How To Get Your Degree Attested From HEC Pakistan & Kuwait

Every now and then Pakistanis in Kuwait face a situation where they are required to get their degrees/certificates/diplomas certified and attested both from Pakistan & Kuwait if they are applying for a job in Public sector, banks & other reputed organizations. Also you will need attested degree/certificates/diplomas while applying for driving license or dealing with other governmental transactions. Majority of people who need to get their degrees or certificates attested face problems as they are not aware of procedures and requirements of getting these documents in Pakistan & Kuwait.

Here in this article we will try to explain all these requirements and procedures step by step to make things easy for you.

Procedures to Get Degree Attested in Pakistan

In Pakistan you need to get your degrees/certificates/diplomas verified & attested from HEC (Higher Education Commission) & Foreign Office.

Attestation from HEC Pakistan:

There are two ways to get your educational documents attested from HEC Pakistan  .

1. Degree Attestation through Walk-In
2. Degree Attestation through Courier Service

Degree Attestation through Walk-In

Higher Education Commission has provided full attestation services at its offices of Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta. There are limited tokens made available daily to facilitate the attestation seekers. The process to avail the daily token and other necessary information is provided on the relevant links given below: –

• Attestation at Islamabad
• Attestation at Lahore
• Attestation at Karachi
• Attestation at Peshawar
• Attestation at Quetta

Requirements for Attestation

1. Create an online profile at http://das.hec.gov.pk and fill in all required details. Make sure all information is accurate and incompliance to information on your documents.
2. Reserve an available date for attestation at a HEC office location of your choice from the given list. If you are unable to reserved a desired date, you can personally visit HEC office early morning (8am onwards) to get token, print your application and then proceed with attestation as per instructions provided at office counters.
3. Please bring all the original documents including degrees, transcripts and certificates from Matriculation onwards up till the degree level you want to attest.
4. Please, bring a set of photocopies of all above listed documents for HEC record. (Better to have an extra copy set with you for backup).
5. A clearly visible copy of Computerized National Identity Card/Passport (in case of Foreign National) is mandatory to provide.
6. The applicant name, father’s name and date of birth should exactly match all degrees & transcripts, Matric and Intermediate level qualifications and CNIC/Passport.
7. In case, the documents are being submitted for attestation by a person other than the degree holder, the authority letter for the authorized person is required. Moreover, the copy of the Computerized National Identity Card (CNIC) of the Authorized person is also required.
8. For attestation of “Shahadatul Almiya fil Uloomm al Arabia wal Islamia” please enter particulars of Middle, Aama, Khasa, Aaliya and Almiya in the online application form and attach equivalence given by the HEC.

How to reach HEC Office?

HEC Head Office Islamabad is located in H-9, East Service Road. A map is provided below for travel directions:

Attestation Fee

The attestation fee for each Original document is Rs. 800 and for each Photocopy is Rs. 500.

HEC Degree Attestation Delivery Time Period

1. Time for submission of documents for attestation is 8:00 AM to 11:00 AM (Monday to Friday). However, the token for submission will be provided between 8:00 AM to 9:00 AM.
2. Documents of walk-in applicants will be returned on the same day after attestation. Daily 240 applications for attestation are entertained by the HEC. If you want to get documents at same day then approach early.
3. In the case of documents send via approved courier services it will take 15 days for return.
4. For courier through FedEx (foreign), it will take 20 days for attestation.
5. Ph.D. attestation will be done within 09 days of application submission.

Degree Attestation through Courier Service

For those who can not visit HEC personally can use courier service nominated by HEC to get their documents attested.

For Domestic Applicants

HEC has officially designated the LEOPARD Courier (LCS) to facilitate the domestic attestation seekers for getting attestation of educational documents from all over Pakistan. In this regard, the applicants will hand over the application form, required documents and attestation fee along with courier service charges at respective centres of Courier Service for the purpose of attestation.

The courier company would be responsible for returning the submitted documents back to the applicants at their specified/given addresses.

Please visit LEOPARD Courier (LCS) website for further details.

For International Applicants

HEC has officially designated the Gerry’s FedEx International, Islamabad, Pakistan to facilitate the international attestation seekers for getting attestation of educational documents. In this regard, the applicant will send the application form, required documents and attestation fee along with courier charges to respective centre of Courier Service for the purpose of attestation. The courier company would be responsible for returning the submitted documents back to the applicants at their specified/given addresses.

