Getting Your UK degree certified.

[sussex]

We just did the whole legalisation process for a British degree certificate, starting when still in the UK but finishing up here. Steps were:

 

1. Notary in UK puts a seal on the copy of the degree (we showed him the original).

2. We posted this off to the Foreign Office in Milton Keyes (you have to do an online application to go with this) for the apostille. If you include a pre-paid envelope to the Thai embassy, they will send it there for you. But then you also need another pre-paid envelope for the Thai embassy to post it back to you.

3. We then posted this to the Thai embassy in London with 10GBP enclosed and legalisation form filled out (and a photocopy of the certificate and passport just in case) and a pre-paid, tracked enveloped addressed to Thailand.

4. It arrived in Thailand about a week later. They hadn't activated the tracking! Good thing it didn't get lost. The prepaid envelope was plastic, as a result the certificate is completely rumpled. But, it has the legalisation stamp on the back.

 

So, my advice is, if you are getting it sent back to you, make sure you include a sturdy pre-paid envelope to minimise risk of rumpling.

 

Anyone know if you can iron paper to unrumple it?

[Tanoshi]

2 hours ago, sussex said:

Anyone know if you can iron paper to unrumple it?

Yes, put a clean dry tea towel over the paper to prevent burning whilst ironing.

[Neeranam]

I did it last year with my birth certificate. Make sure you tell them to send it to the Thai embassy in London. I was lucky I got my degree done in Bangkok last Dec.

[skystar7]

On 7/16/2018 at 5:03 PM, Steven mason said:

You only need them verified if you are taking up a university position, I just got my non B visa for teaching in a goverment school last week, all they needed was copy of my diploma along with all the other paperwork  

3

Hi... Steven

 

What do you mean by it just need to be verified, I will be going to apply from Penang Malaysia, so what exactly do I need to be doing?

 

Many thanks

[jamiejoel]

As far as I know now, all teaching positions in Bangkok, at a Thai school or an international school not require your to legalise your degree. This is only new this last year.

There are ways of getting around it, I have heard you can get a Non B in Laos without the legalisation, but you still need to get it down. If you follow the instructions it is straightforward but costly.

Universities might be different.. Just in case this is what you need to do. Go to the link above to get the UK official webpage.

 

1. Get your degree notorised. You send it to a solicitor or a notary person. They have people listed on their website.  Ask a few as costs vary. The first wanted 80 pounds, the second did it for 50. They stamp on the back that they have seen it. I sent my online account for my degree for them to check as well.

 

2. It is better then to have a friend to take care of the rest, notaries can do it but charge. Now fill in the application form on the online site for legalisation. (Milton Keynes and pay the 35 pounds.)

 

In the pack to Milton Keynes include

 

a. The Cover sheet printed from the internet, or copy down the reference number.

b. Your notorised degree certificate

c  An envelop with - "Please send with courier to the Thai Embassy London"

 

When you sign on online you will have the option to send it to another address. Choose the Thai Embassy London, address online and pay the 5 pound courier fee.

 

d.  Inside the c. envelope put   10 postal order or cash made payable to The Royal Thai Embassy, London, a stamped addressed (SAE) envelope with enough stamps to get it back to your friend's address. (If you weigh the whole package and get 2 sets of stamps, put one set on the SAE and one on the envelope to Milton Keynes.) Plus a photocopy of your degree, I included a copy of the passport, but it says not needed for non-thais.

 

Then ask the post office for a 1st class signed postage, about 1.20 pound I think. They will put a sticker on the SAE and give you the receipt.

 

Then seal up the c. envelope.

 

Place all into a bigger envelope and address it to Milton Keynes, the address is on the cover sheet. Place the stamps on it and get another 1st class Signed for postage. 

 

The legalisation is done in 1-2 days, the Thai embassy can take 1-2 weeks.

 

When it gets back to a friend in the UK, have them send it registered delivery to you in Thailand.

 

Then you need to take it to Chang Wattana to the Ministry (directions online) to finally verify it.

 

After this you have a degree that you can use to get you that all important 30k teaching job! 

 

I hope this helps, if you need any more advice let me know. My degree has passes the legalisation and is now in the hands of the Thai Embassy.... Wish me luck.

Edited December 6, 2018 by jamiejoel

[post]

8 minutes ago, jamiejoel said:

They stamp on the back that they have seen it.

Do they stamp on the back of the original cert or photocopy of the original cert that they have seen it?

