· NextMigrate Team
How to Check if a College or University Is Real (by Country)
Imagine you are a young nurse in Accra. A college abroad has offered you a place, a student visa "pathway" and part-time work. The website looks beautiful. The agent sends photos of a campus and a letter with a crest on it. Your parents are ready to sell a plot of land to pay the deposit.
Or imagine you are an engineer in Hyderabad with a master's degree from a university you chose online years ago. Now a skills assessment asks for it, and for the first time you wonder: was it ever real?
Both of you are asking the same question. And both of you can answer it yourselves, for free, in about fifteen minutes.
The short answer: To check if a college or university is real, search for it on the official government list of the country where it operates, under its exact legal name. For a study visa, use the destination's student list (DLI, CRICOS, SEVP, the UK sponsor register). For a degree, ask the destination's recognition body whether it counts.
A website, a crest, a company registration or an "international accreditation" proves nothing on its own. Only the government list does. Think of it like a bank note: it may look perfect in your hand, but only the bank can tell you if it is real.
Which official list do I check?
Each country keeps two kinds of list. One says which institutions may enrol international students. The other says which institutions may award real degrees. Check the one that matches your question. Every link below was opened and checked in October 2026.
| Country | College for a study visa | Is the degree real and recognised? |
|---|---|---|
| Canada | IRCC DLI list | An educational credential assessment from a designated organisation such as WES |
| Australia | CRICOS (provider and course code) | TEQSA National Register |
| United Kingdom | Register of licensed student sponsors | GOV.UK recognised bodies, Ofqual's register, UK ENIC for foreign degrees |
| United States | SEVP-certified school search | DAPIP and CHEA |
| New Zealand | NZQA search, for Code signatories | NZQA search |
| Ireland | ILEP (moving to the TrustEd Ireland mark) | QQI, which also runs NARIC Ireland |
| Europe and beyond | The education ministry's register | ENIC-NARIC, the gateway to each country's recognition centre |
How do I check if a university is accredited?
Follow these steps in order. Stop at the first one that fails, and ask questions in writing before you go any further.
- Write down the exact legal name, country and award. Mills copy famous names with one word changed or added, so a near-match is not a match. Copy the name exactly as it appears on your letter or certificate.
- Find the official list for the country that issued the degree. Use the table above. Type the address yourself, or search the regulator's name. Never use a "verification" link the college or agent sends you.
- Search the exact name. Then check the city and, where courses are listed, your course or course code.
- Check the accreditor separately. Real accreditation traces back to a government. In the US, the Department of Education lists the accreditors it recognises and warns, in its guide to diploma mills and accreditation, that any institution can claim to be accredited.
- Confirm with the institution directly. Use a phone number or email from the register or its own website, never from your letter, and ask it to confirm your offer or your graduation.
- Ask the recognition body of the country where you will use it. For Canada that is an ECA. For the UK it is UK ENIC. For most of Europe, the ENIC-NARIC centre. Their answer is the one a visa officer uses.
Ask yourself one question before you pay anyone: would I still choose this college if it came with no visa at all?
How do I check a college for a student visa?
Being a real school is not enough. It must also be approved to enrol international students. Canada's IRCC asks post-secondary schools to verify every letter of acceptance through its portal, so a forged letter is caught, and the refusal lands on the student. Australia lets student visa holders take only CRICOS-registered courses. The US lets only SEVP-certified schools enrol F-1 and M-1 students. Ireland lets providers recruit non-EEA students only to ILEP programmes or through the TrustEd Ireland mark.
So check two things: the school, and your exact course. Our guide to fake colleges and student visa scams goes country by country.
Is there a list of fake universities?
There is no world list, and mills change names faster than any list can follow. A few regulators do publish official warnings. They are useful when the degree comes from that country:
| Country | Official warning list | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| India | UGC: list of fake universities | Institutions declared fake by the University Grants Commission, state by state |
| Nigeria | NUC: illegal universities | "Degree mills" the National Universities Commission has closed down |
| Pakistan | HEC: recognised universities | The positive list of recognised degree-awarding institutions |
A name missing from a warning list proves nothing. Always finish with the positive list and the recognition body.
