How to choose ILR academic certification? NARIC and ENIC application guide

A UK qualification comparison report lists the holder's name, overseas qualification name, issuing institution, and the corresponding UK qualification level. It should also include the original certificate and transcript for the recipient to verify together.

Confirm which certificate to compare first

The UK NARIC in the old materials now corresponds to UK ENIC. When applying for a job or further education, if the recipient needs to understand what level of overseas degree corresponds to the UK, the commonly used one is Statement of Comparability (Comparability Statement). This service assesses academic and professional qualifications that meet the conditions, and when applying, up to four completed qualifications can be submitted. There are two ways to prepare: purchasing directly by the old name, or first confirming with the recipient about the position or course requirements. The latter can clarify whether it is undergraduate, master's degree, or secondary school level in the admission requirements, reducing the chance of having to communicate again after missing documents; as to which certificates are suitable to submit together, they can be prepared according to the recipient's requirements.

The report must be used in conjunction with the original academic credentials; whether it is accepted or employed is still determined by the receiving institution.

ILR English certification should choose the corresponding evaluation

If you are using a degree awarded by a non-UK institution with instruction in English to meet the English language requirements for settlement or UK visa, you need to verify the corresponding academic qualifications and language assessment. The UK government's academic and language information points to the official Qualification and Language Service (QLS); when it comes to English proof, check the English Proficiency and Qualification Comparison project. Ordinary ENIC academic comparison reports do not confirm English proficiency and cannot replace this requirement. A certificate of English-taught courses issued by the school is also part of the assessment materials. Whether it meets the requirements of the application route still needs to be determined in combination with the assessment results and the rules of that route.

After the QLS assessment, a UPI identifier will be provided in the account, and the applicant should submit it to Home Office as required; the regular academic evaluation report will be delivered in electronic format.

One item is exempt from translation.

UK ENIC "Translation Waiver Service" lists a practical detail: when applying for a credential comparison report, Chinese is a language that can be used free of translation fees, so you can submit the original Chinese documents; the assessment itself still incurs a fee. This exemption applies only to specified services and will not provide an additional set of English translations. Compared side by side, the QLS credential and English assessment material instructions require certified translations for non-English documents, and submit the Medium of Instruction (language of instruction certificate) issued by the awarding institution. Even if the same diploma is used for both applications, the translation arrangements cannot be directly copied.

If the receiving school or employer requires additional English documents, they still need to be prepared according to the other party's list.

Process time is calculated after all materials are complete.

The basic materials for the academic qualification report include graduation or degree certificates, official transcripts with all subjects and grades, identity proof, and name change certification if applicable. The transcript must be signed and dated by the issuing institution; for cooperative education programs, the issuer must be verified, and official documents are only accepted from the issuing institution. After preparing the documents, register for a UK ENIC account, upload clear color files, submit the application and payment. The four corners of the documents must be fully visible, and each uploaded file must not exceed 5MB. According to the official fee page as of October 1, 2026, £69.60 includes the electronic report. The target processing time is 15 working days after receiving the necessary documents and full payment.

If additional documents are required, the 15 working days will be recalculated. Directly taking the payment date as the starting point for processing may underestimate the waiting time; the progress and notice of additional documents can be viewed in the account.

What else needs to be verified after obtaining the report?

After receiving the report, check each item including name, academic title, issuing institution, and comparison result, then provide it together with the original certificate to the recipient. If you have any objections to the conclusion, you may refer to the re-evaluation procedure of UK ENIC to indicate the specific issues that need to be reviewed. The report does not provide scores or grade conversions. If the course requires specific grades, they still need to be verified separately. My judgment is: when the purpose is not confirmed, it is not worth buying a "backup certification" in advance. For job applications or further studies requiring academic comparison, prepare the corresponding report; if using overseas degrees to prove English proficiency, prepare according to the applicable QLS program. No refunds are available after the assessment starts for either service, so confirming the purpose before payment is more cost-effective.

Another fact that can reduce future burdens: UK ENIC clearly states that the academic comparison report itself does not have an expiration date. When changing jobs or courses, you can first ask the receiving party to confirm whether they accept the existing report, without needing to pay again just because the year has changed.

This article is for reference only. For specific issues, please consult a licensed attorney.

[Data Source] UK Government "Certificate of English Language Proficiency for Academic Qualifications"; UK ENIC Academic Qualification Comparison Report Application, Fees and Translation Exemption Guidelines; Official QLS Academic Qualifications and English Assessment Application Guidelines.

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