Information for college applicants with a foreign graduation certificate

A secondary school graduation certificate obtained in a country other than Poland may be the basis to apply for admission to the university, provided that it entitles to pursue studies in the issuing country and has been legalized for legal circulation by the relevant state authorities.

Information on the legalisation of educational documents
Secondary school graduation certificates and higher education diplomas obtained outside Poland, excluding the International Baccalaureate (IB) diploma and the European Baccalaureate (EB) diploma, must have  an apostille if the country issuing the document is covered by the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents drawn up in The Hague on 5 October 1961 (Journal of Laws of 2005, No. 112, item 938), and otherwise must be legalised.

Apostille– is a certification under the 1961 Hague Convention. authenticating documents for use in foreign countries. It is a certification of the authenticity of the document. Simply put, an apostille is a certificate of conformity that is attached to another document so that it can be used abroad. „Apostille” certifies the authenticity of the signature, the nature in which the person signing the document is acting and, if necessary, the identity of the seal or stamp on the document.

With regard to foreign documents, in most European countries, the formal bodies issuing the apostille are the Ministries of Foreign Affairs or Ministries of Education of the country which delegate issuing of the apostille to local offices for ease of accessibility.
If you are the holder of a document issued in one of the countries listed below you should contact one of the institutions authorized to issue an apostille:

Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi, China (Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong, Macao), Chile, Croatia, Cyprus, Montenegro, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, Philippines, France, Greece, Grenada, Georgia, Guatemala, Guyana, Spain, Netherlands, Honduras, India, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Colombia, Korea (Republic of Korea), Costa Rica, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, Morocco, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Namibia, Germany, Nicaragua, Niue, Norway, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, South Africa, Cape Verde, Russia, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia , Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, El Salvador, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, United States, Swaziland, Suriname, Switzerland, Sweden, Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Hungary, United Kingdom , Italy, Cook Islands, Marshall Islands, Sao Tome and Principe.
You can find a list of countries – parties to the convention and addresses of institutions issuing apostilles– https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/authorities1/?cid=41

Legalization –certification of foreign public documents intended for legal circulation in Poland in case the country where the document was issued is not a party to the Hague Convention (Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, drawn up in The Hague on October 5, 1961). Legalization is performed by the Polish consular post in that country. The consular officer legalizes the document by declaring that the document complies with the law of the place where it was issued.

If you are a holder of a document issued in one of the countries listed below, you should legalise it in the Polish diplomatic mission responsible for the given country:

Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, China (excluding Special Administrative Regions: Hong Kong, Macao), Chad, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Ethiopia, Gambia, Ghana, Haiti, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Yemen , Jordan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Qatar, Kenya, Congo, North Korea, Cuba, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mauritania, Mozambique, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Central African Republic, Rwanda, Senegal, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Syria, Taiwan, Thailand, Tanzania, Togo, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Vietnam, Ivory Coast, Zambia, Zimbabwe, United Arab Emirates.
The list of Polish diplomatic missions abroad is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. https://www.gov.pl/web/dyplomacja/polskie-przedstawicielstwa-na-swiecie

In the case of a candidate holding a foreign certificate from an EU, OECD or EFTA country or with which Poland has an international agreement (unless an agreement or educational regulations provide otherwise), a set of documents is required, including
-legalized secondary school graduation certificate (if the foreign secondary school graduation certificate was issued by a school operating in the educational system of a country – party to the Convention abolishing the requirement of legalization, the original certificate (possibly a duplicate) with an apostille placed on it or attached, issued by the competent authority of the country in whose educational system the certificates were issued, shall be submitted. The certificate obtained in Ukraine should be accompanied by the Certificate of Independent External Assessment (ZNO) along with the information sheet for the Certificate of Independent External Assessment,
 – sworn translation of the certificate made by a sworn translator in Poland ( list of sworn translators ),
 -if you want to study medicine, nursing, medical rescue, physiotherapy, dietetics or cosmetology , you must submit a valid certificate of no contraindications to study. It is issued by an occupational medicine physician. In order for the certificate from an occupational medicine doctor to be considered correct, it must meet the following requirements: the doctor performing the examination is certified as an occupational medicine doctor, the address of the University to which the certificate is issued is taken into account, the date of the next examination is marked and a statement that there are no contraindications to study in the chosen field of study, the appropriate stamps of the issuing institution and the occupational medicine doctor must be on the certificate.
-If you want to study medicine, nursing, medical rescue, physiotherapy, dietetics or cosmetology, you will additionally need a certificate for sanitary-epidemiological purposes, which will also be issued by your doctor on the basis of current examination. Such a certificate must contain the name and surname, PESEL, address of residence, name and address of the University, information about the lack of health contraindications to begin studies in the field where there is a possibility of transmitting infection to other people, the date of issuing the certificate and the date of the next examination. The certificate must have 2 stamps: the issuing institution and the examining physician. In the case of a dietetics major, the certificate may contain a statement about the lack of health contraindications – able to work in the process of production and trade of food products.
– an original passport or a notarial copy available on request in the case of a power of attorney,
 -1 colour photograph 35 x 45 mm, taken on a uniform light background, having good sharpness and reproducing the natural colour of the skin, covering the area from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders, so that the face covers 70-80% of the photo, clearly showing the eyes and eyebrows, especially the pupils, and depicting the person in the frontal position, without headwear and dark glasses, looking straight ahead with eyes open and hair uncovered.
– certificate confirming the knowledge of the language of instruction at a minimum level of B1 for studies in Polish, a list of certificates or confirmation of the knowledge of English in the case of an application for studies in English, a list of certificates
 – birth certificate with a sworn translation (applies to candidates from Ukraine, Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan and others who have only the country given in their passport at their place of birth) – original document available on request
 -in the case of having a PESEL number – the decision to grant it – original document available on request