Check it in 60 seconds
Not sure where to start? Answer up to 9 questions about the college, degree or deal in front of you. The checker scores the warning signs and names the official list to check for your country. It rates signs, never the institution, so a high score means "verify first", not "fake".
Warning signs that a college or degree is not real
| Signal | What it usually means | How to verify |
|---|---|---|
| One price per degree, not per course or year | The product is the certificate | Ask for fees per unit of study and an academic calendar |
| A whole degree for "life experience" | No learning is assessed | Ask for the written policy on credit for prior learning and its limit |
| Accreditor you cannot find on a government site | The accreditation may be self-made | Search the accreditor on the education ministry or regulator site |
| The deposit goes to an agent or a personal account | Your money leaves the regulated chain | Pay only into the institution's own account, confirmed by admissions |
| A visa or admission is "guaranteed" | Someone is selling a promise only a government can keep | Read the government's own page on the visa |
| A degree in weeks, or backdated to a year you choose | Not study, and backdating is document fraud | Compare with the published length of the same course elsewhere |
More signs, and how mills fake accreditation, are in what a diploma mill is and how to spot one.
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What if my degree turns out to be from a fake or unrecognised university?
Take a breath. There are two very different situations.
You studied honestly at a place that turned out to be unrecognised. Your conduct is not in question. Your problem is paperwork. Get an assessment, ask what would close the gap, and look at bridging study or another route. Start with what to do when your degree is not recognised.
You bought a degree, or someone offers to sell you one. Do not submit it anywhere. Submitting a bought document is deception, and the bans are long: 10 years in the UK, 5 in Canada, 3 in Australia and no time limit in the US. The details and official sources are in what happens when you use a fake degree.
You paid a deposit to a college you cannot find on the list. Stop paying, call your bank today to ask for a chargeback or recall, keep every message, and report it. An agent took my money explains each step.
Common mistakes
- Trusting a company registration. It proves a company exists, not that it can award degrees.
- Trusting a logo or a crest. Anyone can copy an image.
- Checking the school but not the course. In Australia and Ireland, the course must be listed too.
- Checking once. Approval can be withdrawn. Check again before each payment and before you travel.
- Letting the agent check for you. Many are paid per enrolment. Check yourself, on the government site.
The same habit protects you from fake job offers and paid sponsorship. See visa sponsorship scams and visa farms and the free job offer scam checker.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a university is accredited?
Search the university's exact legal name on the official list of the country where it operates: DAPIP or CHEA in the US, the GOV.UK recognised bodies list in the UK, TEQSA in Australia, NZQA in New Zealand or QQI in Ireland. Then check the accreditor itself traces back to the government, and ask the recognition body of the country where you will use the degree.
How can I tell if a college is real for a student visa?
Find it on the destination's student list: IRCC's DLI list for Canada, CRICOS for Australia, the register of licensed student sponsors for the UK, the SEVP school search for the US, NZQA for New Zealand or ILEP for Ireland. Check your exact course where courses are listed, and confirm your offer with the college on details from its own website.
Is my degree accredited if the university has a website and a company number?
No. A website and a company number only prove a business exists. A degree is real when the awarding body is on its country's official list of degree-awarding institutions, and it counts for a visa when the destination's recognition body accepts it.
Is there an official list of fake universities?
Some countries publish one. India's University Grants Commission lists fake universities, and Nigeria's National Universities Commission lists the illegal universities it has closed. There is no world list, so always finish with the positive list of real institutions.
Can a degree from a real university still be refused for a visa?
Yes. A real degree can fail if the destination does not see it as equal to its own, or if your occupation needs a licence. That is a recognition problem, not a fraud problem, and it usually has a fix such as bridging study or a professional exam.
Related guides
- What is a diploma mill? How to spot one
- Fake college check: DLI list, CRICOS, SEVP and the UK register
- Fake degree for a visa: bans and real risks
- Visa sponsorship scams: how to spot a visa farm
- Is my degree recognised for migration?
- How to vet anyone offering migration help
Everything here is general information, not legal advice. NextMigrate gives independent planning and guidance, holds no relationship with any college, and never recommends a college for a fee. Check every institution on the official list before you pay, and ask a registered adviser or lawyer to confirm your own case.
