For students coming from outside the Kingdom or from educational systems different from that of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, their academic documents are equated according to the following regulations and procedures:
Regulations:
First: The certificates and academic documents must meet the requirements for certificate equivalency:
1. The school must be accredited by the authority responsible for education in that country.
2. The secondary school graduation certificate must be recognized by universities and higher education institutions in the issuing country.
3. The study must be in regular attendance, with a clear educational progression, and previous grade completion documents must be attached.
4. The submitted academic documents must be original and fully authenticated by the following authorities:
A) The Ministry of Education in the issuing country or the authority supervising general education.
B) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs or its equivalent in the issuing country.
C) The Saudi Embassy or its equivalent, and the Cultural Attaché—if available.
5. Certified translation of certificates and documents issued in languages other than Arabic or English.
6. The certificates submitted for equivalency must be free of any erasures or modifications, and the holder's name must match that in their previous academic documents and in their national ID, family record, residence permit, or passport.
Procedures:
First: Secondary school certificates can be equated by visiting the education departments in the regions and governorates. This is done as follows:
1. Submit the certificates and documents to be equated to the education departments, which will forward them electronically to the Ministry via the Aamali system.
2. If the documents meet the equivalency requirements, the equivalency will be processed and the document issued, then sent through the system to the education department for delivery to the beneficiary.
Second: Equivalency of academic documents for transfer grades below the third year of secondary school:
Equivalency of academic documents for transfer grades is carried out by the education departments. The student is then placed directly into the appropriate academic grade based on the equivalency decision.