In the case of a candidate holding a certificate from a country not covered by an international agreement or from outside the listed area, the educational system regulations require validation of the certificate held. The set of documents includes:
 -secondary school graduation certificate with the administrative decision of the school superintendent on recognizing the certificate as equivalent to Polish certificates *
 – sworn translation of certificates made by a sworn translator in Poland ( list of sworn translators )
 -if you want to study medicine, nursing, medical rescue, physiotherapy, dietetics or cosmetology , you must submit a valid certificate of no contraindications to study. It is issued by an occupational medicine physician. In order for the certificate from an occupational medicine doctor to be considered correct, it must meet the following requirements: the doctor performing the examination is certified as an occupational medicine doctor, the address of the University to which the certificate is issued is taken into account, the date of the next examination is marked and a statement that there are no contraindications to study in the chosen field of study, the appropriate stamps of the issuing institution and the occupational medicine doctor must be on the certificate.
-if you want to study medicine, nursing, medical rescue, physiotherapy, dietetics or cosmetology, you will additionally need a certificate for sanitary and epidemiological purposes, which will also be issued by a doctor based on current examinations. Such a certificate must contain the name and surname, PESEL, address of residence, name and address of the University, information about the lack of health contraindications to begin studies in the field where there is a possibility of transmitting infection to other people, the date of issuing the certificate and the date of the next examination. The certificate must have 2 stamps: the issuing institution and the examining physician. In the case of a dietetics major, the certificate may contain a statement about the lack of health contraindications – able to work in the process of production and trade of food products.
– an original passport or a notarial copy available on request in the case of a power of attorney,
-1 colour photograph 35 x 45 mm, taken on a uniform light background, having good sharpness and reproducing the natural colour of the skin, covering the area from the top of the head to the top of the shoulders, so that the face covers 70-80% of the photo, clearly showing the eyes and eyebrows, especially the pupils, and depicting the person in the frontal position, without headwear and dark glasses, looking straight ahead with eyes open and hair uncovered.
-certificate confirming the knowledge of the instruction language at a minimum level of B1 for studies in Polish, a list of certificates or confirmation of the knowledge of English in the case of an application for studies in English, a list of certificates

* The decision on the validation of the certificate is issued by the Board of Education at the candidate’s place of residence in Poland or by the Provincial Board of Education in Krakow (competent for the seat of the Krakow Academy) after meeting the necessary formal requirements. IB (International Baccalaureate) and EB (European Baccalaureate) diplomas are exempt from the obligation of validation.
More information on the recognition of foreign education in Poland is available on the website of  The Polish National Agency for Academic Exchange

If you have a foreign Master’s degree, first cycle degree or equivalent …

and you wish to study at the second-cycle studies , the rules for recognizing diplomas of graduation abroad as equivalent to the diplomas obtained in Poland are specified in international agreements.
If the diploma is not covered by any international agreement (i.e. does not comply with the provisions of a given agreement or comes from a country with which Poland has not signed such an agreement), but entitles the holder to continue higher education or to pursue a doctoral dissertation in the country in which the higher education system is operated by the university that issued the diploma, it also entitles the holder to continue education at an appropriate level (second-cycle studies, postgraduate studies or doctoral studies) or to pursue a doctoral dissertation in Poland. The legal basis for the recognition of the diploma is the Act of 20 July 2018. –  Law on Higher Education and Science  (Journal of Laws 2018 item 1668 as amended).

The submitted diploma of graduation together with a supplement must be legalised (if a foreign diploma has been awarded by a higher education institution operating in the educational system of a country that is a party to the Convention abolishing the requirement of legalisation, the original diploma with a supplement must be submitted (or a duplicate/notarial copy) with an Apostille issued by the competent authority of the country in whose educational system the diploma has been awarded:
a sworn translation of the diploma and its supplement made by a sworn translator in Poland (list of sworn translators),
– a statement from  The National Agency for Academic Exchange about the submitted diploma, certifying eligibility to study in Poland.