UAE ministry to expand instant verification for university degrees, eliminating all paperwork

Dubai: The Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research (MoHESR) will expand a groundbreaking digital service that instantly verifies university qualifications from UAE-based higher education institutions (HEIs), eliminating all paperwork, physical visits and waiting times for graduates.

The automatic recognition service, unveiled as part of MoHESR's sweeping digital overhaul in 2025, has already been used by more than 25,000 graduates since its launch. The system connects directly with 34 higher education institutions across the country, using smart verification technologies to authenticate degrees in real-time.

Previously, graduates had to wait three days and navigate multiple procedures to get their qualifications verified. Now, the process is instantaneous.

The ministry on Monday announced that it plans to expand the service to Emirati students studying abroad on scholarships, enabling them to access government services seamlessly from anywhere in the world.

The digital verification service is just one element of MoHESR's broader "zero bureaucracy" initiative, which has dramatically transformed how the ministry operates.

In 2025, the ministry eliminated more than 400 unnecessary procedures and reduced service application fields by over 200, making digital forms faster and simpler for users. It also removed the requirement to submit more than 180 documents, which are now verified automatically through AI-enabled systems and electronic integration with government entities.

The overhaul involved extensive consultations with students, staff and university partners to identify pain points and develop practical solutions.

One of the most striking transformations has been in how universities get new academic programmes approved. The ministry has turned what was once a six-month bureaucratic process into a seven-day streamlined procedure.

Documentation requirements were slashed from 13 documents to just one. The number of procedural steps dropped from 13 to three. Site visits were eliminated entirely. And costs were reduced by 100%, down from the previous Dh70,000.

The changes were made possible by introducing an outcomes-based evaluation framework, which replaced the traditional approach that focused heavily on inputs and documentation.

The results have been dramatic. Under the improved system, more than 850 new academic programmes were accredited in less than a year – representing 60% growth compared to previous periods.

Additionally, more than 25 new higher education institutions were licensed and accredited, increasing the total number of accredited institutions by 54%. The expansion reinforces the UAE's position as a regional and global destination for world-class universities.

The ministry also redesigned its entire service system by reducing procedures, visits and documentation requirements across 22 different processes. Procedural steps were cut from 207 to 84, and form fields dropped from 479 to 119.

Students enrolling in universities have also benefited from the reforms. The ministry redesigned the admission service, cutting required steps by 64% and documents by 63%. Application time plummeted from 15 minutes to just 90 seconds, achieving an 89% student satisfaction rate.

More than 65 universities were integrated into the National Unified Registration System, which was expanded to include students in Grade 10 and Grade 11. This led to the highest student enrolment rate in a decade, marking a 13% increase year-on-year.

The ministry said its approach represents a fundamental shift from counting procedures to maximising value and user experience quality, in line with the UAE's Zero Government Bureaucracy Programme.

During the next phase, MoHESR will integrate more services into its zero bureaucracy system, advancing digital and proactive solutions whilst promoting continuous improvement and innovation.

The aim is to create a more flexible, efficient higher education system that prepares future generations and drives the knowledge economy, supporting the UAE's vision of world-class government services, the ministry explained.