Following university admission, both the institution and the visa consulate require officially attested academic records.
Apostille vs Consular Legalization
- Apostille: Applies between countries that belong to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. A single standardized certification validates the document across member states without embassy visits.
- Consular Legalization: Required when one or both countries are not signatories. The chain of stamps culminates in an endorsement by the destination country's embassy.
The Mandatory Sequence of Steps
- University Registrar & Dean: Obtain original degree certificates and transcripts with internal university stamps.
- Ministry of Higher Education: Verify and stamp the institutional signatures.
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA): Attest the Ministry of Higher Education stamp.
- Sworn Translation: Translate documents (including all stamp endorsements) through an embassy-recognized certified translator.
- Final Step: Either the Apostille stamp (if applicable) or the consular legalization at the destination country's embassy.