Documents from your country

Apostille for five states, legalisation for Kosovo, multilingual civil-status extracts, translations.

Apostille or legalisation

Germany has applied the Hague Apostille Convention since 1966 (HCCH status table). For public documents from the region this means:

The apostille is issued by an authority of the issuing state, not by the German mission. Which authority is responsible depends on the document; ask the office that issued it.

Kosovo: legalisation by the Embassy

• The Embassy in Pristina states that the Apostille Convention does not apply between Kosovo and Germany, and that Kosovo documents generally must be legalised (Embassy page on legalisation).
• Civil-status certificates (birth, marriage and similar): first a verification stamp of the Kosovo Civil Registration Agency (Ministry of Internal Affairs), originals no older than 6 months; then legalisation at the Embassy, €32 per document, appointment through the Embassy's booking system, return by post or courier only.
• Other documents (for example diplomas) cannot be legalised; at most a verification is possible. Ask the office in Germany that needs the document what it accepts.

Multilingual civil-status extracts (CIEC Convention No. 16)

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia and Germany are parties to CIEC Convention No. 16. Multilingual extracts of birth, marriage and death records from these states are accepted without translation or legalisation. Albania and Kosovo are not parties. Whether a German office accepts the extract instead of a full record in your case, ask that office.

Translations

• German offices want German translations, as a rule by sworn or court-appointed translators. Which translators are accepted is decided by the office that reads the file – recognition bodies can be stricter than the mission. Ask first, then pay.
• The missions want originals plus copies in the order of their checklist. Incomplete files delay the procedure.