Studying in United Arab Emirates is expected to become a lot simpler and easier for international students. The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) has issued guidelines for the recognition of qualifications issued by foreign higher education institutions (HEIs). The recognition procedures for foreign higher education qualifications is in line with Zero Government Bureaucracy programme.
The guideline outlines key conditions, including verifying the qualification’s authenticity, and ensuring that the issuing HEI is legally established, licensed and accredited by the relevant accreditation body in its home country.
These guidelines will help to streamline the recognition of foreign qualifications, reducing the time, effort, and documentation required for the process while ensuring the validity of these qualifications.
The decision followed the successful pilot launch, which saw the requirements reduced by over 70% compared to the previous system, and the number of students with recognised qualifications rose from 5,780 to 12,180 compared to last year.
The number of required documents was reduced from 14 to four, improving access to recognition data and lowering declined requests from 8.3% to 3.5%, according to pilot launch data.
Ahmad Ibrahim Alsaadi, Acting Assistant Undersecretary for the Higher Education Operations Sector, and Director of the International Education Support and Scholarships Department at MoHESR said, “The updated system seamlessly integrates with various local scholarship bodies to streamline the recognition of foreign qualifications, using two unified standards across all specialisations and universities. This enhances the graduate experience, simplifying certificate recognition for employment or continuation of postgraduate studies.”
Studying in the United Arab Emirates come with potential tax-free earnings after graduation, and, according to the QS World University Rankings, some of the best universities in the Gulf region.