A job offer in Dubai, a Golden Visa, a teaching licence in Abu Dhabi, a family visa: sooner or later, the UAE asks for your attested degree. From Canada, this used to mean a slow paper chain that ended with a stamp in a UAE office after you landed.
That changed. The UAE side now runs online through VFS Global in Ottawa, and the embassy and Ministry attestations happen digitally in a single step. Here is the full chain as it works today, with the official fees, and the one point nobody publishes clearly.
Step 0: check what you actually need
Before you spend anything, ask the office that requested the document which of these they want. They are not the same thing.
- Attestation proves the document is genuine. It is the chain described below. Employers, licensing bodies and visa files ask for it.
- Degree recognition by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MOHESR), formerly called equivalency, evaluates the degree itself. It is now done by direct verification with your university through an approved partner, costs AED 400 (verification plus report) and takes about 18 working days. MOHESR's current pages do not ask for embassy or MOFA attestation for it.
A teacher or an engineer may need both. A family visa may need only the attested marriage certificate. One question to your HR or PRO now saves weeks later.
Step 1: authentication in Canada
Canada has no single office. The authority is decided by where the university issued the degree, not by where you live today.
| Degree issued in | Authority | Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Québec | Ministère de la Justice du Québec | $66.50 |
| Ontario | Official Documents Services (ODS) | $32 |
| Alberta | Alberta Justice | $25 |
| British Columbia | Ministry of Attorney General | $20 |
| Saskatchewan | Authentication Services, Regina | $50 |
| All other provinces and territories | Global Affairs Canada | Free |
What to know for each:
- Québec: request the document from the university first. Mail only, and apostilles are issued in French only.
- Ontario: degrees issued since 1 January 2019 go direct. Older ones usually need a notarized copy ($16).
- Alberta: the document must be certified by the registrar, with a wet signature and an embossed seal. 7 to 10 business days, mail only.
- British Columbia: contact the office first to confirm it has the university's signature on file.
- Saskatchewan: accepts original diplomas from the University of Regina and the University of Saskatchewan.
- Global Affairs Canada: 25 business days currently, plus mail. No paid rush.
Two practical rules apply everywhere:
- Never laminate a diploma. Laminated documents are refused in Canada and in the UAE.
- No photocopies. The authority confirms a signature it recognises: either the university's original, or a copy certified in an accepted way.
Since Canada joined the Apostille Convention in 2024, Québec, Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan attach an apostille certificate to everything they authenticate, even for countries outside the Convention. Ontario issues a separate certificate of authentication for those countries. For the UAE, either one is only the first link.
The point nobody publishes clearly
VFS and the UAE Ministry describe the first step as attestation by the "Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Canada", meaning Global Affairs Canada. But Global Affairs Canada no longer handles documents from Québec, Ontario, B.C., Alberta or Saskatchewan: those provinces do it themselves. Global Affairs Canada itself warns that some countries only accept its own authentication.
We found no official UAE statement saying whether a provincial certificate is enough on its own. Before filing, confirm it with VFS Global (+1 437 889 2082) or the UAE Embassy in Ottawa. We check it for every UAE file at pre-check, because a wrong first step costs a full restart.
Step 2: the UAE Embassy, through VFS Global
VFS Global is the provider appointed by the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs for document attestation in Canada. The application is online:
- Create a UAE Pass account (non-residents can) and log in to the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) website.
- Under Document Attestation, choose the UAE embassy route for Canada, with VFS as the delivery service, for a document issued outside the UAE.
- Pay the government fees online: AED 300 per personal or educational document (AED 150 embassy plus AED 150 MOFA). The VFS service fee is extra and is not published.
- Send the authenticated document to VFS in Ottawa, by courier or by dropping it off at the centre (2211 Riverside Drive, Unit 301, weekdays 9:00 to 14:00).
The embassy then attests the document digitally, followed by the UAE Ministry: VFS calls it a double digital attestation, done in 2 to 3 working days, with no further attestation needed for use in the UAE. Your paper original is not stamped; the attested version is verified and downloaded at verify.mofa.gov.ae.
The degree and the transcript are two documents, with two fees. If your employer only asked for the degree, attest only the degree.
Timeline
| Canadian step through | Typical total |
|---|---|
| Québec | About 1 to 2 weeks, plus courier |
| Saskatchewan | About 1 to 2 weeks if dropped off in Regina, 3 weeks or more by mail |
| Alberta | About 2 to 3 weeks, plus courier |
| Ontario by mail | About 3 to 4 weeks |
| Global Affairs Canada | About 6 to 8 weeks or more |
These are built from the official processing times published in October 2026; for B.C., check the office's current time. No authority publishes an end-to-end figure, and the queues move week to week. Add 18 working days if you also need MOHESR recognition, which can run in parallel.
Why UAE files get rejected
- A missing or wrong first step. The most common cause, and the reason the provincial question above matters.
- Data that does not match the document. The name, university and date you type on the MOFA portal must match the paper exactly.
- Laminated or altered documents.
- A name that changed since graduation. MOHESR asks for a name change certificate; bring your marriage certificate into the plan early.
- A French-only diploma. VFS requires a translation, or notarization, for documents not in English or Arabic. This hits many Québec graduates.
- Online degrees in regulated fields. In 2023, the UAE opened recognition to fully online degrees, except in specialised professions such as engineering, medicine and law.
Where we come in
We run the Canadian step with the right authority for your province, confirm what the UAE accepts for your specific file, and coordinate the VFS step, so your degree reaches the UAE attested once, correctly. Our free pre-check confirms the route, the fees and a realistic timeline before you commit to anything.
See also: our UAE page and our guide to apostilling a Canadian university degree.
Sources: HCCH status table of the Apostille Convention; Global Affairs Canada document authentication pages (processing time as of August 2026); Ontario, Québec, Alberta, B.C. and Saskatchewan authentication pages; VFS Global Canada, UAE attestation pages; UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation service and FAQ; UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, university certificate recognition service; UAE Ministry of Education release on the recognition system (2023). Fees checked October 2026. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice.
Lire cet article en français : Attestation de diplôme pour les Émirats arabes unis depuis le Canada