Sajjad Portal Iran: How to Get Your Documents to WES for Canada Immigration

If you are an Iranian professional applying for Express Entry to Canada, the Sajjad Portal is the system that stands between you and a WES evaluation. Most guides skip over it entirely — or mention it in a single line — because it is Iran-specific and not visible to non-Iranian applicants. But it is not optional. Understanding how it works, what it requires, and what can go wrong is essential before you start the WES process.

What the Sajjad Portal Is

The Sajjad Portal (portal.saorg.ir) is operated by the Organization of Student Affairs (Saazman-e Omur-e Daneshjoyi), which falls under Iran's Ministry of Science, Research and Technology (MSRT). It is the official gateway for verifying and releasing academic documents for graduates of Iranian state universities who need those documents for international purposes — immigration, employment abroad, or further study.

The portal's formal purpose is to confirm that:

1. Your degree is recorded in the national academic registry
2. Your institution agrees to release documents for international use
3. Any government-mandated obligations (specifically Laghv-e Ta'ahod) have been resolved

Without a Sajjad Portal confirmation, most state university registrars in Iran will not prepare the sealed academic documents that WES requires. Private universities and Islamic Azad University branches have their own parallel processes, though many still interact with the MSRT system.

Who Needs to Use It

Graduates of state (dolati) universities — including the University of Tehran, Sharif University of Technology, Amirkabir University, Isfahan University of Technology, and similar institutions — must go through the Sajjad Portal. If you graduated from the Islamic Azad University system, the process is somewhat different and depends on your specific branch; consult the IAU's own verification department alongside Sajjad.

If you graduated from a recognized private university, the portal may still apply depending on whether your institution is registered with the MSRT system.

Registering on the Sajjad Portal

The portal interface is entirely in Persian (Farsi). To create an account, you need:

• Your Iranian national ID number (Code-ye Melli)
• A domestic Iranian mobile phone number to receive the OTP verification SMS
• Your student ID number from your university

If you are currently outside Iran and do not have access to an active Iranian SIM card, you cannot complete registration independently. The standard workaround is to grant a formal power of attorney (Vekalatnameh) to a family member or trusted agent in Iran who can:

1. Register on the portal on your behalf (using your national ID and their access to your account credentials)
2. Follow up with the university registrar in person
3. Ensure the sealed envelopes are prepared to WES specifications

The Vekalatnameh must specifically authorize the agent to act on your behalf for "university document release for international immigration purposes" to satisfy the Ministry's requirements.

Laghv-e Ta'ahod: The Commitment Cancellation

This is the step most applicants from state universities encounter and least expect. When you received a subsidized university education in Iran, you implicitly (and often explicitly) committed to working in Iran for a defined period after graduation. This is called the Ta'ahod — the educational service commitment.

To release your academic documents for immigration purposes, you must either:

• Prove the commitment is already fulfilled: If you have worked in Iran for the required number of years (verified through your SSO insurance record), the university can confirm completion and proceed directly.
• Pay for Laghv-e Ta'ahod (cancellation): If you have not completed the service commitment, you can buy your way out by paying the calculated fee to the Ministry of Science.

The fee for Laghv-e Ta'ahod is calculated based on your field of study, the length of your program, and how many years of the commitment remain unfulfilled. Engineering, medicine, and pharmacy graduates typically face higher fees than social science or humanities graduates. As of 2025–2026, fees for a 4-year engineering bachelor's with no prior work in Iran can range from several hundred to several million Tomans, depending on the specific formula applied.

The calculation and payment process requires physical presence at the Ministry or through a formally appointed agent. Payment methods are domestic (Iranian bank transfer), which means you need access to an Iranian bank account or someone acting on your behalf.

Once the fee is paid, the Ministry issues an official document confirming the Ta'ahod is cleared (Laghv-e Ta'ahod has been granted). Your university registrar will require this before releasing documents.

Preparing the Daneshnameh and Riz-e-Nomarat

Once the Sajjad process is initiated and the Ta'ahod is cleared, your university registrar can prepare:

Daneshnameh: The official degree certificate. This is issued in Persian. WES accepts it in Persian when sent directly by the institution.

Riz-e-Nomarat: The official transcript showing courses and grades. Also typically in Persian. WES accepts Persian transcripts for Iranian institutions when sent in the institutional sealed envelope.

If your institution insists on providing English-translated documents, those translations must be certified by a Dar-al-Tarjomeh Rasmi (officially licensed translator). WES does not accept translations prepared by individuals or general translation agencies.

Sealing and Mailing to WES

The sealed envelope must:

• Contain both the Daneshnameh and Riz-e-Nomarat
• Be sealed by the registrar's office with the university's official stamp across the seal
• Have your WES application reference number written or printed on the outside of the envelope
• Be mailed directly by the university to WES (Toronto mailing address)

WES will reject documents if the envelope shows any signs of having been opened. If your university registrar asks whether they can give the sealed envelope to you to mail yourself, the answer is no — it must go directly from the university.

If You Graduated More Than 10 Years Ago

Older graduates sometimes find that their records are not yet digitized in the Sajjad system. In this case, the university's registrar must manually upload and verify the records before the portal flow can proceed. This can add several weeks and may require your representative to visit the university multiple times.

Timeline Expectations

• Laghv-e Ta'ahod clearance (if needed): 2–6 weeks
• Sajjad Portal verification and registrar document preparation: 3–6 weeks
• International airmail Iran to WES Canada: 1–3 weeks
• WES review after receipt: 7–20 business days

Realistically, if you start from scratch, expect 10–14 weeks before you have a WES reference number in hand.

The Iran → Canada Express Entry Guide includes a detailed Sajjad Portal walkthrough, a power of attorney template for appointing a representative, and the full WES document checklist for Iranian applicants, including the specific envelope labeling format to use.

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