Bahrain: Simplified Procedures Announced for Verifying Academic Qualifications

The Ministry of Education announced simplified verification procedures for degrees and academic qualifications issued in Bahrain and abroad. The process will now require holders of degrees obtained abroad in specialized fields such as medical, health, engineering and law to obtain an online Qualification Validation Certificate from companies accredited by the Ministry of Education (MOE); previously, holders of degrees abroad submitted original documents manually to the Ministry of Education to process the initial evaluation of the degree in conjunction with the National Qualifications Assessment Committee or the Higher Education Council. Afterwards, individuals will submit their educational documentation online to the council overseeing their field in Bahrain to complete the academic verification process. Full procedural details on the verification process for each specialized field can be found on the Labour Market Regulatory Portal. Other specialties, including humanities, information technology, and management, among others, still do not require an academic verification certificate for the purpose of employment. However, employers hiring foreign nationals specialized in these fields can request academic verification from an accredited company for a qualification obtained abroad if they so choose. Additionally, academic degrees obtained in Bahrain are exempt from the new verification process; the educational institute’s official stamp on these degrees attesting to the individual’s completion of the requirements is considered sufficient proof of verification. The new verification mechanism will streamline recruitment processing in the public and private sectors by reducing wait times and lowering the cost of processing degrees and obtaining academic qualification attestation services. However, employees with a degree issued overseas should have their degrees verified through the new process as early as possible as specific processing timelines are still unknown.