Apostille in Ukraine

Purpose of an Apostille

An apostille is as confirmation for foreign public authorities and other institutions that an official document is authentic and legally effective in its country of origin.

Which Ukrainian authority places the apostille?

Apostilles are placed on official documents issued by competent public authorities and bearing the appropriate official seal and authorised signature. The competent authority depends on the type of document.

• Ministry of Education and Science: educational and scientific documents, including diplomas, academic-degree or title certificates, school certificates, educational-institution statements, curricula and related documents;

• Ministry of Justice: civil-status documents, extracts from the State Register of Civil Status Acts, documents certified by Ukrainian notaries, court judgments and certificates. Since March 2020 notaries may place apostilles on documents within the Ministry of Justice competence;

• Ministry of Internal Affairs: documents issued by the Ministry and its territorial service bodies, including criminal-record extracts/certificates;

• State Migration Service: documents issued by the Migration Service, including a certificate confirming registration as a Ukrainian citizen;

• State Tax Service: documents issued by the Tax Service and its territorial bodies, including confirmation of Ukrainian tax-resident status;

• Ministry of Foreign Affairs: other official documents, including certain archive and health certificates and other documents not assigned to another authority.

Documents on which an apostille is not placed

• documents issued by Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad;

• administrative documents directly connected with commercial or customs operations;

• passports, identity documents, driving licences and employment record books. Some such documents may instead be handled through a notarised copy.

Countries as Hague Apostille Convention participants

Apostilles are used for documents intended for states participating in the 1961 Hague Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents. Its list is reproduced as source material:

Australia; Austria; Azerbaijan; Albania; Andorra; Antigua and Barbuda; Argentina; Bahamas; Barbados; Bahrain; Belize; Belgium; Bulgaria; Bolivia; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Botswana; Brazil; Brunei; Burundi; Vanuatu; Venezuela; Armenia; Guyana; Guatemala; Honduras; Grenada; Greece; Georgia; Denmark; Dominica; Dominican Republic; Ecuador; El Salvador; Estonia; Israel; India; Ireland; Iceland; Spain; Italy; Kazakhstan; Cabo Verde; Kyrgyz Republic; China from 7 November 2023; Canada from 11 January 2024; Cyprus; Colombia; Kosovo; Costa Rica; Republic of Korea; Latvia; Lesotho; Lithuania; Liberia; Liechtenstein; Luxembourg; Mauritius; Morocco; North Macedonia; Malawi; Malta; Marshall Islands; Mexico; Moldova; Monaco; Mongolia; Namibia; Netherlands; Nicaragua; Germany; Niue; New Zealand; Norway; Oman; Cook Islands; Panama; Paraguay; Peru; South Africa; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Samoa; San Marino; São Tomé and Príncipe; Seychelles; Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; Saint Kitts and Nevis; Saint Lucia; Serbia; Slovak Republic; Slovenia; United Kingdom; United States; Suriname; Tajikistan; Tonga; Trinidad and Tobago; Tunisia; Turkey; Hungary; Ukraine; Uruguay; Fiji; Philippines; Finland; France; Croatia; Czech Republic; Montenegro; Chile; Switzerland; Sweden; Japan; Saudi Arabia; Pakistan from 9 March 2023; Senegal from 23 March 2023; Jamaica; Eswatini; Indonesia; Palau.

Countries for which an apostille is not required for Ukrainian documents

The source lists states with which Ukraine has agreements allowing documents to be used without apostille or consular legalisation: Bulgaria, Georgia, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Mongolia, Moldova, Poland, Romania, Czech Republic, Serbia, Hungary and Uzbekistan.

If the destination state is in neither category, consular legalisation may be required.

Validity of an apostille

An apostille has no separate expiry date. It remains effective for the period during which the underlying document itself is valid.

Grounds for refusal

• the document was issued before 2003;

• mechanical damage, abrasions or stains make text, seals or stamps unreadable;

• the integrity of the document has been compromised;

• corrections, discrepancies in data or problems with the seal are present;

• the document is laminated.