For detailed instructions please visit HEC website at this link.

Note: (I have personally used Gerry’s Fedex International service and it was very satisfactory)

Attestation from Foreign Office:

After attestation from HEC, educational documents must be attested by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs before it can be attested by Pakistani embassy in Kuwait.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Islamabad and all its Camp Offices at Peshawar, Lahore, Karachi and Quetta do not attest either the contents or the genuineness of the document. They only countersigns the attestation made by other authorities like the educational certificates which have to be attested by IBCC and Higher Education Commission etc. The Ministry, thus, verifies the signatures of concerned attesting authorities.

Timings:

Monday to Thursday: 8:30 AM to 2 PM
Friday: 8:30 AM to 12:30 Noon

Fee:

Rs. 25 stamps for Bachelors and Masters Degree – Must be attested by Higher Education Commission (HEC) first.

Foreign Office Location

Procedures to Get Degree Attested in Kuwait

After attestation from Pakistan including HEC & Foreign Office is complete, you will need to get your degree attested from Embassy of Pakistan in Kuwait which is located in Jabriya. (See map below)

Visit Pakistan embassy in morning time along with the following:

• Your original degree (Attested from HEC & Foreign Office Pakistan)
• 1 copy of attested degree + 1 copy of your Pakistan ID Card & 1 Copy of Kuwait Civil ID

Go to Counselor Section counter # 2 and present your documents along with copies and 2KD fee to the the officer. He will check the documents and request you to have a seat and wait for some time. It will take approximately 10 minutes to 1 hour depending on the number of people already waiting to be served.

Once done, officer will call you to collect your documents. You are done from the Embassy and your next step is to visit Kuwait Foreign Office and attest the degree from there.

Embassy Timings

Weekly Holidays: Friday & Saturday

Office Timings:
0800 hrs to 1600 hrs

Consular Services
Processing Timings 0800hrs to 1200hrs, Delivery Timing: 1400 hrs – 1600hrs

Embassy Location

Villa 46, (Old No.7) Qasima 5, Qitta 11, Street No. 101, Police Station Road, Jabriya, Kuwait, P.O. Box 988, Safat 13010, Kuwait

Telephone No: (+965) 25327649, 25327651, 25354073

Attestation from Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kuwait

Your next step is to get your degree attested from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which is located in  Shuwaikh Administrative area near KUNA news agency office on road # 80 (before City Center Shuwaikh). You can also visit Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Liberation Tower Government Mall – Kuwait City (2nd Floor) as it works in 2 shifts – morning & evening.

You will need to put 5KD stamp on the back of your degree, take token # and wait for your turn. Upon your turn, present your degree to the officer who will check to verify attestation from Embassy of Pakistan & other relevant authorities and return it after attestation.

You have completed almost 80% of your mission by now and are just 2 steps away from completion of all required procedures.

Translation of Degree into Arabic

Before you can submit your Degree/Documents for official transactions at different governmental departments, it should be translated into Arabic from a Ministry of Justice authorized translation center. Translation centers charge 2KD to 4KD for translation, depending on the nature of degree. It is advised that you get at least 2 copies of translation so that you can have an extra translated copy for any future use.

There are a lot of translation centers in Mirqab Kuwait City opposite to KPTC bus station as well as in other areas of Kuwait. However I do recommend below mentioned translation centers as they are authentic and approved from Ministry of Justice.

1. Burhan Translation Bureau – Mirqab – Shuhada Street – Next to UAE Exchange
   Phone: 22491680 – 22461769
2.  Al Diwan Translation Center – Mirqab
   Phone: 22462020 – 94930303
3. Aalaa Translation Co. – Kuwait City – Murgab, Al Shahed Tower, 12th floor
   Phone: 22471308, 22438814 – 99812226, 99812227

Attestation from Ministry of Justice Kuwait

The final step is to attest your translated degree transcript from the Ministry of Justice Kuwait.

The office is located in Kuwait City – Mirqab Block 1 – Ministries Complex Building.

Once you reach Ministries complex, go to block 14 (on right side after security check gates). You will need to put 2KD stamp on the translated transcript. After that go to reception, take token number and wait for your turn. Upon your turn officer will check your documents and ask you to wait again before he/she can complete the procedure. Once done, you will be called and handed over the attested documents. That’s it. You are done with the attestation of your degree and now you can use it for any official purpose.