India and UAE Move Towards DigiLocker Linkage for Seamless Verification of Academic Documents

India and the United Arab Emirates are working towards integrating India’s DigiLocker system with relevant UAE digital platforms to enable faster and more reliable authentication of Indian academic documents.

The proposed linkage could significantly simplify the verification of degrees, diplomas, mark sheets and professional qualifications submitted by Indian citizens seeking employment, higher education or professional recognition in the UAE.

The initiative was discussed during a separate technical meeting held alongside the seventh India–UAE Joint Committee on Consular Affairs in New Delhi on July 22, 2026. The discussions focused on creating a mechanism through which authorised UAE institutions could digitally authenticate academic documents issued in India.

Part of Wider India–UAE Consular Cooperation

The seventh meeting of the Joint Committee on Consular Affairs was co-chaired by Sripriya Ranganathan, Secretary for Consular, Passport, Visa and Overseas Indian Affairs in India’s Ministry of External Affairs, and Obaid Mohammed AlHesan AlShamsi, Undersecretary in the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Both sides reviewed the progress made since the committee’s previous meeting in Abu Dhabi in November 2025. They agreed to strengthen cooperation in consular services, visas, legal matters and the protection of citizens residing in each other’s countries.

India and the UAE also reaffirmed that the safety, dignity and welfare of their expatriate communities remain central to the bilateral relationship. The next meeting of the committee is expected to be held in Abu Dhabi on mutually convenient dates.

Why Academic Document Verification Matters

The UAE is a major destination for Indian professionals, skilled workers, teachers, medical personnel, engineers, students and entrepreneurs. Many employment and education applications require applicants to prove that their Indian academic qualifications are genuine.

Under the current system, educational documents intended for use in the UAE may have to pass through several levels of authentication. Depending on the purpose and issuing authority, this can involve verification by the relevant Indian state authority, attestation by the Ministry of External Affairs and subsequent authentication by UAE authorities.

The Embassy of India in Abu Dhabi states that Indian academic and professional certificates used for UAE visa and related purposes require prescribed attestation. The embassy also provides a separate procedure for obtaining confirmation of a certificate’s genuineness from the university or institution that issued it.

These procedures protect employers and educational institutions from forged qualifications, but they can also require applicants to submit physical documents, visit service centres, pay verification charges and wait for responses from issuing institutions.

A secure digital connection between DigiLocker and UAE platforms could make a portion of this process faster and more transparent.

How DigiLocker Could Help

DigiLocker is a secure digital-document platform operated under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s Digital India programme. It enables citizens to access and share verified documents issued directly by government departments, educational boards, universities and other authorised institutions.

Documents supplied through DigiLocker are digitally signed by their issuing authorities and can be checked electronically. The system allows authorised organisations to retrieve genuine documents from their original source, reducing dependence on photocopies, scanned files and manually submitted certificates.

Academic documents available through DigiLocker and the National Academic Depository include degrees, diplomas, mark sheets and certificates uploaded by participating educational institutions.

Students can retrieve these records in their DigiLocker accounts and approve requests from authorised organisations seeking to verify them. The National Academic Depository describes its system as a platform for the secure issuance, storage and verification of academic awards.

Under a future India–UAE integration, an authorised UAE employer, university or government body could potentially confirm whether a qualification was issued by the stated Indian institution without relying entirely on paper-based verification.

The final technical and regulatory structure has yet to be announced.

Benefits for Indian Professionals

A functioning cross-border verification system could reduce delays during recruitment and visa processing for Indian citizens.

Employers would be able to verify qualifications more quickly, while applicants could avoid repeatedly obtaining sealed transcripts, physical attestations or separate letters from universities for every application.

The system could be particularly valuable for professionals working in regulated sectors such as healthcare, engineering, teaching, finance and technical services, where the verification of academic and professional qualifications is essential.

Faster authentication could also help Indian workers avoid fraudulent recruitment agents who sometimes charge high fees for document verification or promise unofficial shortcuts.

Supporting Indian Students in the UAE

The proposed integration could also benefit students applying to universities and other educational institutions in the UAE.

Digital access to authenticated mark sheets and certificates could shorten admission procedures and help institutions determine whether an applicant’s records were issued by a recognised Indian board or university.

DigiLocker is already connected with India’s wider digital academic ecosystem, including the National Academic Depository, the Academic Bank of Credits and APAAR. Together, these systems are intended to make academic records portable, secure and digitally verifiable throughout a learner’s education.

Extending this infrastructure internationally would represent an important step towards making Indian academic credentials easier to use across borders.

Reducing Document Fraud

Forged degrees and altered mark sheets create risks for governments, employers, universities and genuine applicants.

Traditional verification often depends on examining stamps, signatures and printed certificates. High-quality digital alteration can make forged documents difficult to identify through visual inspection alone.

DigiLocker addresses this problem by enabling verification against records supplied by the issuing authority. Documents can also contain secure QR codes that allow users and organisations to check their authenticity electronically.

A connection with UAE platforms could therefore strengthen trust in Indian qualifications while protecting genuine students and professionals from delays caused by wider concerns about certificate fraud.

Integration Will Require Strong Safeguards

The two countries will have to agree on several technical, legal and administrative matters before the proposed system becomes operational.

These include identifying the UAE platforms that will connect with DigiLocker, deciding which organisations can request documents, establishing consent mechanisms and defining how personal data will be stored and processed.

The system will also need to distinguish between digital verification and formal legalisation. Even after a DigiLocker linkage is introduced, some categories of documents may continue to require attestation, equivalency assessment or approval from UAE professional regulators.

The proposed arrangement should therefore be viewed as a work in progress rather than an immediate replacement for all existing certificate-attestation procedures.

A New Dimension in India–UAE Digital Cooperation

India and the UAE have built a broad strategic partnership covering trade, investment, energy, technology, education, aviation and people-to-people relations.

Linking DigiLocker with UAE platforms would extend this cooperation into digital public infrastructure and citizen services. It could create a more efficient bridge between India’s education system and the UAE’s labour market and higher-education sector.

The initiative is especially important because the India–UAE relationship is supported by a large Indian community whose members frequently require academic documents for employment, promotions, visa procedures and professional licensing.

Once implemented, the integration could make these processes faster, safer and more convenient while improving trust in Indian educational credentials.

---

Reference Block

Akashvani News — News on AIR India and UAE Reaffirm Commitment to the Safety, Dignity and Well-Being of Citizens Published: 23 July 2026 https://newsonair.gov.in/india-uae-reaffirm-their-commitment-to-ensuring-safety-dignity-well-being-of-their-citizens-living/ DigiLocker — National e-Governance Division Official DigiLocker Ecosystem and Document-Verification Information https://www.digilocker.gov.in/web/ecosystem National Academic Depository — DigiLocker Official Academic Document Repository and Verification Platform https://nad.digilocker.gov.in/ Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi Official Guidelines for Attestation of Educational Certificates and Other Documents https://www.indembassyuae.gov.in/page/attestation-services/ Embassy of India, Abu Dhabi Official Procedure for Verification of Genuineness of Educational Certificates https://www.indembassyuae.gov.in/page.php?id=verification-of-genuineness-of-certificates

---