[jamiejoel]

1 hour ago, post said:

Do they stamp on the back of the original cert or photocopy of the original cert that they have seen it?

Depends on what you send them. If a one-sided degree they sign and stamp the back

[sussex]

Please can someone confirm: with a UK university degree (already gone through the UK side of things with the FCO and Thai embassy) does it need to be translated before certification at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

Does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs certify the stamped/apostilled version or the translation of this?

 

(Bearing in mind it's a degree certificate and has about 20 words of text on it, in English).

Thanks. 

[Dale75]

An astonishing (but not surprising) amount of hoop-jumping paperwork. I fancy that if I were conducting the interviews I would be able to spot a faker rather quickly. The sad aspect is that the organisations seeking to fill these positions don't have the competencies and they think that introducing a bureaucratic nightmare will weed out the fakers. On the contrary I would say. A faker will forge away and the genuine applicant will think: "Can't be bothered."

 

PS    "(Bearing in mind it's a degree certificate and has about 20 words of text on it, in English)."

Mine has 100+ words on it. Though it is a historical document from 1986.

Edited December 11, 2018 by Dale75
addition

[sussex]

3 hours ago, Dale75 said:

An astonishing (but not surprising) amount of hoop-jumping paperwork. I fancy that if I were conducting the interviews I would be able to spot a faker rather quickly. The sad aspect is that the organisations seeking to fill these positions don't have the competencies and they think that introducing a bureaucratic nightmare will weed out the fakers. On the contrary I would say. A faker will forge away and the genuine applicant will think: "Can't be bothered."

 

It's not the schools that require this bureacratic process, it's governments. The whole process of getting apostilles etc happens in other countries too/is required by embassies with regards to documents issued by other governments. 

[adami]

On 11/22/2018 at 9:32 PM, sussex said:

We just did the whole legalisation process for a British degree certificate, starting when still in the UK but finishing up here. Steps were:

 

1. Notary in UK puts a seal on the copy of the degree (we showed him the original).

So wait, just to confirm, it doesn't need to be the ORIGINAL degree, but a copy?? The whole visa can be carried by a notarized / legalised COPY? Because that makes life easier 

 

Thanks in advance! 

[NetGuy]

What solutions are available for someone like me who is already living in Thailand and has already legalized their documents by the FCO and notarized by a solicitor in England but doesn't have a stamp from the Royal Thai Embassy in London?

 

I'm hoping i don't need to send my documents back to the Royal Thai of Embassy in London...

 

Is it possible to get this stamp from RTE in London in Bangkok by any chance?

 

Old age is starting to kick in and i don't have the energy to jump through these new hoops ????

[jamiejoel]

HI NetGuy

 

Sorry but you did 2 out of three in the process. You will need to send it to the Thai Embassy in London and provide a 10 pounds postal order made payable to Thailand Embassy - London. They also say you can send cash....

 

Then you include a SAE and it takes about a week.  After you get it back here you have to go to the Labour Office in Chang Wattana and then they stamp it as well.

 

Without 3 of 3 they won't accept it, as the Labour Office want to see the Thai Embassy Stamp.

 

Hope this helps.

[NetGuy]

SAE? What's that? Do i apply for that in Thailand or UK?

 

Also, the only reason 2/3 steps are completed is because i had to do these for other reasons last year in 2018 and then i arrived in to Thailand this year 2019.

 

But yeah it seems like no other option is available other than sending my document back to the UK. Do i need to fill in any special forms with my document posted or a type up a note?

 

Thank you for the response.

[Guffman]

Would it not be easier and quicker just to get the paperwork from your employer and go to Laos for a non B? I did it last month and got a work permit no problem. No need for certified copies/apostille. Just a thought.

[NetGuy]

Hey Guffman, my guess would be that my employer would like to check if my documents are legit. I understand the reason since many fakes can be purchased from almost anywhere these days and the employer doesn't want to hire anyone with any fake documents.

 

Keeping it professional but the idea of getting the stamps is not in my opinion. Especially since i have 2/3 steps completed and the 3rd step is basically a thai certified stamp which is not possible to get in Thailand but okay to get from Thai Embassy in London.

[sussex]

1 hour ago, NetGuy said:

SAE? What's that? Do i apply for that in Thailand or UK?

 

Also, the only reason 2/3 steps are completed is because i had to do these for other reasons last year in 2018 and then i arrived in to Thailand this year 2019.

