Steps to follow to legalize an official Master's degree

One of the questions you may have when you must issue a foreign diploma is: How do you certify a degree? And which are the steps to be taken? We know that every procedure has its difficulty, and sometimes, it is easier than we think. Here are the steps to follow in order to officialise your Master's degree.

Official translation of Master's degree

To make the process of legalisation, your documents issued abroad, must be translated.

Documents issued abroad must be accompanied by an official translation into Spanish, Catalan, or English. There are 3 ways to make an official translate of your Master’s degree, we present them to you:

1. By a sworn translator, duly authorised or registered in Spain.
2. Through any diplomatic or consular representation of the Spanish State abroad.
3. Through the diplomatic or consular representation in Spain of the country of which the person making the application is a citizen, or, of the country from which the document originates.

Documentation issued in a foreign country

The documents issued abroad Spain, it includes translations, must be official and issued by the competent authorities, in accordance with the legal system of the corresponding country and, if necessary, legalized. A certified copy of the original document must be submitted along with the corresponding sworn translation.

Hereunder, the documents that must be legalized are:

1. Academic degrees
2. Academic certificates (all courses that you have taken and passed, the number of hours/credits and the corresponding grades, and the grading system applied must be specified)

Each country has a different procedure

The process to legalize your Master it depends on the country of issue. Let us look at the procedure to be carried out by country:

• Issued in one of the member countries of the European Union and signatories of the agreement on the European Higher Education Area (EHEA)

48 countries are part of the EHEA, of which Spain is a member. In this case, legalisation would not be necessary.

• Issued by countries that have signed the Hague Convention

If the country of issue of the certificate is signatory to the Hague Convention, is sufficient with a single legislation or apostille and signature by the authorities of the country where the document was issued. The apostille must be attached to the document before any certified copy is made.

To obtain the apostille you must follow the following two steps:

1. The process of recognition or legalisation of signatures to the competent body in the field, in most countries this is the Ministry of Education.
2. Apostille, after the diligence, and on the same document. It will be issued by the competent authority.

•  Issued by countries that have signed the Andrés Bello Convention

If the country is not part of the EHEA or Hague Convention, but it is part of the Andres Bello Convention, the documents must be legalised through diplomatic channels. The legalisation must be stated on the document before any certified copy is made.

Here you have the steps to do the achieve legalisation:

1. Signature recognition process. This is emitted by the competent authority of the country that has issued the document, in the case of Spain this would be the Ministry of Education.
2. Legalisation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After obtaining the diligence and on the same document, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or competent authorities will issue the legalisation diligence.
3. Legalisation at the Spanish Consulate/Embassy in the country of issue of the academic documents. The last step is to go to the Spanish Consulate or Embassy in the country where the degree was obtained so that the signature contained in the legalisation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is recognised.

•  Issued in a country that is not a signatory to any of the above conventions

If the country is not part of the EHEA, Hague Convention or Andrés Bello. It is important that the documents are legalised through diplomatic channels. The legalisation must be stated on the document before any certified copy is made.

Let us check at the steps to be taken to achieve legalisation:

1. Signature recognition process. This is emitted by the competent authority of the country that has issued the document, in the case of Spain this would be the Ministry of Education.
2. Legalisation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. After obtaining the diligence and on the same document, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or competent authorities will issue the legalisation diligence.

In Spain, the following authorities are involved in the process:

• Ministry of Education of the country of origin for diplomas and certificates of studies and the relevant ministry for birth and nationality certificates.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where these documents were issued.
• Diplomatic or consular representation of Spain in this country.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation.

We trust we have helped you. Do not hesitate to contact us in case you need a personalised assessment!