Diplomatic Legalisation

For documents which were not issued in Austria there are specific legal guidelines as to how they are legalised diplomatically. Some countries have signed the Hague Convention, others require full diplomatic legalisation. 

The Austrian Federal Ministry of Science and Research regulates the legalisation of diplomas and certificates for every individual country. In the case of the following issuing countries, legalisation by a notary public is only necessary if you do not present the original document:

  • Member states of the European Union
  • Bosnia and Herzegovina
  • Iceland
  • Liechtenstein
  • Montenegro
  • North Macedonia
  • Norway
  • Serbia
  • Switzerland

According to bilateral agreements (Hague Convention), documents issued in certain countries does not need to be fully legalised, but an Apostille issued in the country which issued the original document is sufficient. Usually you can get the Apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Education of the issuing country.

The following countries signed the Hague Convention:

  • A: Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan
  • B: Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei
  • C: Cape Verde, Canada, Chile, China (including Macao and Hong Kong), Columbia, Costa Rica, Cyprus (North)
  • D-J: Dominica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eswatini, Fiji, Georgia, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Japan
  • K-L: Kap Verde, Kazakhstan, Korea (Republic), Lesotho, Liberia
  • M-N: Malawi, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Morocco, Namibia, New Zealand, Nicaragua
  • O-R: Oman, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Rwanda, Russia
  • S: Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tomé and Principe, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Suriname
  • T: Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey
  • U-Z: United Kingdom, Ukraine, USA, Uruguay, Vanuatu and Venezuela

Electronic Apostilles or e-Apostilles are equivalent to Apostilles issued in paper form and are also recognised.

Documents from countries with which Austria has no agreement have to be fully legalised. An authentication from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs from the issuing country is necessary for the required document.

Please report to the Austrian embassy/consulate in the country where your documents were issued, showing your certificate. For your admission procedure, the last authentication issued by an Austrian authority is crucial.

The following countries require full diplomatic legalisation:

  • A-B: Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Burundi
  • C-E: Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Djibouti, Egypt, Eritrea, Ethiopia
  • G-J: Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Iran, Jordan
  • K-L: Kenia, Kiribati, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos (LPDR), Lebanon, Libya
  • M: Madagaskar, Malaysia, Maledives, Mali, Mauretania, Micronesia, Mongolia, Mozambique
  • N-R: Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestinian Territories, Papua New Guinea, Qatar
  • S: Solomon Island, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Syria
  • T: Tajikistan, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, The Gambia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tunesia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu
  • U-Z: Uganda, Uzbekistan, Vatican City, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe

Further Information

For information about legalisation requirements for individual states, please refer to the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, opens an external URL in a new window or NARIC (National Academic Recognition Information Centre) AUSTRIA.

For documents issued in the People’s Republic of China a certificate by the Academic Evaluation Centre (Akademische Prüfstelle – , opens an external URL in a new windowAPS, opens an external URL in a new window), opens an external URL in a new window must be submitted additionally to the legalised documents. 

Translations

Documents which are required for the admission procedure and which are not originally issued in either German or English require a translation in either of these two languages issued by a court certified interpreter. These translations have to be inextricably linked with the original document.

Translations should be done only after legalisation if necessary, as notes of legalisation must also be translated!

Notary or court certified copies

The Admission Office uses registered mail for submitted original documents (such as diplomas), but assumes no responsibility for the shipment. We therefore recommend that you rather submit notary/court certified copies.
In this process the notary or court confirms that the copy corresponds to the original document. 

Please note:
  • Ensure that all staples, stickers, seals, threads, or other types of fastenings on your documents are intact.
  • Do not remove or loosen any staples, stickers, or similar items that were attached as part of the certification or translation process – doing so may render the documents invalid.
  • When scanning the documents, the paper may be folded, but existing connections must not be removed.
  • Documents with damaged or tampered fastenings, as well as photocopies, printouts, or scanned versions, will not be accepted.