Guide
How to Apostille Your Documents for a Korean University: Step by Step, by Country
To apostille documents for a Korean university, you take your original diploma and transcripts to your country's designated apostille authority, which attaches a certificate verifying the signatures and seals. If your country is not in the Hague Apostille Convention, you do consular legalization instead, ending at the nearest Korean embassy. Then you add a certified Korean or English translation.
This is the step that quietly sinks strong applicants. Your grades are fine, your essays are written, and then the deadline arrives while your diploma is still sitting at a government office waiting for a stamp. Authenticating your documents (apostille or consular legalization) is slow, it is country-specific, and it cannot be rushed at the end. Here is exactly how it works and the order to do it in.
- Apostille verifies who signed a document, not what it says. It is a standardized certificate that makes your home-country diploma and transcripts officially recognizable in Korea.
- Two routes, decided by your country. If your country is in the Hague Apostille Convention, you get a single apostille. If it is not, you do multi-step consular legalization that ends at a Korean embassy or consulate.
- You also need a certified translation into Korean or English. Some universities want the translation notarized or apostilled too.
- Start four to eight weeks ahead. Getting official originals, the apostille or legalization, and the translation stacks up. This is the longest lead-time item in most applications.
- Confirm the exact list with your university and NIIED. Required documents and acceptance rules differ by school, by scholarship, and sometimes by selection round.
What an apostille actually is
An apostille is a certificate that one government attaches to a public document so another government will accept it as genuine. It confirms that the signature, seal, or stamp on the document is authentic. It does not say anything about whether the contents are true or whether your degree is any good. It just closes the "is this a real document from a real office" question.
It exists because of the Hague Apostille Convention, an international treaty. When both your country and Korea are members, a single apostille from your country's designated authority is enough. Korea has been a member since 2007, so the question is only ever about your country.
Step 0: is your country in the Convention?
Everything downstream depends on this one fact, so check it first. The Hague Conference (HCCH) publishes the official, current list of member states. If your country is on it, you are on the apostille route. If it is not, you are on the consular legalization route.
A few countries have joined recently or are joining soon, so do not rely on a forum post from two years ago. Check the official status table, linked in the sources at the foot of this guide, and confirm with your local Korean embassy.
Which documents need this
For a Korean university or scholarship application, the documents that usually need an apostille or legalization are the ones issued by a school or a government:
- Your diploma or degree certificate (high school for undergraduate, bachelor's or master's for graduate study).
- Your academic transcripts.
- Proof of citizenship or a birth certificate, and for some scholarships your parents' documents (common for GKS, which uses these to confirm you and your parents are not Korean citizens).
Your bank balance certificate for visa financial proof is issued fresh by your bank and usually does not need an apostille, though some consulates want it on official letterhead. That is a separate requirement covered in the D-2 student visa guide.
The step-by-step process
This is the apostille route, which is what most applicants use. If your country is not a Convention member, replace the single apostille in step 4 with the consular legalization chain described under "If your country is not a member" below. Every other step is the same.
How to apostille your documents for a Korean university
Get your exact document list
Ask each university (and NIIED, if you are applying for GKS) precisely which documents they need, in what form, and whether they accept an apostille, a consular confirmation, or sealed originals sent directly by your school.
Obtain official, recent originals
Request fresh official copies of your diploma and transcripts from your school or the issuing authority. Some offices issue documents specifically prepared for apostille. Recently issued originals avoid problems with old formats or faded seals.
Confirm your country's route
Check whether your country is in the Hague Apostille Convention using the official HCCH status table. If yes, you apostille. If no, you do consular legalization ending at a Korean embassy or consulate.
Apostille (or legalize) the originals
Submit your documents to your country's designated apostille authority and receive the apostille certificate. On the legalization route instead, notarize the document, have your foreign ministry authenticate it, then have the Korean embassy legalize it.
Get a certified translation
Have the documents translated into Korean or English by a certified translator if they are not already in one of those languages. Check whether the university wants the translation itself notarized or apostilled, which is common.
Make clean copies and protect the originals
Scan everything at high quality and keep the apostilled or legalized originals safe. You will often need the physical originals at the visa stage and again when you arrive in Korea.
Submit before the deadline, with extras
Submit by the application deadline and prepare a spare authenticated set. The same documents resurface for the D-2 visa and for university registration after you arrive.
If your country is not a Convention member
You do consular legalization. The chain is longer and each link is a separate trip or mail-in:
- Notarize the document, or get it certified by the issuing school, depending on local rules.
- Authenticate it at your country's foreign ministry (often called the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or MOFA).
- Legalize it at the Korean embassy or consulate in your country. This final stamp is what makes Korea accept it.
Because three offices are involved, this route takes longer than an apostille. Build in extra weeks and start as early as possible.
Country-by-country notes
Rules and competent authorities differ sharply by country, which is exactly why this step is so error-prone. Use the notes below as a starting point, then verify the current process with the linked official source and your local Korean embassy. Each section links the official authority so you can confirm the current rule yourself. We never guess at fees or processing times here, because they change; treat anything specific as "confirm before you rely on it."
China
China joined the Apostille Convention, with it taking effect in November 2023, so mainland Chinese public documents are now apostilled rather than consular-legalized in most cases. Apostilles are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by authorized local Foreign Affairs Offices.
China has an extra layer for academic documents that catches people out. Korean universities and NIIED frequently require verification of Chinese degrees and records through official systems rather than, or in addition to, an apostille:
- CHSI / CSSD (China Higher Education Student Information, the 学信网 portal, run by the Center for Student Services and Development) for verification of enrollment, degrees, and transcripts. CSSD took over degree-certificate verification from the CDGDC (China Academic Degrees and Graduate Education Development Center) in 2022, so you may still see the CDGDC name on older guidance.
