- The issuing institution is decisive. Example: If you have graduated in country X, yet the institution which issues your documents is located in country Y, your documents must be legalised in compliance with the requirements for country Y.
- The legalisation modes provided for in Austria for the respective country are to be observed.
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Legalisation and translation
Documents issued outside of Austria that are required for admission to a degree programme or for the recognition of examinations must be presented duly legalised, depending on the regulations applicable to the respective country. This means that their authenticity must be confirmed. If the documents required for admission/recognition have not been issued in German or English, they must be submitted together with an official translation.
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Legalisation
Depending on the country in which your documents were issued, they may need to be legalised/authenticated. If legalisation requirements exist for the country in which your documents were issued (country of issuance), your documents must be submitted with the required legalisation at the time of application. The note of legalisation must be placed on the original documents.
Foreign documents have the same evidential value as domestic public documents only if they are either exempt from legalisation or have passed the necessary legalisation procedure. For each country, there are legal stipulations which determine whether documents issued in the country of issuance need to be legalised and which form of legalisation is required.
Legalisation requirements
- General information on the legalisation of documents
- Information from the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Research concerning the legalisation of foreign documents in higher education
Under this link you will find information on the modes of legalisation (exemption from any legalisation, legalisation in the form of the Apostille, full diplomatic legalisation) as well as a list of countries to which the respective rules apply.
No legalisation is required for documents which were issued in a country with which Austria has concluded a bilateral agreement on legalisation (exemption from any legalisation). In addition, documents do not need to be legalised if they were issued in an EU/EEA country or, respectively, in Switzerland.
Documents must be legalised in the form of the Apostille if they were issued in a country to which the Hague Legalisation Convention applies (legalisation in the form of the Apostille).
Documents must be supplied with full diplomatic legalisation if they were issued in one of the countries which are not bound to Austria by a bilateral agreement on legalisation and are not Contracting State to the Hague Legalisation Convention (full diplomatic legalisation).
Apostille
If the country in which your documents were issued is a Contracting State to the Hague Legalisation Convention, your documents must be legalised in the form of the Apostille in order to be acknowledged in Austria.
Exception: Documents issued in an EU/EEA country or, respectively, in Switzerland do not require an Apostille.
If you need your documents to be legalised in the form of the Apostille, contact the appropriate authority. The authority is located in the country of issuance of the document(s) which need(s) to be legalised. Usually, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in charge. In some countries the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Education is in charge. A list of the authorities responsible can be found on the pages of the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH).
Information from the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Research concerning the legalisation of foreign documents in higher education (modes of legalisation + list of countries)
- The appropriate authority will check the document, including whether the signature, stamp or seal is genuine. They will legalise the document by attaching an Apostille (a stamp, adhesive label, or separate sheet of paper) to it.
- The Apostille must confirm the signature or one of the signatures on the original document. It will not confirm the signature of a notary public.
- The Apostille must be placed on the document itself or on a piece of paper attached to it.
- Electronic Apostilles or, respectively, e-Apostilles are equivalent to apostilles issued in paper form and are recognised.
- If your documents were issued in the People’s Republic of China, you must submit a certificate by the Academic Evaluation Centre (Akademische Prüfstelle – APS). Alternatively, a CHESICC confirmation may be submitted.
Full diplomatic legalisation
If the country in which your documents were issued is neither bound to Austria by a bilateral agreement concerning legalisation nor a Contracting State to the Hague Legalisation Convention, your documents need full diplomatic legalisation.
To obtain full diplomatic legalisation for your documents, you will need the confirmation of the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or, respectively, in some countries the Ministry of Justice) of the country of issuance. In a last step, the Austrian representation (embassy or consulate) responsible for the country of issuance must overlegalise these confirmation notes.
Information from the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Research concerning the legalisation of foreign documents in higher education (modes of legalisation + list of countries)
These 3 steps are necessary:
- Legalisation by the competent sectorial ministry (e.g. Ministry of Education) of the country in which the original document was issued
- Overlegalisation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country in which the original document was issued
- Overlegalisation by the Austrian representation in the country of issuance
- Note that full diplomatic legalisation of your original documents may take several months.
- In some countries, full diplomatic legalisation can be obtained only if, in a prior step, your documents are translated into German. Therefore, inform yourself in due time whether special rules apply to the country of issuance of your documents.
Suspension of legalisation
The legalisation of documents from certain countries is suspended if a reliable examination of the genuineness or correctness of contents of these documents cannot be guaranteed. For the duration of the suspension, documents from these countries are subject to free consideration of evidence. The legal bases are the Consular Certification Act (Konsularbeglaubigungsgesetz – KBeglG) and the Consular Certification Regulation (Konsularbeglaubigungsverordnung – KBeglV).
If your documents were issued in one of the countries in question, submit them without legalisation.
Information from the Federal Ministry for Education, Science and Research concerning the legalisation of foreign documents in higher education (modes of legalisation + list of countries)
Translation
All documents required for admission/recognition need to be submitted in German or English.
All documents required for admission/recognition which were issued in a language other than German or English, must be translated into either of these two languages. The documents have to be translated by a court-sworn interpreter.
- The respective (legalised) original document must be translated in its entirety.
- The official translation must be inseparably attached to the respective (legalised) original or a copy of the respective (legalised) original by your court-sworn interpreter.
- The official translation may only be drawn up after the any legalisation which may be required, as the notes of legalisation must also be translated.
- Documents which were issued in German or English do not need to be translated.
Translation of documents which do not need to be legalised
This step is necessary:
- Translation of the entire original document
Translation of documents for which an Apostille is required
These 2 steps are necessary:
- Legalisation of the original document (Apostille)
- Translation of the entire legalised original
Translation of documents for which full diplomatic legalisation is required
These 2 steps are necessary:
- Legalisation of the original document (full diplomatic legalisation)
- Translation of the entire legalised original
Notarised copies
If you do not wish to hand in the originals, you may instead submit copies certified by a notary public. After completing all the required steps regarding legalisation and translation, the copies of your fully legalised and translated documents can be certified by a notary public. Thus, the certification of the copies by a notary public is an additional step.
Important instructions
- Ensure the intactness of seals, staples, threads, stickers, or other kinds of adhesive on your documents.
- Documents with damaged seals, staples, threads, stickers, or other kinds of adhesive cannot be accepted and a potential admission/recognition is not possible.
- Do not remove any seals, staples, threads, stickers, or other kinds of adhesive which might be attached to your documents in the course of the legalisation and/or translation process, as this will void the validity of the legalisation and/or translation.
- To scan your documents, fold them. Do not remove existing attachments under any circumstance.
- For admission/recognition the respective (legalised) original documents are required. If applicable, official translations of the (legalised) originals are required.
- Prints, scans, or simple copies do not suffice for admission/recognition.
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University of Klagenfurt
Universitätsstraße 65-67
9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
Austria
+43 463 2700
uni [at] aau [dot] at
www.aau.at
Campus Plan
Universitätsstraße 65-67
9020 Klagenfurt am Wörthersee
Austria
+43 463 2700
uni [at] aau [dot] at
www.aau.at
Campus Plan
