Legalisation of foreign documents of education
Legalisation is the certification of a document’s formal conformity with the law binding in the place of its issue or of the authenticity of the seals and signatures placed on the document. Legalisation of a document by the relevant authorities in the country in which it was issued increases its credibility.
A. Legalisation with Apostille
If a country in which a given document was issued is a party to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, concluded in The Hague, the document’s legalisation is replaced by an Apostille certificate attached to it. The list of countries – parties to the Convention and the institutions authorised to issue the Apostille is available here:
https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/authorities1/?cid=41
B. Normal Legalisation
If a country in which a given document was issued is not a party to the aforementioned Convention, the document’s legalisation remains the responsibility of a Polish consular office in that country. Depending on the type of a document, Polish consular offices will use one of the three categories of legalisation clauses: full legalisation, standard legalisation, authentication.
More information about legalization or apostille is available here: https://nawa.gov.pl/en/apostille-and-legalization/apostille-or-legalization-what-do-i-need
The list of Poland's missions abroad is available at: www.msz.gov.pl/en
Translation by a sworn translator
All official documents issued abroad should be translated into Polish by:
· a Polish sworn translator registered on the list of translators published by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Poland
The list of Polish sworn translators may be found here:
· the consul of the Republic of Poland in the country in which documents were issued
· a person registered as a sworn translator in an EU member state, an EFTA member state, an EEA member state, or an OECD member state.
· an accredited diplomatic representative to Poland, or the consular office of the country in whose territory, or within whose educational system the documents in question were issued
Recognition of secondary-school certificate
Enrollment for the 1st degree studies is carried out on the basis of graduation certificate of secondary education (foreign certificates can be recognized by law or on the basis of a proper international agreement or the decision of recognition issued by the Board of Education in Poland).
Secondary education and entitlement for enrollment for studies in Poland are confirmed by:
1. Certificates and other documents issued by school or educational institution functioning in the education system of European Union member countries, Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member countries, European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member countries – parties of the agreement of European Economic Area (EEA), which enable enrollment for studies in this countries.
It applies for certificate of secondary education in the following countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Great Britain, Hungry, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lichtenstein, Lithuania, Luxemburg, Malta, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey, USA.
2. Certificates IB (International Baccalaureate) issued by the International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva.
3. Certificates EB (European Baccalaureate) issued by the European Schools, according to the Convention defining the Statute of the European Schools, issued in Luxemburg on 21st of June 1994 (Journal of Laws from 2005, No 3, item 10).
4. Certificates included in the international agreements:
https://www.archiwum.nauka.gov.pl/uznawanie-wyksztalcenia/akty-prawne.html#Umowy_miedzynarodowe
The Candidate who does not possess any of the above mentioned documents is obliged to make an official recognition (“nostryfikacja”) of his/her secondary-school certificate.
The “nostryfikacja” is done by the Board of Education, more information you will find at: https://kuratorium.krakow.pl/recognition-of-certificate-issued-abroad/
Procedure of recognition of the document
Recognition certificates were issued by the Board of Education to 30th of March 2015, now the Board of Education issues the decisions of recognition of the document issued abroad.
More information about the Recognition of Academic Qualifications may be found:
- on the website of the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education:
https://nawa.gov.pl/en/recognition/recognition-for-academic-purposes
- on the ENIC-NARIC network website: http://www.enic-naric.net/
Health insurance:
All foreign students are required to hold disease and accident insurance in the territory of Poland. Two options are available:
- insurance from Narodowy Fundusz Zdrowia (the National Health Fund) , NFZ, ul. Batorego 24, Kraków,
- a policy from an insurance company based in Poland.
In respect of EU citizens, their European Insurance Health Cards are deemed valid.
Legalization of stay:
All foreign students who wish to study in Poland are required to legalize their stay .
- The citizens of the EU and Switzerland are only required to register their stay;
- Non-EU foreigners must hold an entry visa or a temporary stay permit.
