My Degree Was Rejected for a Dubai Work Permit - What Now?

You submitted your degree certificate for a UAE work permit. MOHRE or GDRFA sent it back. No explanation beyond a generic rejection notice, or maybe a one-line reason that raises more questions than it answers. We see this weekly at our operations team - and in most cases, the fix is straightforward once you identify which step failed.

This post covers the four most common reasons degree certificates get rejected for UAE work permits, and the specific steps to correct each one.

Why Degree Certificates Get Rejected in Dubai

UAE government authorities - MOHRE for work permits, GDRFA for residency - require foreign-language educational documents to meet two separate standards: the translation must be MOJ-certified, and the document itself must be authenticated through the correct attestation chain. Most rejections happen because one of these requirements was incomplete or done in the wrong order.

1. The Translation Was Not MOJ-Certified

This is the most common cause. The degree was translated, but not by an MOJ-registered translator. A translation from a freelancer, a university language department, or even a certified translator in another country does not carry legal weight in the UAE for government submissions.

MOHRE and GDRFA require translations stamped by a translator who holds an individual license from the UAE Ministry of Justice for the relevant language pair. For Arabic ↔ English, Arkan’s translations are executed under MOJ License #701. The stamp, license number, translator signature, and date must all be present.

If your translation was done by an unlicensed provider, it needs to be redone entirely by an MOJ-licensed translator. There is no way to upgrade or stamp over an existing translation.

2. A Step in the Attestation Chain Was Skipped

Even a perfectly translated degree will be rejected if the original document has not been authenticated through the correct chain. The standard attestation sequence for a degree certificate is:

1. Notarisation in the country that issued the degree
2. Authentication by the foreign affairs ministry of the issuing country
3. Legalisation by the UAE embassy or consulate in that country
4. MOFA attestation in the UAE

For countries that are part of the Hague Apostille Convention (which the UAE joined in 2024), steps 2 and 3 are replaced by a single apostille stamp. This simplifies the process significantly - but only if your degree was issued by a Hague member country.

The gap we see most often: someone completed the home-country steps but skipped MOFA attestation in the UAE, assuming the embassy stamp was sufficient. It is not. MOFA attestation is the final verification step that UAE authorities check.

3. The Translation Was Done at the Wrong Stage

For degree certificates, the order of translation and attestation matters. In most cases, the document should be attested in its original language first, then translated. If you translate before attesting, some authorities will require the attestation to appear on the original-language document, not the translation - meaning you may need to redo one or both steps.

The correct sequence depends on the issuing country and the receiving authority. This is precisely the kind of routing question our operations team handles before any work begins.

4. Degree Equivalency Was Required but Not Done

Some degree certificates - particularly those from institutions that use non-standard grading systems, or from countries whose educational framework differs significantly from the UAE standard - require an equivalency evaluation. This is separate from both translation and attestation. MOHRE may reject a degree not because anything is wrong with the document chain, but because it has not been evaluated against UAE educational standards.

Equivalency evaluation is handled by the UAE Ministry of Education. It is not a step Arkan performs, but it is a step we flag during document assessment when we see a degree from a country or institution where equivalency is commonly required.

How to Fix a Rejected Degree Certificate in Dubai

The correction process depends entirely on which step failed. Here is the decision path:

If the Translation Was the Problem

This is the simplest fix. Bring the original degree certificate (or a clear scan) to an MOJ-licensed translator. For degree certificate translation, Arkan provides MOJ-certified legal translation under License #701 for Arabic ↔ English. Turnaround is typically 1-2 business days. The new translation replaces the rejected one - submit it with your reapplication.

If an Attestation Step Was Missing

Trace the chain backward. Which stamps are on the original document? Compare against the required sequence for your issuing country. If a home-country step was missed, your embassy or consulate in the UAE may be able to handle it without you returning home. If the MOFA attestation was skipped, that step is completed in the UAE.

Arkan handles authorized attestation steps on your behalf where written authorization allows, and guides you through any step requiring your personal presence or UAE Pass (guide-only). We advise on the correct sequence and confirm which steps are complete before translation begins. This prevents the common mistake of translating a document that still needs attestation steps done in a specific order.

If Equivalency Is Needed

Contact the UAE Ministry of Education for degree equivalency evaluation. This process runs independently from translation and attestation. Once equivalency is granted, proceed with the remaining document steps.

Preventing Rejection on the First Submission in Dubai

The most effective way to avoid rejection is to have the full document chain verified before you submit. This is what our document assessment does: we review the original, check which attestation steps are complete, confirm the correct translation tier, and flag any gaps - including equivalency requirements - before translation begins.

Five minutes of pre-assessment prevents weeks of correction work. Every degree certificate we translate goes through this check at no additional cost.

Need certified legal translation? Arkan provides MOJ-certified legal translation under License #701 with route-check included. Get a quote on WhatsApp.

Frequently Asked Questions

Next Steps

Related Resources for Dubai

• Degree Certificate Translation
• What Is MOJ-Certified Translation?
• Translation Before or After Attestation?
• What Is MOFA Attestation?