Document Attestation and Apostille for Study Abroad from Bangladesh

Many universities and embassies ask for your certificates to be verified before they accept them. This is attestation, and for some countries an apostille. Students from Bangladesh often leave it to the last minute and then miss a deadline, because the steps run through several offices and each one takes time. Starting early makes this simple.

Attestation and apostille are not the same

Attestation is a chain of stamps from official bodies confirming your document is genuine. An apostille is a single certificate that authenticates a document for use in countries that are part of the Hague Apostille Convention. Whether you need an apostille depends on whether your destination accepts it, so check first.

The usual chain for academic documents

For certificates and transcripts, verification usually moves through a sequence like this, depending on your board and level.

• Verification by your education board or university that issued the document
• Attestation by the relevant education authority or ministry
• Attestation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, or an apostille where it applies
• Where required, a further legalisation or stamp by the destination embassy

Plan time and keep copies

Each step can take days, and offices have their own queues and requirements, so begin weeks before your deadline. Keep several photocopies and scans of every original, and never hand over your only copy. Note that some documents may need a certified translation if they are not in English.

Common mistakes

• Starting too late and missing an admission or visa deadline
• Doing the steps out of order, so a later office refuses the document
• Attesting the wrong document, such as a marksheet instead of the certificate
• Missing a required translation for a non English document
• Assuming an apostille is accepted when the destination does not use it