Procedure and documents

• determine the competent Ukrainian authority for the document;

• file the original document together with the required application and personal-data consent;

• obtain the apostilled document.

The original application, consent to personal-data processing and the original document to be apostilled are the core documents.

Additional source questions

Apostilling Ukrainian documents may be arranged while the owner is abroad and duplicates of Ukrainian civil-status documents have the same legal force as the original issue.

Where a document requiring an apostille is used in a 1961 Convention state without the apostille, the foreign authority may refuse to recognise it.

A power of attorney from the document owner is not required merely to submit a document for apostille.

Old-format Ukrainian birth or marriage certificates issued before 2003 may need to be re-issued on a current form before apostille. A foreign document is generally apostilled in the state that issued it, subject to any exceptions allowed by that state.

If an apostille cannot be obtained in the state of origin, the source suggests checking whether an equivalent document can be issued by that state's embassy or consulate and then legalised through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine where applicable.

For a laminated document, it is advisable to obtain a duplicate if the lamination cannot safely be removed. Ukrainian embassies do not place apostilles.

Consular Legalisation

Documents That May Be Legalised

Consular legalisation applies to official documents issued by public authorities or documents that have been notarised, .

The Consular Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine is described as accepting for legalisation:

• original higher and specialised-secondary education diplomas in the relevant international form, transcript extracts and diplomas of the Higher Attestation Commission of Ukraine;

• archive certificates, civil-status certificates and extracts from civil-status registration authorities;

• other official documents after notarisation of copies and the required Ministry of Justice certification.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not legalise documents created in other countries. Such documents may require certification by the consular section of the issuing country's embassy in Ukraine followed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stamp, or legalisation through the Ukrainian consulate in the country in which the document was issued, depending on the procedure.

Where consular legalisation is performed

• the Consular Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine;

• representative offices of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ukraine;

• a consular officer of a Ukrainian diplomatic mission abroad.

For Ukrainian documents issued by bodies subordinate to the Ministry of Justice, legalisation begins with the required Ministry of Justice certification.

Territorial effect

A document that has undergone consular legalisation is valid for the particular state whose consular service certified it.

Is legalisation always required?

No. The source distinguishes consular legalisation from apostille. Where the destination country participates in the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention, the document should normally be apostilled rather than consularly legalised.

Apostille is simpler because it is placed once and is used across Convention states, whereas consular legalisation is tied to the destination state for which it was completed.

Procedure and documents

• determine whether consular legalisation, rather than apostille or treaty exemption, is required;

• prepare the original document and the required preliminary certifications;

• file the documents with the competent state or consular authority;

• obtain the legalised document for use in the relevant destination state.

The source identifies an application for legalisation, an identity document, the original document to be legalised and, where applicable, a power of attorney. Legal entities file a written request for legalisation.

Recognition of Foreign Education Documents in Ukraine (Nostrification)

Recognition of Foreign Education Documents

Nostrification is the source term for the procedure by which a foreign education document, such as a school certificate or diploma, is recognised for use in Ukraine.

The procedure establishes the correspondence of the foreign qualification, education level, academic and professional rights with the Ukrainian state education standards.

The complexity and duration of recognition may depend on the country in which the document was issued, whether it has been apostilled or consularly legalised, whether the education was obtained within the Bologna system and other characteristics of the document and programme.

Competent authority

The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is the authority responsible for recognition of foreign education documents in Ukraine.

Procedure

• prepare the application and the owner's consent to processing and verification of personal data;

• prepare the foreign education document and its supplement;

• provide evidence of previous education where required;

• provide the passport and evidence of any name change;

• file the recognition documents with the Ministry of Education and Science and complete any verification or additional expert review.

Documents

• original application for the recognition procedure;

• original consent of the document owner to processing and verification of personal data;

• original education document;

• original supplement to the education document;

• previous education document, with notarised Ukrainian translation where required;

• passport with notarised Ukrainian translation;

• name-change document, where applicable.

An old-format document or a document issued in a country with which Ukraine does not cooperate in education matters may require additional examination. Recognition is described as commonly relevant for employment or continued study in Ukraine.