Initially, I prepared the documents in my normal format, certified copies with a notarial certificate bound to the document, confirming this and that I have verified the qualification is genuine. Around Christmas I was informed by a few clients that the notarisation had to be on the back of the original certificate, which was fine. At this stage I was handwriting the full certificate and allowing room for the apostille. Over the summer, this had changed, and I have recently received guidance from a few clients in the form of a handout. The embassy have used another notary’s format as the precedent. Excellent news! We know what works and the style that they expect to receive it.
As always, the qualification will be verified, but now they would like to specify how. Not a problem! Many universities utilise systems where the qualification can be verified for free. I have used Gradintelligence, HEAR and DigiCore for this. They broadly operate in the same way. The graduate enters my details through the system and I either get the documents sent to me or I access them through the portal. HEAR certificates are often digitally signed, but not all have a verifiable digital signature. A few have QR codes, the ones that verify the paper are not of use, but some verify the qualification on a secure portal. All great options, all free. Other universities need to be contacted, some directly, others require a specific third party, usually HEDD or Qualification Check. These are fee-based services and normally cost between £10-50 depending on where you went. The main issue with using these options is the time. Some can be instant and others mean we have to wait three weeks and we don’t normally know which before submission when using a third party. This process is not Spanish specific and I use all of them and more for all jurisdictions.
With Spain, we also need to have the apostille attached. You can do this part yourself, or I can arrange it for you. At the moment my arrangement fee is £20 plus whatever the disbursements are.
In summary we need to:
- Copy your degree certificate
- Verify the qualification
- Notarise this in accordance with the guidance given
- Obtain an apostille
- Ship to you or your nominated recipient
As we have seen there are a number of ways to verify your degree:
- Through a university based portal (e.g. Gradintelligence)
- QR code: qualification not the paper!
- HEAR using verifiable digital signatures
- Third parties like HEDD or Qualification Check
- Contacting the university directly
- Prior verification such as EPIC
We also have a few options on how to legalise (obtain an apostille)
- The document is returned to you to make your own arrangements
- I can do it for you, for an arrangement fee and sending it direct to the FCDO (Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office) or via an agent (I use CDN Consular Services Limited).
If you have any questions, please contact me and we can see what works best for you.