Apostille Ukraine
Apostille for documents from Ukraine – without leaving Poland
We obtain the Apostille for your Ukrainian diploma, school certificate, birth or marriage certificate through a partner on the ground, so you don’t have to travel to Ukraine. An Apostille on a document issued after 2016 costs 550 zł with us, including the official fees in Ukraine and shipping both ways, and the document is usually ready in 10–14 days. It comes in useful when a Polish office, university or employer asks for the document with an Apostille – for a residence card or at the registry office (USC), for example. You send us photos, we handle the case in Kyiv and the document comes back to Warsaw with its Apostille. If you need a sworn translation, we do it here, priced separately from the Apostille. If you don’t have the document to hand, we obtain a duplicate.
We take on every case. If the document cannot be obtained, we refund the prepayment – you pay only for shipping.
An archive in occupied territory, a university that no longer exists, a certificate left behind in a flat – we try anyway. Nobody knows in advance whether an archive was evacuated, and the only way to find out is to file a request. All you risk is the cost of shipping.
/ Check your document
Apostille straight away or a duplicate first
The price and timing depend on when the document was issued and what condition it’s in. You can answer three questions yourself before you write to us – and we still check the photo before quoting, because some documents can’t be apostilled: a faded seal, a torn corner, lamination.
Document to hand, post-2016
A civil status record issued after 2016, a diploma, a school certificate, or a notarial or court document
The Apostille goes on your original. There’s nothing to obtain first – the document travels to Kyiv, gets its Apostille and comes back. It’s the fastest route.
Apostille550,- zł / document
Pre-2016 or Soviet record
A birth, marriage or death certificate issued before 2016 or in Soviet times
Documents like these can’t be apostilled anywhere. First we obtain a new copy from the Ukrainian registry office, then the Apostille goes on it. Two stages and two items in the price – the most common case for clients over thirty.
Duplicate + Apostille1 100,- zł
No document at all
Lost in the move, left behind in your flat, burnt – or never in your hands
All we need is a photo of your Ukrainian internal passport, your tax ID number and your registered address in Ukraine. No power of attorney is needed, either consular or notarial. We obtain a new copy and, if the office in Poland wants an Apostille, we add it straight away – 1 100 zł for the two together.
Obtaining a document550,- zł / document
Prices are final. They include the official fees in Ukraine and shipping both ways by Nova Poshta. A sworn translation into Polish is charged separately at 90 zł per page. “Apostille” and “obtaining a document” sit side by side on purpose: a civil status record issued before 2016 always goes through both stages. For a record issued in 2016, the route depends on the form it was printed on – we’ll tell you once we’ve seen the photo. Every item is in one place – the price list for Documents from Ukraine.
/ The most common order
Diploma, school certificate and the diploma supplement
For recognition (nostrification), university admission or work in your profession, a Polish university or office usually wants the diploma with an Apostille – and almost always the diploma supplement with your grades as well, because it’s a separate document with its own Apostille. The Apostille is issued by the Ukrainian Ministry of Education and Science. You already have the diploma, so there’s nothing to obtain first.
The timing depends on when your diploma was issued. A modern diploma with its supplement usually gets its Apostille within 10–14 days. An old paper diploma with a paper supplement takes longer to process – 1–1.5 months. A Soviet diploma can be done too, without a duplicate, in about a month and a half. It only fails if the university no longer exists, or stayed in occupied territory and its archive wasn’t evacuated – but we try even then, and all you risk is the cost of shipping.
- Diploma or school certificate550,- zł
- Diploma supplement with grades550,- zł
- Diploma + supplement1 100,- zł
For education documents we need your consent to data processing – we send the template with the quote. We do the sworn translation of the diploma and supplement in Warsaw after the Apostille, and charge for it separately at 90 zł per page.
Send a photo of the diploma/ Timing
How long it takes – honestly, no “it depends”
These timings assume offices are working normally. During air-raid alerts and power cuts, offices in Ukraine stop accepting and issuing documents, sometimes for half a day, and the timing shifts. We keep you updated at every stage and let you know as soon as we see a delay.
/ Before you write
What cannot be apostilled
An electronic Apostille from Diia
Polish offices accept only a paper Apostille. If you get an electronic one yourself through the app, you end up with a document a Polish office won’t accept, and lose both money and time. The paper Apostille has to be physically brought to Poland, and that’s exactly what we do.
A laminated document
An Apostille can’t be placed on a laminated document. The way round it is a new copy from the registry office, followed by the Apostille – scenario two.
Pre-2016 records and Soviet documents
These aren’t apostilled anywhere, so they always go through a duplicate. The exception is diplomas: old and Soviet diplomas are apostilled without a duplicate, it just takes longer.
A traffic police certificate
This can’t be obtained on someone else’s behalf. We don’t accept these orders, so that we never have to turn you down halfway through.
Obtaining court documents
These can’t be obtained on someone else’s behalf either. But an Apostille on a court decision you already have – yes, we can get that.
