According to the results of the consultation, many UK higher education providers have their own systems for assessing international qualifications and are already well established in terms of processing applications with international qualifications that sit outside the Tariff. In this light, the UCAS announced that all international qualifications (except for the Irish Leaving Certificate), including the Hong Kong Diploma of Secondary Education Examination (HKDSE), and non-regulated UK qualifications, were removed from the Tariff Tables in May 2022.

The new arrangement will be applicable to students entering the UK higher education from September 2023 onwards. The UCAS also confirmed that this change will not impact the validity of the HKDSE or its acceptability for progression into higher education in the UK.

The HKDSE qualification is widely accepted by universities and institutions in the UK, and over a hundred (i.e. over 70% of the universities and institutions in the UK) have published their admission requirements in terms of the HKDSE results for HKDSE holders on the HKEAA’s website. For details, please visit Recognition Search - HKDSE.