Requirements vary by university, programme, citizenship and application location. Check the notice for your exact intake before submitting.
Check both countries first
Identify where the document was issued and where it will be used. If both countries are connected by the Convention, the competent authority in the document's country of origin issues the apostille. If either side is not a party, check the consular legalisation chain.
What an apostille proves
An apostille authenticates the signature, the signer's capacity and the seal on a public document. It does not validate grades, diploma content or translation quality. A university may separately require a notarised copy, a Chinese or English translation and the original at registration.
A safe sequence
Do not start blindly: different countries apostille an original, a notarised copy or a separate certification. Obtain the programme's written list first, then check the procedure with your country's competent authority.
- Diploma or expected-graduation certificate.
- Academic transcript.
- Police clearance if the programme requires it.
- Notarised translation as a separate step in the required language.
Common mistakes
The costliest errors are apostilling the wrong document, translating before final certification, inconsistent name spelling and obtaining a time-limited certificate too early. Make a table of document, certification, language, validity and file count.
What to do now
- 01
Check whether the issuing country is a Convention party.
- 02
Obtain the exact programme document list.
- 03
Confirm what receives the apostille in your country.
- 04
Match the name on every document to the passport.