Authentication (Apostille or Legalization) and Recognition Statement
Authentication (legalization or apostille) of documents means the affirmation of their authenticity, which gives the legal force outside the borders of the country of issue. The method of legalization depends on the country of origin of your high school diploma.
You should remember that authentication and recognition statements are two different procedures.
Apostille/Legalization must be done in your country (in the country of issue of the diploma) even before enrolling in the Polish-Japanese Academy of Information Technologies.
From 1st July 2025 NAWA Director will issue recognition statements for secondary education certificates confirming eligibility to apply for admission to first-cycle (Bachelor’s) studies, and first-cycle (Bachelor’s) diplomas, confirming eligibility to pursue second-cycle (Master’s) studies.
Recognition statement
Starting from 1 July 2025 the Director of NAWA (Narodowa Agencja Wymiany Akademickiej) will issue confirmations regarding certificates or other documents proving eligibility to apply for admission to first-cycle (Bachelor’s) or long-cycle Master’s studies.
- Holders of certificates issued by countries of the European Union, EFTA, OECD, Ukraine, and China are exempt from the requirement of document recognition by NAWA.
- If a decision for your certificate has already been issued by the Education Office (Kuratorium Oświaty i Wychowania) or the process was initiated before 30 June 2025, it remains valid and does not need to be repeated in the NAWA system.
- From 1 July 2025, it will no longer be possible to submit applications for nostrification to the Education Office.
How the recognition is issued:
- issued within 60 days from the submission of the complete set of documents via the SYRENA System,
- issued exclusively in electronic form as a PDF document signed with a qualified electronic signature,
- the decision is issued in Polish,
- the procedure is free of charge.
Before submitting an application, please read the SYRENA System User Manual
Secondary School Certificate Recognition
Required documents:
- Secondary school certificate granting the right to continue education, for which the confirmation is requested,
- Transcript / supplement / annex to the above-mentioned certificate – if issued,
- Previous document – an earlier certificate of school completion,
- Sworn translations of all the above documents (not required for documents issued in English, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, or Belarusian),
- Identity document (passport),
- Document confirming a change of surname (if applicable),
- Declaration of parents/legal guardians (for underage applicants) (Declaration-EN),
- For refugees – a document confirming refugee status.
Bachelor’s / Master’s Diploma Recognition
Required documents:
- Diploma for which the confirmation is requested,
- Transcript / supplement / annex to the above-mentioned diploma,
- Previous document – the one that served as the basis for admission to studies,
- Transcript / supplement / annex to the previous document (if applicable),
- Sworn translations of all the above documents (not required for documents issued in English, German, Spanish, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, or Belarusian),
- Identity document (passport),
- Document confirming a change of surname (if applicable),
- For refugees – a document confirming refugee status.
The recognition procedure is obligatory for all documents except issued in the following countries:
- certificates issued in countries with which Poland has signed bilateral agreements concerning the recognition of education (China, Ukraine);
- EU countries, EEA, EFTA, OECD ( Austria, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States).
- IB diplomas (International Baccalaureate) issued by International Baccalaureate Organization in Geneva
- EB diplomas (European Baccalaureate) issued by European Schools
Apostille
The Apostille is a special sign on the official documents issued by the institutions and organizations of the countries-members of “The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents”. It specifies that the document issued in one of the signatory countries can be certified for legal purposes in all the other signatory states. Depending on the country, the apostille can be done in a High Court, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, etc.
The seal «Apostille» is placed only on the original documents of the state sample.
Apostille is required for the documents issued in: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Chile, China, China (Hong Kong), Colombia, Georgia, India, Israel, Kazakhstan, Republic of Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Morocco, Mexico, Mongolia, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkey, Uzbekistan, etc.
The complete list of the countries-members of The Hague Convention can be found at the official website.
Poland has signed an agreement abolishing or simplifying the document legalization procedure, you do not need apostilization for the documents from the following countries:
- EU countries (Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Greece, Holland, Ireland, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Latvia, Malta, Germany, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Hungary, Italy);
- EEA countries (Iceland, Norway, Liechtenstein, Switzerland);
- other countries (Belarus, Ukraine, Great Britain, Canada, Australia, the United States).
Legalization
Legalization means the authenticity of signatures on the documents and seals of competent state authorities in case you want to submit and give the legal force to your documents in a foreign country. It is similar to Apostille. But it is used for the affirmation of documents issued in the countries-no-members of the Hague Convention (Bangladesh, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Cameroon, Vietnam, Nigeria, Zimbabwe, etc).
This method of legalization is valid for all countries that are not listed in the link.
The legalization can be done by:
- Polish consul in the country where the certificate was issued or in the country in which educational system a school operates;
- educational authorities in the country where a certificate was issued or in the country in which educational system a school operates;
- an embassy or consulate of the country where a certificate was issued or in the country in which educational system a school operates located in Poland or in other EU, EFTA or OECD country;
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