Documents: legalisation and translation

Egypt is not an Apostille state: Foreign Ministry pre-authentication, then Embassy legalisation.

Chain

1. Egyptian issuing authority (university, ministry of education, civil registry).
2. Pre-authentication by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which certifies the issuing authority's seal. The exact counter, fee and sequence (for example attestation by the Ministry of Higher Education first for diplomas) were not found in an official source.
3. Legalisation by the German Embassy in Cairo (leaflet). The fee is 31 € per document, paid in cash in EGP. Regularly the documents are submitted via TLScontact, which charges an additional 5 € service fee. The Foreign Ministry pre-authentication may be at most 1 year old. The honorary consulate in Alexandria accepts documents only for the districts Alexandria, Beheira, Dakahliya, Damietta, Gharbiya and Kafr El Sheikh.
4. Translation into German by a translator recognised by the Embassy or admitted at German courts; check whether the receiving office wants it before or after legalisation.

Which documents

• Thanaweya Amma certificate (school leaving certificate), transcripts and diploma for study and recognition.
• Birth and marriage certificates for family routes.
• Employment references for skilled-worker routes (§ 6 BeschV, § 18g AufenthG).

Check before you start

• Not every office needs a legalisation. uni-assist, the recognition body and the Embassy each state which copy they require.
• Do not forge or alter anything. A forged document leads to refusal and can lead to an entry ban under § 11 AufenthG.
• Recognition of foreign qualifications: Recognition, anerkennung-in-deutschland.de.