Document authentication at Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria.
MOE — Ministry of Education
MOFA — Ministry of Foreign affairs
Hello awesome human,
You are in one of the most tedious stages of applying for admission in a school abroad or for a Visa. This stage can be frustrating without proper information. I’ll share with you the steps to take from my experience to make this process a little less stressful for you; because honestly it can not be stress free.
Important 1: Go on time.
Yup, we know that the number of people japa-ing is increasing, so lots of people are going through this process. Be there on time, i will recommend being there as early as 8am. Better late than never is not what you want to apply here, try a stitch in time saves nine or whatever clause gingers you to go there early.
Important 2: Passport photographs
You don't want to get there and start looking for where to take passport photos. Be sure to have that handy, you’ll need it at the MOFA.
Important 3: Photocopies
Just make at least 4 photocopies of each document you’ll need to authenticate. You’ll end up using 2 or 3 depending on the day (yeah, things change).
Important 4: WAEC/NECO
To authenticate your bachelors or masters certificate, you’ll need to present your WAEC or NECO result also, not just the original. They might ask for a print out of the result with the scratch card. Yes, might. When i did this in 2019 they checked for it but in 2021 they didn't. So again it depends on the day and the person. Its best to play safe and have this print out and the scratch card you used handy. I think most banks sell it, it shouldn’t be hard to get. Its more expensive at the cafe in the building (N2,000) and it’s just best to put everything ready before you go.
Ministry of Education.
To help make the process easier, you need to first upload the documents for authentication, make payments (N300 per document) and book an appointment.
The website to do all these is https://ess.education.gov.ng/#/
- Print out 3 copies of the appointment slip and payment receipt after registration.
- Make sure to go on the day of your appointment, else you’ll need to reschedule.
- Arrange the original documents each followed by 1 photocopy together; then the other set of photocopies should be arranged separately.
- Don’t forget the scratch card and print out of your WAEC or NECO result, it just might be needed on the day you go.
- Put the documents in a big brown envelope with your name legibly written on it and head for your authentication.
- Before i forget, they’ll ask you to pay some money (N250 as at July, 2021) during the process. Go with change if possible.
There is usually a lot of shunting of the queue and agents (which involve the staff) delaying the process so things will be slow. The goal on this first day is to submit before 3 pm when they close. Collection will be done the following day.
If you also need to authenticate at MOFA, make sure to go early for collection at MOE on the following day so you can at least submit at MOFA the same day (they close for collection at 1pm).
Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The process here is straight forward. Count total number of pages of the documents you want to authenticate and make payments. It costs N300 per page.
Make payments at https://login.remita.net/remita/external/OAGFCRF/collector/payments.reg
- GIFMIS Code: 1000056655
- Description: Payment
After you have made payment, print out a copy of your payment slip.
Go with the documents you want to authenticate, your payment receipt, a passport photo and a set of photocopy of the documents (they’ll keep this set for their records). Make sure you are there before 1pm.
You’ll pay N100 (as at July 2021), for a clear bag to put the documents for authentication.
Usually after submission ends at 1pm, collection starts at 3pm. If your document wasn't ready that day, it’ll be ready the next day. The two times i did authentication at MOFA i got my documents on the same day.
Make sure to go through your documents from both MOE and MOFA to check that one, they are complete and two, they are all sealed and signed.
We’ve come to the end :-)! I hope this was useful for you. Feel free to shoot me a question in the comment section or add anything i missed in this post. I’ll try to keep it updated with as much information as i get.
I wish you all the best in your endeavors, rooting for you from the front of my laptop, loooool.
Cheers!
N.B: At MOE you pay N300 per original document. So N300 for your WAEC result for example. This covers signing for the original and photocopy.
At MOFA you pay N300 for each page. For example, if my transcript is 2 pages and i will pay N1200 to authenticate the original and photocopy.
I hope it’s clear?.