Criminal record certificate
Most clients get it themselves in Diia – it’s the only document you can get there entirely online – and come to us just for the sworn translation. We can obtain it with an Apostille on request.
/ Your originals
Your original in transit – always with a tracking number
Documents travel to Ukraine and back in a single Nova Poshta parcel. You get the tracking number on the day it’s sent and can follow the document both ways. Before sending, we scan every page, and both you and we keep the scan.
Would you rather not part with your only original? In Ukraine a notary can make a certified copy, and the Apostille goes on that instead – just mention it when you ask for a quote. Our liability and complaints rules are set out in the Terms of Service (in Polish).
/ Step by step
Photos first, originals later
- Photos and a description. Through the quote form, send a photo of the document (if you have it) and of your Ukrainian internal passport, plus your tax ID number and your registered address in Ukraine. Tell us what you need the document for in Poland.
- Check and quote. We check the year of issue, the condition of the seal and any lamination, then tell you whether it’s an Apostille straight away or a duplicate first. You get the final price and the timing.
- The original. Hand it over at a meeting in central Warsaw or send it via an InPost parcel locker. If there’s no document, skip this step. No power of attorney is needed.
- Payment up front. You pay once the original reaches us, or after the quote if you don’t have the document. By BLIK, bank transfer or cash. If the document can’t be obtained, we refund the prepayment and you pay only for shipping.
- Ukraine and back. The document travels by Nova Poshta to Kyiv, gets its Apostille (or a duplicate first) and comes back to Warsaw. We keep you updated at every stage.
- Translation and collection. If you need a sworn translation, we translate the document together with its Apostille, charged separately at 90 zł per page. You collect the full set in person or from a parcel locker, ready to submit to the office.
/ FAQ
Frequently asked questions Documents from Ukraine
Does a Ukrainian document actually need an Apostille in Poland?
You’ll find claims online that the 1993 Poland–Ukraine agreement on legal assistance makes the Apostille unnecessary. Some offices do accept a Ukrainian document without one, but voivodeship offices, registry offices (USC) and universities often ask for it, including for a residence card. So check with the office where you’re submitting your documents – and if you do need an Apostille, we’ll get it without you having to travel.
Can I get the Apostille myself through Diia?
You can, but Polish offices don’t accept an electronic Apostille – only a paper one. In Ukraine the Apostille itself is often issued quickly, and our 10–14 days are down to logistics: the paper document has to be submitted, collected and brought to Poland.
Do I need a power of attorney?
No, neither a consular nor a notarial one. To obtain a duplicate, photos taken on your phone and a few details are enough: the old document (if you have it), your internal passport, your tax ID number and your registered address. So you don’t need to book an appointment at the consulate or pay for a power of attorney there.
My birth certificate was issued before 2016. What now?
A certificate like that can’t be apostilled. We obtain a new copy from the Ukrainian registry office (you don’t need to travel or sign a power of attorney) and then get the Apostille on it. It costs 1 100 zł and takes 5–6 weeks in total. It’s not a dead end – just two stages instead of one.
My document is from Donetsk, Mariupol or Kherson. Is it still possible?
It’s possible if the archive was moved to territory controlled by Ukraine – and the only way to find out is to file a request. It takes at least a month and a half, with no guarantee. If the archive hasn’t survived, we refund the prepayment and you pay only for shipping. We take on these cases because you risk nothing but the cost of shipping.
Is the translation included in the price?
No. The 550 zł covers the Apostille, the official fees in Ukraine and shipping both ways. A sworn translation into Polish is charged separately at 90 zł per page. We do it after the Apostille, because the Apostille has to be translated too. It’s all one order, and you get a complete set ready to submit to the office.
It’s cheaper in Ukraine. Why do you charge 550 zł?
Because you’re paying for more than a stamp: we check the document before you pay, keep track of deadlines, send it with a tracking number both ways, refund the prepayment if the archive refuses and answer you in English – and you can hand over the original in person in central Warsaw if you’d rather not give it to a courier. We take the case through to a document that’s ready to submit to the office, not just to the Apostille. If you need a sworn translation, we’ll do it as part of the same order, but it’s charged separately at 90 zł per page.
Which documents from Ukraine are needed for a residence card?
Most often a birth certificate (yours and your children’s), a marriage certificate, and a diploma or school certificate if you’re coming to study or to work in your profession – with an Apostille and a sworn translation. You can usually get the criminal record certificate yourself in Diia, and we translate it. The office lists the documents it needs in its letter (wezwanie) – attach that list to the quote form and we’ll quote for the whole set.
Can I order from a country other than Poland?
Yes, for obtaining the document and the Apostille: the document is prepared in Kyiv and sent by Nova Poshta straight to you, in any EU country. Our sworn translations from Ukrainian into Polish are for Polish offices. If the document is going to an office in another country, ask there what kind of translation they accept.
For questions about Apostilles on Polish documents, see the Apostille page; for translations, Sworn translations; and for handover and payment, Contact.