 

But yeah it seems like no other option is available other than sending my document back to the UK. Do i need to fill in any special forms with my document posted or a type up a note?

 

Thank you for the response.

SAE = self addressed envelope.

 

The London Thai embassy website has the details you need for this in the legalisation page. Including the form you need to fill in.

[Tanoshi]

1 hour ago, NetGuy said:

Keeping it professional but the idea of getting the stamps is not in my opinion. Especially since i have 2/3 steps completed and the 3rd step is basically a thai certified stamp which is not possible to get in Thailand but okay to get from Thai Embassy in London.

It's 2/3 steps in the UK.

Once authenticated and prepared for acceptance in Thailand, it needs to be translated, then the translation and certificate legalised by the MFA.

[NetGuy]

I don't think i will need a SAE. It says on the website that i add an additional £10 for delivery back to me.
I think typing up my address should be sufficient enough.

 

But thank you all for the responses.

 

Edited: My bad, it doesn't say on the website. They messaged me privately on facebook messenger and by email.

 

Facebook Messenger Quote:

"You can write a brief note explaining what you wish to do and what you enclose in the envelope to us, providing also your contact details in case we need to get in touch and your return address to post back the document.

You need to send to us

- a brief note

- original document with the apostille from the FCO attached to the back

- one copy of the above (both sides)

- fee of £10 (assuming only one document to be legalised, we charge £10 per document)

- £10 return postage (cash of £20 can be enclosed) We send it back by international tracking but it may take some 5 days to reach you. "

 

Email Quote:

You can send the document to Royal Thai Embassy in UK and 10 pounds in cash for Legalization and 10 pounds to send document back to the address in UK only. If you can't do that and still need us to do that for you, sorry we can't send out the document from UK to Thailand because it not our responsible for the document if it lost by post

Edited August 16, 2019 by NetGuy

[upu2]

On 8/13/2019 at 3:03 PM, jamiejoel said:

HI NetGuy

 

Sorry but you did 2 out of three in the process. You will need to send it to the Thai Embassy in London and provide a 10 pounds postal order made payable to Thailand Embassy - London. They also say you can send cash....

 

Then you include a SAE and it takes about a week.  After you get it back here you have to go to the Labour Office in Chang Wattana and then they stamp it as well.

 

Without 3 of 3 they won't accept it, as the Labour Office want to see the Thai Embassy Stamp.

 

Hope this helps.

Thai-Legal can also handle it for you. I used them a few years back, very efficient and quick

[SymS]

I thought the degree had to be legalised in the UK, and then translated and certified at the UK embassy in Bangkok, before being certified by the MFA.

Mu degree is now with a notary public in the UK and has just been sent to the FCO.

 

Edit: That will be for PR or Thai nationality application

Edited November 23, 2021 by SymS

[Neeranam]

On 12/11/2018 at 5:33 PM, sussex said:

Please can someone confirm: with a UK university degree (already gone through the UK side of things with the FCO and Thai embassy) does it need to be translated before certification at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs?

Does the Ministry of Foreign Affairs certify the stamped/apostilled version or the translation of this?

Educational certificates in English don't need translated to be certified by the MoFA. 

[Neeranam]

1 hour ago, SymS said:

I thought the degree had to be legalised in the UK, and then translated and certified at the UK embassy in Bangkok, before being certified by the MFA.

Mu degree is now with a notary public in the UK and has just been sent to the FCO.

 

Edit: That will be for PR or Thai nationality application

For the citizenship process, I got my degrees certified at the UK Embassy in Bangkok, however they stopped this in 2018, along with other consular services, including getting my birth cert. legalized. 

The Special Branch police told me it didn't need translated. However, I advise getting some translated, if they are Post Graduade qualifications, as they are translated as  as my PG Dip is translated as "parinya toh", which is the same as a Master's degree, which gets you more points. 

[ubonjoe]

10 hours ago, SymS said:

Mu degree is now with a notary public in the UK and has just been sent to the FCO.

After that legalization is done it has to be legalized by the Thai embassy in London.

See: https://london.thaiembassy.org/en/page/81905-legalisation?menu=5d6636ce15e39c3bd0007344

[stament]

On 7/16/2018 at 11:54 AM, Tanoshi said:

You have to get in 'certified' by the Home office in Milton Keynes, then 'legalised' by the Thai Embassy in London.

It can then be translated in Thailand and the translation 'legalised' at the Consular section of the MFA in Bangkok.

Has anyone done this recently?