Degree Validation Process Streamlined

Applications with degrees from accredited institutions.

• Foreign nationals with degrees from an institution that has received accreditation or recognition from a public or private entity no longer need to submit a syllabus or academic certificates containing course description, methodology, duration, academic credits per class, etc., in support of their application.
• They can submit only their apostilled or legalized Bachelor’s degree diploma and transcripts instead.
• It is still uncertain which criteria or documentation the Ministry will use to determine whether an institution is accredited.

• Reduced processing time. The Ministry of Education will adjudicate accredited institution applications within 60 days from the date of filing.
• Fewer renewals. Affected foreign nationals will obtain their permanent degree validation license much sooner, instead of having to renew their temporary professional permit multiple times. This will reduce administrative hurdles and costs to employers and foreign nationals.

Applications with degrees with administrative precedent.

• Foreign nationals with degrees from the same institution and with the same academic program as a degree that has been validated by the Ministry of Education on three previous occasions no longer need to submit a syllabus or academic certificates containing course description, methodology, duration, academic credits per class, etc., in support of their application.
• They can submit only their apostilled or legalized Bachelor’s degree diploma and transcripts instead.

• Reduced processing time. The Ministry of Education will adjudicate administrative precedent applications within 120 days, instead of the previous two to three years.
• Fewer renewals. Affected foreign nationals will obtain their permanent degree validation license much sooner, instead of having to renew their temporary professional permit multiple times. This will reduce administrative hurdles and costs to employers and foreign nationals.

All visa applications requiring degree validation.

• Foreign nationals applying for degree validation no longer need to submit a graduate profile with their visa application. The graduate profile is written information from the university about the skills a student is expected to gain from their education.
• Previously, if a graduate profile was not included in the syllabus or in any existing university certificate, the foreign national had to request the university to issue such document, which is not always feasible.

Applicants should benefit from the elimination of the administrative hurdles of obtaining documents from universities or institutions, and significantly reduced document gathering timeframes.