- Huikao (会考, the high school academic proficiency examination records) for undergraduate applicants, where the university asks for it.
Check whether your target university wants a CHSI/CSSD verification report, an apostille, or both, because requirements vary by school.
Vietnam
Confirm Vietnam's current Apostille Convention status before you start, because it has been changing. If the apostille route is available for your document type, your documents are apostilled by the designated Vietnamese authority. If it is not yet in effect for your case, use consular legalization: notarize, authenticate at Vietnam's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then legalize at the Korean Embassy in Hanoi or the Consulate General in Ho Chi Minh City. Verify which route applies to you right now with the embassy.
Uzbekistan
Uzbekistan participates in the Apostille Convention, so Uzbek documents are generally apostilled rather than consular-legalized. Education documents are typically apostilled by the relevant ministry responsible for education, and civil documents by the Ministry of Justice. Confirm which body apostilles your specific document, since it depends on who issued it.
Mongolia
Confirm Mongolia's current status and process before you begin. Where the apostille route applies, documents are apostilled by the designated Mongolian authority (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs handles authentication of documents for use abroad). Where it does not, use consular legalization ending at the Korean Embassy in Ulaanbaatar. The embassy is the most reliable place to confirm the current requirement.
Nepal
Nepal is not a member of the Apostille Convention, so there is no apostille. You use consular legalization. In practice this means getting your academic documents verified or attested (for example through the Ministry of Education or your university such as Tribhuvan University), authenticated by Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then legalized by the Korean Embassy in Kathmandu. Confirm the exact order with the embassy, as the academic verification step is specific to Nepal.
India
India is a member of the Apostille Convention. Apostilles are issued centrally by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). For educational documents there is usually a prerequisite step: the document must first be authenticated by the relevant state authority or a designated agency before the MEA apostille is applied. India runs this largely through authorized outsourced agencies, so check the current MEA-approved process for your state and document type before paying anyone.
United States
The United States is a Convention member, so US documents get an apostille rather than consular legalization. The catch is who issues it. School transcripts and diplomas are state documents, so they are apostilled by the Secretary of State of the state where the school is located, not by the federal government. Federal documents go to the US Department of State. Many applicants have the diploma notarized first, so it is the notary's signature that gets apostilled.
United Kingdom
The UK is a member. The FCDO Legalisation Office attaches the apostille, and you can use a paper apostille or an e-Apostille for documents signed electronically by a UK notary or solicitor. Degree certificates and transcripts are routine documents to legalise.
Canada
Canada joined the Convention on 11 January 2024, so Canadian documents are now apostilled rather than consular-legalized. Which office issues the apostille depends on the province: several provinces (for example Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, Quebec, and Saskatchewan) issue their own, while documents from other provinces and federal documents go through Global Affairs Canada.
Australia
Australia is a member. DFAT issues the apostille through the Australian Passport Office in each capital city. Have your education documents ready as originals or properly certified copies.
Germany, France, Singapore, New Zealand, and Ireland
These are all Convention members, so the process is the familiar one: get your diploma and transcripts apostilled by the competent authority, then add a certified Korean or English translation. A few specifics worth knowing: in Germany the competent authority is not uniform and depends on the document and the federal state, and German missions abroad cannot apostille; in France, apostilles have been issued by notaries through an online platform since May 2025; in Singapore the Singapore Academy of Law is the sole authority; in New Zealand the Department of Internal Affairs issues paper or e-Apostilles; and in Ireland the Department of Foreign Affairs runs a walk-in service in Dublin.
| Country | Likely route | Notable detail |
|---|---|---|
| United States | Apostille | State Secretary of State for school documents; US Dept of State for federal |
| United Kingdom | Apostille | FCDO Legalisation Office; paper or e-Apostille |
| Canada | Apostille (since Jan 2024) | Province or Global Affairs Canada, depending on the issuer |
| Australia | Apostille | DFAT, via the Passport Office in each capital city |
| Germany | Apostille | Authority varies by state and document; missions cannot apostille |
| France | Apostille | Issued by notaries via an online platform since May 2025 |
| Singapore | Apostille | Singapore Academy of Law is the sole authority |
| New Zealand | Apostille | Dept of Internal Affairs; paper or e-Apostille |
| Ireland | Apostille | Dept of Foreign Affairs walk-in service |
| China | Apostille (since Nov 2023) | Also CHSI / CSSD academic verification; Huikao for some undergrads |
| India | Apostille | MEA apostille, usually after state-level authentication |
| Uzbekistan | Apostille | Education vs civil documents apostilled by different ministries |
| Vietnam | Confirm current status | Changing, expected around Sept 2026; embassy confirms the route |
| Mongolia | Confirm current status | Confirm with the Korean Embassy in Ulaanbaatar |
| Nepal | Consular legalization | No apostille; academic verification step is specific to Nepal |
Certified translation
If your documents are not in Korean or English, you will need a certified translation. A few practical points:
- Ask the university whether they require Korean, English, or accept either.
- Use a certified or sworn translator, or a recognized translation service. Self-translations are not accepted.
- Check whether the translation itself must be notarized or apostilled. Some universities apostille the original and separately require a notarized translation.
- Keep the translation with its matching authenticated original. They travel together.
What to do next
- Not admitted yet, or still building your shortlist? Run the KoreaAdmit quiz and browse the universities directory to fix your target schools before you spend on stamps.
- See the full paperwork picture in the Korean university application documents checklist.
- Applying for the Global Korea Scholarship? The GKS-U documents guide covers which certificates need apostille or consular confirmation.
- Once you are admitted, the authenticated documents feed straight into your D-2 student visa application.
- Confirm the current rules at the official sources listed below and with your local Korean embassy.