for-british-nationals/living-in-south-africa/how-legalise-document, which points in the direction of a notary public, although I don't know if the UAE wants more.

Oh also found references whilst Googling to http://www.argentum-llc.com/about.php, they seem to be good and do it all for you. Just Google some more to make sure they are legit.
 
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Funny that a non-regular poster came with a relevant answer to your situation before any of us other Off-Topic trolls could amuse ourselves by posting a silly reply.
 
I have done this successfully. Ive recently changed jobs in Dubai. Be warned, it's not the normal process, it's basically a way for the UAE authorities to make money :).

You need to have it attested by the UAE embassy in Pretoria, then SA foreign affairs in Pretoria, then Foreign affairs in the UAE. (The last step you can do when you get here)

Contact these people, they will do it for you if you are not in Pretoria:

Walters Attorneys
1157 Schoeman street
Schoeman street Forum
Hatfield
Pretoria
Tel: (012) 342 9300

This is what it costs: (I didn’t pay the R20 Department of Education)

The cost for this is as follows:

Our fees R950 plus VAT
Depart of Education R20
Postages and petties R100 plus Vat
The UAE Embassy charges R400 per document for overnight service or R600 for same day service.
Should you need us to courier the document to the UAE the courier costs currently is R460. If we need to courier the document to you somewhere in SA, the costs for the courier could be as little as R60.

If it is a degree or diploma the process and the costs are more or less the same except that we do not have to pay the Dept of education for an Embassy letter as the office that deals with these documents does not charge a fee yet. Please note that we would also need the original degree or diploma.

EDIT: Just read it again and your qualifications are from the UK so I think you will have to have them attested in the UK then, and the UAE Embassy in the UK. But the above should still be of some help. :)

Contact your new companies HR department, they should be able to clarify.

I had all the above done from the UAE, so it should be easier for you in SA.

Good luck.
 
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AvOk said:
I have done this successfully. Ive recently changed jobs in Dubai. Be warned, it's not the normal process, it's basically a way for the UAE authorities to make money :).

You need to have it attested by the UAE embassy in Pretoria, then SA foreign affairs in Pretoria, then Foreign affairs in the UAE. (The last step you can do when you get here)

Contact these people, they will do it for you if you are not in Pretoria:

Walters Attorneys
1157 Schoeman street
Schoeman street Forum
Hatfield
Pretoria
Tel: (012) 342 9300

This is what it costs: (I didn’t pay the R20 Department of Education)

The cost for this is as follows:

Our fees R950 plus VAT
Depart of Education R20
Postages and petties R100 plus Vat
The UAE Embassy charges R400 per document for overnight service or R600 for same day service.
Should you need us to courier the document to the UAE the courier costs currently is R460. If we need to courier the document to you somewhere in SA, the costs for the courier could be as little as R60.

If it is a degree or diploma the process and the costs are more or less the same except that we do not have to pay the Dept of education for an Embassy letter as the office that deals with these documents does not charge a fee yet. Please note that we would also need the original degree or diploma.

EDIT: Just read it again and your qualifications are from the UK so I think you will have to have them attested in the UK then, and the UAE Embassy in the UK. But the above should still be of some help. :)

Contact your new companies HR department, they should be able to clarify.

I had all the above done from the UAE, so it should be easier for you in SA.

Good luck.
Click to expand...

Thanks for that, really useful.
 
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