Apostille
The Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine, by Law No. №2933-III dated 10 January 2002, decided to accede to the 1961 Convention cancelling the requirement of legalization of foreign official documents. For Ukraine, the provisions of the Convention became effective from 22 December 2003.
The legalization of an official document means the examination for its compliance with the applicable laws of Ukraine or the laws of a host state, identification and certification of its validity or a signature thereon, verification of powers of the officer who signed the document or certified the signature above, as well as the validity of the stamp or seal affixed.
The apostille is a simpler and more generalized procedure as compared to the legalization. By acceding to the Convention, Ukraine in the same way released itself from the necessity of consular legalization of documents intended for member states of the Convention. The only formal requirement for official documents to be presented in those countries is that they are to be apostilled by a competent authority of the signatory state.
Apostille is a special stamp affixed to official documents received from member states of the Convention. The apostille certificate is placed on the document itself or on a separate page attached to the document.
In Ukraine, the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine are granted with the right to apostille documents. The Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine is authorized to apostille official documents relating to the field education and science. The Ministry of Justice apostilles documents issued by judicial authorities and courts, as well as documents executed by Ukrainian notaries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, all other types of documents.
The Ministry of Education and Science apostilles official documents on education issued by educational institutions, public authorities, companies, institutions and organizations. Diplomas (academic degree certificates) issued on behalf of the state in the form as effective on the date of their issue and administrative documents such as archive transcripts, curricula, certificates issued by educational institutions, public authorities, companies, institutions and organizations and which documents are pertinent to the field of education and science shall be deemed to be official education documents. Such documents include, in particular, certificates of education, diplomas and diploma supplements, certificates and advanced training certificates and some other documents.