Legalizing a Ukrainian diploma for a country that does not accept apostilles
Turkmenistan, the UAE, Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria and dozens of other countries do not accept the apostille, so a Ukrainian diploma needs consular legalization. This guide covers each step of the chain and how to get it done after you have left Ukraine.
A lot of the people who write to me finished a Ukrainian university, went home and only then learned that the diploma will not be accepted without legalization. Going back to Kyiv for it is not necessary. The Ukrainian part of the chain can be done by a representative, and below I explain each step. The final requirements are set by the embassy of the country where the document will be used, and finding out exactly what that embassy wants is always up to you.
Which countries need legalization instead of an apostille
The apostille only works between parties to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. As of November 2026 the Hague Conference lists 130 of them on hcch.net. Turkmenistan, the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia and Nigeria are not among them, so documents for these countries need consular legalization.
Several countries joined recently, and old advice online may still tell you to legalize documents for them:
| Country | Apostille accepted from |
|---|---|
| Saudi Arabia | 7 December 2022 |
| China | 7 November 2023 |
| Canada | 11 January 2024 |
| Bangladesh | 30 March 2025 |
| Algeria | 9 July 2026 |
| Vietnam | 11 September 2026 |
| Thailand | 28 February 2027 |
Turkmenistan has one more complication. Until 29 December 2023 Ukraine and Turkmenistan were both parties to the 1993 Minsk Convention on legal assistance, under which their documents were accepted without legalization. Ukraine has left that convention, so a diploma that a few years ago went to Turkmenistan without any stamps now has to be legalized.
The chain: three certifications in a row
First the Ukrainian authority responsible for the document confirms the signature and seal. Then the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs certifies that authority’s signature. Last, the embassy of the destination country adds its own stamp.
| Document | First step in Ukraine | Then |
|---|---|---|
| Higher education diploma | a covering letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirming the diploma; for diplomas of foreign graduates the Information and Image Centre prepares it | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassy |
| Birth or marriage certificate | the Ministry of Justice office for the region where it was issued, or in Kyiv | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassy |
| Notarized document: power of attorney, statement, certified copy, translation | Ministry of Justice in Kyiv | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassy |
| Police (criminal record) certificate | no separate step | Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassy |
| Passport | cannot be legalized; a notary certifies the owner’s affidavit with copies of the pages instead | Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassy |
If the embassy accepts a translation made in Ukraine, the translation goes through the same chain: a notary certifies the translator’s signature, the Ministry of Justice confirms the notary’s signature, then the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the embassy.
The education step from abroad
For diplomas the first step is handled by the Information and Image Centre (ДП «Інформаційно-іміджевий центр», apostille.in.ua), the state company that also processes Ministry of Education apostilles. For legalization it accepts higher education diplomas issued to foreign citizens. It checks the diploma, prepares the covering letter for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and can submit the diploma there itself. For applicants abroad it lists prices in US dollars or euros:
| Service | Price, USD/EUR |
|---|---|
| Verification for legalization | 20 (20 working days), 30 (5 working days), 60 (2 working days) |
| Covering letter to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs | 20 |
| Submitting the diploma to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the ministry’s fee included | 21 (up to 15 working days), 30 (up to 10 working days) |
International postage is calculated separately. The Centre’s service ends at the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the embassy stamp has to be obtained at your country’s embassy in Ukraine. Decide in advance who in Ukraine will receive the diploma after the ministry and take it to the embassy, otherwise it may travel abroad and have to come back.
Who can send documents to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The ministry does not receive members of the public in person. Documents arrive by Nova Poshta, a Ukrainian courier company, from within Ukraine, and the applicant pays for delivery both ways. The fee is 150 hryvnias per document for an individual, or 300 for the urgent service. Standard processing takes up to 10 working days, urgent processing up to 5, and if the ministry has no sample of the signature or seal on your document, it can take up to 20.
For an apostille anyone can send a document. For legalization the ministry accepts packages only from the document’s owner, a representative with a notarized power of attorney or a legal guardian, and it returns anything else unprocessed. It also hands the legalized documents back only to the person who sent them. So if a friend in Ukraine sends your diploma for you, they need a notarized power of attorney from you, and the original power of attorney goes into the package. Ukrainian consulates certify powers of attorney for Ukrainian citizens. If you are a foreign citizen, ask your representative which form of power of attorney they need before you sign it at home.
What to ask the embassy
Every embassy has its own rules. Before you start, write to the embassy of your country in Ukraine and ask:
- Whether to legalize the original or a notarized copy.
- Whether a translation is needed, into which language, who should make it and at which stage: before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, after it or only in your country.
- How the embassy accepts documents (appointment, online application or through an agent) and what it charges.
- Whether the document needs one more certification in your country after the embassy.
The UAE is a good example of how different the last step can be. Its Ministry of Foreign Affairs says documents issued outside the Emirates are attested through UAE embassies and consulates abroad, documents must be in Arabic or English or come with a certified translation, and laminated documents are not accepted.
If your country has no embassy in Ukraine, ask its Ministry of Foreign Affairs which embassy covers Ukraine.
How long it takes
The ministry’s 10 working days cover only its own step. The first step, courier delivery both ways and the embassy add their own time, and the embassy decides its processing time itself. In my price list the full cycle, from collecting the document and the translation to the embassy stamp, takes 10 working days for an education document, 20 for a birth or marriage certificate or a police certificate, and 25 for a notarized statement or power of attorney.
If you have already left Ukraine and there is nobody in Kyiv to take your documents through the chain, contact me.
Quick answers
- Does a Ukrainian diploma need legalization for Turkmenistan?
- Yes. Turkmenistan is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, and the 1993 Minsk Convention, under which documents used to be accepted without legalization, stopped applying to Ukraine on 29 December 2023. The diploma gets a covering letter through the Information and Image Centre, then the Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs certifies it, and the embassy adds the last stamp.
- Can I legalize my Ukrainian diploma without travelling to Ukraine?
- Yes. The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs accepts documents for legalization only by courier within Ukraine and only from the owner, a representative with a notarized power of attorney or a legal guardian. A representative in Ukraine can do the Ukrainian part for you, and the Information and Image Centre offers the education steps to applicants abroad.
- How long does consular legalization of a Ukrainian document take?
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs takes up to 10 working days, or up to 5 for an urgent fee, and up to 20 if it has to obtain a signature sample. The first Ukrainian step, delivery and the embassy all add their own time.
Sources checked in November 2026: the Hague Conference status table for the Apostille Convention; Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs pages on legalization, apostille and postal submission; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs instruction on consular legalization (order No. 113 of 4 June 2002); Ministry of Justice clarifications on exemption from legalization (26 June 2025); court and Ministry of Justice notices on the end of the Minsk Convention for Ukraine on 29 December 2023; the Information and Image Centre price list (apostille.in.ua); the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs “Documents Attestation” page. Ukrainian version of this article: Консульська легалізація.