Austria Document Legalization, Apostille & Translation Guide (2026)

Austrian universities only accept foreign certificates that are legalised or apostilled (unless your country is exempt) and, if not in German or English, translated by a sworn, court-certified translator. Which route you need depends on the country that issued the document, not your nationality.

This is usually the slowest step of the whole application. OeAD warns that legalisation can take several months depending on the country, so start 9–12 months before your intended intake.

The three legalisation routes

According to the OeAD legalisation information sheet, documents fall into one of three groups:

Each university publishes its own list by country. The University of Vienna's legalisation page, for example, lists the following:

Other universities may apply different rules, so always confirm with the admission office of each university you apply to.

Sworn translations: how to do them correctly

• Universities accept documents in German or English only. Everything else must be translated.
• Use a translator who is sworn in and certified by the courts.
• The translation must be inseparably attached to the original or certified copy. Do not detach it, even for scanning.
• Translate after legalisation, so that the legalisation stamps and seals are translated as well.
• For the residence permit, the police clearance certificate must be legalised and then translated into German by a sworn translator.

Step-by-step: getting your documents ready

1. 1

   Check your university's country rules

   Confirm the required route and whether your certificate is accepted at all. See Austria university admission requirements.

2. 2

   Collect original certificates and transcripts

   Include your school-leaving certificate, entrance exam results, degree certificates and transcripts.

3. 3

   Complete the national attestation chain

   Usually your education ministry or higher education authority, then your Foreign Ministry.

4. 4

   Get the apostille or Austrian over-legalisation

   Book this early: embassy processes can take months.

5. 5

   Order sworn translations

   Only after all stamps are on the documents.

6. 6

   Keep originals safe and bring them to Austria

   Universities may ask to see originals at enrolment.

Pakistani documents: verification at the Austrian Embassy Islamabad

The Austrian Embassy Islamabad verifies Pakistani documents. Key rules from the embassy:

• Documents must carry the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs legalisation stamp on the original. Separate HEC pages are not accepted.
• Appointments are booked only through VFS Global, with a maximum of six documents per process.
• Fees: a flat verification fee of PKR 36,000 for up to six certificates, plus a consular fee of €80 per document, paid in PKR (year not stated).
• The process can take three months or longer, no status updates are given, and your originals stay at the embassy throughout.

Some universities add their own checks for South Asian degrees. TU Graz requires applicants educated in Bangladesh, India or Pakistan to complete a paid VFS Global competence check before applying.

Afghan documents: what is different

Since 1 January 2013, the Austrian Embassy in Islamabad can no longer verify or legalise documents issued by Afghan authorities, and the Austrian Foreign Ministry lists Afghanistan among the states where legalisation is suspended.

• University of Vienna: Afghan documents need only the attestations of the Afghan Ministry of Education and Ministry of Foreign Affairs, plus a sworn translation if not in German or English.
• Other universities may apply their own rules. Confirm with each admission office before you start.
• Police certificate for the permit: no official page we found explains how an Afghan police certificate should be authenticated. Ask the Austrian Embassy Islamabad or the residence authority. If you live in Pakistan or another country, you need that country's police certificate.

Degree recognition: ENIC NARIC Austria and nostrification

For university admission, the university itself decides whether your qualification is acceptable; you do not need a separate recognition first. ENIC NARIC Austria, part of OeAD, evaluates foreign higher education qualifications for professional purposes.

Which documents you need at each stage

Not every document is needed at the same time. Planning by stage helps you avoid paying for legalisation of papers you will never use, and makes sure the time-sensitive ones are still valid when you need them.

Can you apply with unofficial copies first?

Some universities allow it. IT:U Linz, for example, states that unofficial copies and machine translations are accepted for the application, but legalised documents and certified translations are required as a condition of formal admission and enrolment. Many others, such as CU Carinthia, only process complete applications in which documents that need full diplomatic legalisation are already legalised. Read each university's rule rather than assuming.

Studied in a different country from your nationality?

The route depends on the country that issued the document. If you are an Afghan citizen who studied in Pakistan, your Pakistani certificates follow the Pakistani route: Ministry of Foreign Affairs stamp, then verification by the Austrian Embassy Islamabad. Your Afghan school certificate, if you also need it, follows the Afghan rules described above.

Who checks your documents?

Three different bodies look at your papers, and each has its own focus. Knowing who decides what helps you ask the right office when something is unclear.

• The university decides whether your certificates give you access to the program, and whether they are correctly legalised and translated for admission.
• The Austrian embassy or consulate checks that your residence permit file is complete and forwards it to Austria. In some countries it also verifies or over-legalises your certificates.
• The residence authority in your future Austrian city (in Vienna, MA 35) decides on the residence permit itself, including whether your police certificate and financial documents are acceptable.

Budgeting time and money for legalisation

Official fees vary by country and are often not published with a year, so check your embassy's current fee page. What is clear from official sources is that time is the bigger risk: OeAD advises preparing documents 12 months in advance, and the Austrian Embassy Islamabad says verification can take three months or longer. Add time for national attestations at home, courier delivery and sworn translation afterwards.

• Start national attestations as soon as you have final certificates.
• Book the embassy or VFS step immediately after, because appointment availability varies.
• Order sworn translations only once every stamp is in place.
• Scan everything in colour, with translations attached, for online applications.

Mistakes to avoid

• Translating before legalisation, which means the stamps are not translated
• Detaching translations from originals when scanning
• Using an ordinary translator instead of a sworn, court-certified one
• Paying agents for faster embassy appointments; embassies warn they do not work with intermediaries
• Letting your police certificate expire: it must be no older than three months when you apply for the permit

Next, see the Austria student visa guide for the permit checklist. To keep your document deadlines in view, track deadlines for free on FindUniPath or visit the Austria hub.