Legalization

of education documents of foreign origin (secondary school- leaving certificates and higher education diplomas) – is confirmation of the authenticity of the signature and the role of the person who signed the official document or authenticated it, as well as the identity of the seal or stamp placed.

If the country in which the document was issued is not a party to the Hague Convention (Convention abolishing the requirement to legalize foreign official documents, developed at the Hague on October 5, 1961), then the Polish consular post in that country can legalize it (country specific).

If you are a holder of a document issued in one of the countries listed below, you should legalize it at a Polish diplomatic unit appropriate for your country:

  • Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Central African Republic,
  • Chad, China (excluding Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong, Macao), Congo, Cuba,
  • Egypt, Ethiopia,
  • Gambia, Ghana,
  • Haiti,
  • Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Ivory Coast,
  • Jamaica, Jordan,
  • Kenya, Kuwait,
  • Laos, Lebanon, Libya,
  • Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique,
  • Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea,
  • Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea,
  • Qatar,
  • Rwanda,
  • Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria,
  • Taiwan, Thailand, Tanzania, Togo, Turkmenistan,
  • Uganda, United Arab Emirates
  • Vietnam,
  • Yemen,
  • Zambia, Zimbabwe.

A list of Polish diplomatic units abroad is available on the website of Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Apostille

If the country in which the document was issued is a part to the Convention abolishing the requirement to legalize foreign official documents, developed at The Hague on October 5, 1961 (Journal of Laws of 2005 No. 112, item 938), the legalization of the document in this country is replaced by the apostille clause attached to the document.

If you are the holder of a document issued in one of the countries listed below, you should contact one of the institutions authorized to issue the apostille:

  • Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
  • Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil,
    Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi,
  • Cape Verde, Chile, China (Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong, Macao), Colombia, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic,
  • Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic,
  • Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia,
  • Fiji, Finland, France,
  • Georgia,Germany, Greece, Grenada,  Guyana, Guatemala,
  • Honduras, Hungary,
  • Iceland, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy,
  • Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
  • Korea (Republic of Korea),
  • Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia,
  • Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco,  Mongolia, Montenegro,
  • Namibia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norway, New Zealand,
  • Oman,
  • Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Philipines,
  •  Romania, Russia,
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia,Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, South Africa, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Swaziland, Suriname, Switzerland, Sweden,
  • Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and  Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, the Netherlands,the United Kingdom,
  • United States,  Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan,
  •  Vanuatu, Venezuela,

A list of all countries and addresses of institutions issuing Apostille can be found here.