Document Recognition for Austria: Legalisation, Translations and Nostrification
Fee figures: catalogue of 6 October 2026.
In Austria there is no central office that recognises your school certificate before you apply. Each university, Fachhochschule or private university checks it itself during admission. Your job is to send documents in the form the institution accepts: legalised where required and translated where needed. This guide explains how that works and where nostrification fits in.
Who decides
- The institution you apply to. Admission to studies is decided by each higher education institution on its own. It checks whether your certificate is equivalent to the Austrian Matura and whether it gives access to the subject you chose. If something is missing, it can admit you on condition that you pass supplementary exams (Ergänzungsprüfungen), often including German.
- ENIC NARIC Austria is not involved in admission. It works within the OeAD and evaluates university degrees for the job market. Its own FAQ says an evaluation is not needed to apply for studies: go straight to the admissions office.
- School certificates for other purposes are handled by the Federal Ministry of Education, which runs a free online assessment service (ASBB).
A useful rule of thumb: your certificate must open the same programme in the country where you got it. Some universities publish extra conditions by country. The University of Vienna, for example, asks for proof of a national entrance exam for several countries, such as the Gaokao for China or the NMT for Ukraine, on top of the school certificate.
What nostrification is, and when you need it
Nostrification (Nostrifikation) makes a foreign school-leaving certificate fully equal to the Austrian Matura. The ministry compares your school years and exams with Austrian curricula and may require additional exams. You can only apply if you need it for a specific purpose, and the ministry usually asks for proof of an Austrian main residence.
You do not need it to apply to a university. The university's own check replaces it. Nostrification matters for things like jobs or training that require an Austrian Matura. The term also appears for foreign university degrees, which universities nostrify, but that concerns graduates, not first-year applicants.
Legalisation: three cases
Which form you need depends on the country that issued the document:
| Country of issue | What you need |
|---|---|
| EU, EEA, Switzerland, and some countries with bilateral agreements (for example Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia) | Nothing |
| Members of the Hague Apostille Convention (for example India, China, Türkiye, Ukraine, the United States) | Apostille |
| Other countries (for example Egypt, Iran, Nigeria, Pakistan, Vietnam) | Full diplomatic legalisation |
Full legalisation means the education ministry and the foreign ministry of the issuing country certify the document, and then the Austrian embassy adds its own over-legalisation. In some countries the embassy also checks documents through trusted lawyers, which can take several months. Lists change, so check the institution's country list before you start.
For a bachelor's programme you normally legalise all pages of your school-leaving certificate, any university transcripts, and the national entrance exam result where one is required. The apostille must confirm the school's signature, not that of a notary or translator. Never detach it from the document. See apostille and legalisation.
Translations
Many institutions accept documents in German or English. Documents in other languages need a translation, usually by a sworn and court-certified translator, fixed to the original or a certified copy so they cannot be separated. Study in Austria adds that translations made abroad must themselves be legalised. For the residence permit the authorities generally want a German translation by a sworn and court-certified interpreter. See sworn translation.
Special cases
- EU, EEA and Swiss certificates need no legalisation. A certificate that gives university access at home is generally enough.
- International Baccalaureate. The issuing country of the IB Diploma counts as Switzerland, wherever you went to school, so no legalisation is needed. The University of Vienna asks for at least 24 points, six subjects including a foreign language and mathematics, and at least three at Higher Level. An IB Certificate is not enough. German taken within the IB counts only as A2 there, not the C1 needed for German-taught programmes.
- School certificates from China need extra checks at the University of Vienna, including the APS certificate from the German embassy in Beijing.
Step by step
- Read the admission page of each programme and the institution's country-specific rules.
- Get an apostille or full legalisation for your certificates, starting months ahead.
- Have them translated if they are not in German or English.
- Scan every page, seals and translations included, and apply online.
- Keep the legalised originals: you may have to show them at enrolment and for the visa.
Where to look next
- How to get into a university in Austria
- How much it costs to study in Austria
- Student visa for Austria
- Student housing in Austria
Official sources
- ENIC NARIC Austria (AAIS): evaluation of degrees and FAQ on study admission
- Study in Austria: application and admission
- University of Vienna: legalisation by country
- University of Vienna: country-specific requirements (in German)
Always check current information on the official website of the university before you apply.