Legalization
The legalization must already be affixed to the documents at the time of application! Documents without the required legalization cannot be considered.
Foreign documents only have the same evidentiary value of official Austrian public documents if they bear the required legalizations on the original document.
There are three types of legalization:
- Full diplomatic legalization
- Legalization by “Apostille”
- Exemption from any legalization
1. Full diplomatic legalization
In this legalization procedure, the original documents must first undergo all required domestic legalizations in the country of issue (for example, by the Ministry of Education). The final step of this process must always be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of that country.
Afterwards, the documents must also be diplomatically legalized by an Austrian authority. This diplomatic legalization can be carried out by the competent Austrian representation in the country of issue (for example, the Austrian embassy, consulate, or honorary consulate).
| A | B | C |
| Algeria | Bangladesh | Cambodia |
| Angola | Benin | Cameroon |
| Bhutan | Central African Republic | |
| Burkina Faso | Côte d'Ivoire | |
| Cuba | ||
| D | E | G |
| Djibouti | Egypt | Gabon |
| Eritrea | Gambia | |
| Ethiopia | Ghana | |
| Guinea | ||
| Guinea-Bissau | ||
| H | I | J |
| Haiti | Iran, Islamic Republic of | Jordan |
| Holy See | ||
| K | L | M |
| Kenya | Laos, People's Democratic Republic of | Madagascar |
| Kiribati | Lebanon | Malaysia |
| Kosovo | Libyan Arab Jamahiriya / State of Libya | Maldives |
| Kuwait | Mali | |
| Kyrgyzstan | Military Order of Malta, Sovereign | |
| Mauritania | ||
| Micronesia, Federated States of | ||
| Mongolia | ||
| Mozambique | ||
| N | P | Q |
| Nauru | Pakistan | Qatar |
| Nepal | Palestinian Autonomous Territories | |
| Niger | Papua New Guinea | |
| Nigeria | ||
| S | T | U |
| Senegal | Taiwan | Uganda |
| Sierra Leone | Tajikistan | United Arab Emirates |
| Solomon Islands | Tanzania, United Republic of | Uzbekistan |
| Sri Lanka | Thailand | |
| Syria, Arab Republic of | Timor-Leste (East Timor) | |
| Togo | ||
| Tunisia | ||
| Turkmenistan | ||
| Tuvalu | ||
| V | Y | Z |
| Vietnam | Yemen | Zambia |
| Zimbabwe |
2. Apostille
The Apostille is a simplified form of legalization for public documents. It is placed on documents from countries that have signed the “Hague Legalization Convention".
This convention is an agreement between different countries. It ensures that documents from these countries no longer require full diplomatic legalization.
| A | B | C |
| Albania | Bahamas | Canada |
| Andorra | Bahrain | Cape Verde |
| Angola | Barbados | Chile |
| Antigua and Barbuda | Belarus | China - including the administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao |
| Argentina | Belize | Colombia |
| Armenia | Bolivia | Costa Rica |
| Australia | Botswana | Cyprus |
| Azerbaijan | Brazil | |
| Brunei Darussalam | ||
| D | E | F |
| Denmark | Ecuador | Fiji |
| Dominica | El Salvador | |
| Dominican Republic | Estonia | |
| Eswatini | ||
| G | H | I |
| Georgia | Honduras | Iceland |
| Greece | India | |
| Grenada | Indonesia | |
| Guatemala | Ireland | |
| Guyana | Israel | |
| J | K | L |
| Jamaica | Kazakhstan | Latvia |
| Japan | Korea, Republic of | Lesotho |
| Liberia | ||
| Lithuania | ||
| Luxembourg | ||
| M | N | O |
| Malawi | Namibia | Oman |
| Malta | New Zealand | |
| Marshall Islands | Nicaragua | |
| Mauritius | Niue | |
| Mexico | ||
| Moldova | ||
| Monaco | ||
| Morocco |
| P | R | S |
| Palau | Russian Federation | Samoa |
| Panama | Rwanda | San Marino |
| Paraguay | São Tomé and Principe | |
| Peru | Saudi Arabia | |
| Philippines | Seychelles | |
| Portugal | Singapore | |
| South Africa | ||
| Spain | ||
| Saint Kitts and Nevis | ||
| Saint Lucia | ||
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | ||
| Suriname | ||
| Switzerland | ||
| T | U | V |
| Tonga | Ukraine | Vanuatu |
| Trinidad and Tobago | United Kingdom (UK) | Venezuela |
| Turkey | United States of America (USA) | |
| Uruguay |
The required legalization must be on the documents at the time of application!
3. Exempted from legalization
Documents from countries with which Austria has concluded a bilateral agreement are exempted from legalization. Even without legalization, they have the same evidentiary value as official Austrian documents.
| B | C | F |
| Belgium | Croatia | Finland |
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | Czech Republic | France |
| Bulgaria | ||
| G | H | I |
| Germany | Hungary | Italy |
| L | M | N |
| Liechtenstein | Montenegro | Netherlands |
| North Macedonia | ||
| Norway | ||
| P | R | S |
| Poland | Romania | Serbia |
| Slovakia | ||
| Slovenia | ||
| Sweden |
Additional information about the legalization for applicants with a status refugee or asylum seeking in Austria
Applicants who have the status refugee or seeking asylum in Austria can be exempted from the legalization due to the political circumstances. This means the above mentioned documents can be handed in without additional legalization of for example the Austrian Embassy or an Apostille. This only applies if the documents were issued in the country the applicant has fled from.
To prove that status, a copy of the convention pass or the asylum card (f.e. white card, grey card) has to be handed in with the application.
