Legalisation and translation
Depending on the country of issuance, your documents may need legalisation. If legalisation requirements exist for the country in which your documents were issued (see table below), your documents must already be legalised accordingly at the time of applying. The legalisation must be placed on the original documents.
Apostille
If you need a legalisation by Apostille, contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the country that issued your documents. In several countries instead the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Education is responsible for an Apostille. The Apostille needs to confirm the signature on the original document not the signature of the notary.
Full legalisation
If you need a full legalisation for your documents, contact the Ministry of Education and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs (resp. in some countries Ministry of Justice) in the country your documents were issued in for validations. When you got this validations you have to contact the Austrian representation (embassy or consulate) responsible for the issuing country for an additional validation.
Applicants from China (People's Republic) have to additionally present a certificate by the Academic Evaluation Centre (Akademische Prüfungsstelle - APS) of the German embassy in Peking.
Translation
All for the application process necessary documents have to be translated (after the legalisation), if they are not issued in German or English. This translation has to be done by a court sworn translator after the documents were legalised, as the legalisation has to be translated as well.
Legalisation per country
| Country | Type of Legalisation |
|---|---|
| EU/EEA | no legalisation |
| Afghanistan | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| Albania | Apostille |
| Algeria | full legalisation |
| Andorra | Apostille |
| Angola | Apostille |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Apostille |
| Argentina | Apostille |
| Armenia | Apostille |
| Australia | Apostille |
| Azerbaijan | Apostille |
| Bahamas | Apostille |
| Bahrain | Apostille |
| Bangladesh | full legalisation |
| Barbados | Apostille |
| Belarus | Apostille (currently not required) |
| Belize | Apostille |
| Benin | full legalisation |
| Bhutan | full legalisation |
| Bolivia | Apostille |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | no legalisation |
| Botswana | Apostille |
| Brazil | Apostille |
| Brunei Darussalam | Apostille |
| Burkina Faso | full legalisation |
| Burundi | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| Cabo Verde | Apostille |
| Cambodia | full legalisation |
| Cameroon | full legalisation |
| Canada | full legalisation |
| Central African Republic | full legalisation |
| Chad | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| Chile | Apostille |
| China | full legalisation and certification by APS |
| China (Hongkong) | Apostille |
| Colombia | Apostille |
| Comoros | Apostille (currently not required) |
| Congo | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| Congo (Democratic Republic) | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| Costa Rica | Apostille |
| Côte d'Ivoire | full legalisation |
| Cuba | full legalisation |
| Democratic People's Republic of Korea | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| Djibouti | full legalisation |
| Dominica | Apostille |
| Dominican Republic | full legalisation |
| Ecuador | Apostille |
| Egypt | full legalisation |
| El Salvador | Apostille |
| Equatorial Guinea | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| Eritrea | full legalisation |
| Eswatini | Apostille |
| Ethiopia | full legalisation |
| Fiji | Apostille |
| Gabon | full legalisation |
| Gambia | full legalisation |
| Georgia | Apostille |
| Ghana | full legalisation |
| Grenada | Apostille |
| Guatemala | Apostille |
| Guinea | full legalisation |
| Guinea-Bissau | full legalisation |
| Guyana | Apostille |
| Haiti | full legalisation |
| Honduras | Apostille |
| India | Apostille |
| Indonesia | Apostille |
| Iran | full legalisation |
| Iraq | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| Israel | Apostille |
| Jamaica | full legalisation |
| Japan | Apostille |
| Jordan | full legalisation |
| Kazakhstan | Apostille |
| Kenya | full legalisation |
| Kiribati | full legalisation |
| Kosovo | full legalisation |
| Kuwait | full legalisation |
| Kyrgyzstan | full legalisation |
| Laos | full legalisation |
| Lebanon | full legalisation |
| Lesotho | Apostille |
| Liberia | Apostille |
| Libya | full legalisation |
| Macau | Apostille |
| Madagascar | full legalisation |
| Malawi | Apostille |
| Malaysia | full legalisation |
| Maldives | full legalisation |
| Mali | full legalisation |
| Marshall Islands | Apostille |
| Mauritania | full legalisation |
| Mauritius | Apostille |
| Mexico | Apostille |
| Micronesia | full legalisation |
| Moldova (Republic) | Apostille |
| Monaco | Apostille |
| Mongolia | full legalisation |
| Montenegro | no legalisation |
| Morocco | Apostille |
| Mozambique | Apostille |
| Myanmar | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| Namibia | Apostille |
| Nauru | full legalisation |
| Nepal | full legalisation |
| New Zealand | Apostille |
| Nicaragua | Apostille |
| Niger | full legalisation |
| Nigeria | full legalisation |
| Niue | Apostille |
| North Macedonia | no legalisation |
| Oman | Apostille |
| Pakistan | full legalisation |
| Palau | full legalisation |
| Panama | Apostille |
| Papua New Guinea | full legalisation |
| Paraguay | Apostille |
| Peru | Apostille |
| Philippines | Apostille and legalisation by the Austrian embassy |
| Qatar | full legalisation |
| Republic of Korea | Apostille |
| Russia | Apostille (currently not required) |
| Rwanda | full legalisation |
| Samoa | Apostille |
| San Marino | Apostille |
| São Tomé und Príncipe | Apostille |
| Saudi Arabia | full legalisation |
| Senegal | full legalisation |
| Serbia | no legalisation |
| Seychelles | Apostille |
| Sierra Leone | full legalisation |
| Singapore | Apostille |
| Solomon Islands | Apostille |
| Somalia | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| South Africa | Apostille |
| South Sudan | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| Sri Lanka | full legalisation |
| St. Kitts and Nevis | Apostille |
| St. Lucia | Apostille |
| St. Vincent and the Grenadines | Apostille |
| Sudan | full legalisation (currently not required) |
| Suriname | Apostille |
| Switzerland | no legalisation |
| Syria | full legalisation |
| Taiwan (China) | full legalisation |
| Tajikistan | full legalisation |
| Tanzania | full legalisation |
| Thailand | full legalisation |
| Timor-Leste | full legalisation |
| Togo | full legalisation |
| Tonga | Apostille |
| Trinidad and Tobago | Apostille |
| Tunisia | full legalisation |
| Turkey | Apostille |
| Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus | Apostille |
| Turkmenistan | full legalisation |
| Tuvalu | full legalisation |
| Uganda | full legalisation |
| Ukraine | Apostille (currently not required) |
| United Arab Emirates | full legalisation |
| United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland | no legalisation |
| Uruguay | Apostille |
| USA | no legalisation |
| Uzbekistan | full legalisation |
| Vanuatu | Apostille |
| Vatican City | full legalisation |
| Venezuela | Apostille |
| Vietnam | full legalisation |
| West Bank and Gaza Strip | full legalisation |
| Yemen | full legalisation |
| Zambia | full legalisation |
| Zimbabwe | Apostille |