Study-abroad document checklist: transcripts, translations and apostilles

Many good applications are delayed or rejected because of documents, not because of the candidate. Official papers take time, cost money and must often be prepared in a specific way. This guide lists the documents most programmes ask for, explains the terms you will meet, and suggests how far in advance to start.

The core documents

Most scholarship and university applications ask for some or all of these:

• Passport. Check that it is valid well beyond the end of your planned studies; many countries require several months of validity beyond your stay for a visa. Renewing a passport can take weeks.
• Diploma or degree certificate of your last completed degree, or a certificate of expected graduation if you are in your final year.
• Transcript of records: the official list of your courses and grades. Ask for a version that shows the grading scale.
• Diploma supplement, if your university issues one. It explains your degree in a standard format and helps foreign universities understand it.
• Proof of language skills: a test result or another accepted proof (see our English tests and waivers guide).
• CV, motivation letter and recommendation letters (see our guides on the academic CV, the motivation letter and recommendation letters).
• Photos in the format the programme or the visa requires.

Depending on the programme and the country, you may also need a medical certificate, a police clearance certificate, a birth certificate, a research proposal for doctoral study, or a portfolio for creative fields.

Copies, certified copies and originals

A simple copy is a scan or photocopy. A certified copy is a copy confirmed as true by an authorised person or body, such as a notary, the issuing university or, in some countries, an embassy. Programmes often accept simple scans at the application stage and ask for certified copies or originals later, at enrolment. Read which version is needed at which stage; it saves money.

Translations

If your documents are not in a language the programme accepts, you will need translations. Programmes may ask for:

• a translation by any qualified translator;
• a certified or notarised translation, where a notary or the translator's certification confirms it;
• a sworn translation made by a translator registered in the destination country, which some countries require.

Translate names exactly as they appear in your passport. Different spellings of the same name across documents, common when names are transliterated from Cyrillic or other scripts, can cause serious delays. Agree one spelling and use it everywhere.

Apostille and legalisation

Some countries ask for proof that a public document, such as a diploma, is genuine. There are two main ways:

• Apostille. Under the Hague Apostille Convention, a competent authority in the country that issued the document attaches a certificate called an apostille. Other countries that are parties to the convention then accept the document without further legalisation. The authority that issues apostilles differs from country to country; it is often a ministry of justice, foreign affairs or education.
• Consular legalisation. If the issuing country or the destination country is not a party to the convention, the document usually goes through a chain of certifications, often ending at the destination country's embassy. This takes longer.

The Hague Conference on Private International Law publishes the list of parties to the convention and the competent authorities in each country. Ask the programme whether it needs the apostille on the original, on the translation, or on both, and in which order.

Recognition of qualifications

Some countries require your foreign degree to be recognised or evaluated before admission, or before a scholarship is paid. This is separate from the apostille. Check the university's admissions page, and look for the national recognition centre of the destination country if it is mentioned.

A timeline that works

• Three months before the deadline: check your passport, request transcripts and the diploma supplement, find out whether you need translations and apostilles.
• Two months before: order translations, book your language test, ask your referees.
• One month before: collect all documents, scan them in good quality and name the files clearly.
• After selection: prepare certified copies, originals and visa documents.

Practical tips

• Scan every document in colour, at a readable resolution, and save it as a PDF.
• Keep a folder with all your documents and their translations, and a list of which programme received what.
• Do not send original documents unless the programme asks for them explicitly.
• Keep receipts for fees; some scholarships reimburse certain costs.

Checklist

• Passport valid for the whole period plus a margin.
• Diploma, transcript (with grading scale) and diploma supplement.
• Translations of the type the programme requires, with consistent name spellings.
• Apostille or legalisation where required.
• Language proof, CV, letter, references and photos.

Related: fully funded and partial scholarships, applying from Central Asia and open scholarships.