DFA Logo

This content from the
Department of Foreign Affairs
has now moved to Ireland.ie/vienna. If you are not redirected in five seconds, click here.

Skip to main content

Please be advised that the Embassy of Ireland, Austria website has moved and this page is no longer being updated. The Embassy website is now available at Ireland.ie/vienna.

Methods

How we authenticate documents

Apostille

An Apostille is a certificate issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade verifying the genuineness of the signature and/or seal of a public officer, on a public document. An Apostille may be required if you wish to use an Irish document in a country which has acceded to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents.

An Apostille can only be applied to a document by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. This function cannot be carried out by Irish Diplomatic or Consular officers abroad.

Legalisation

A document may need to be Legalised if it is for use in a country which has not acceded to the Hague Convention. Legalisation is a more complicated process in which a document must:

  1. Be authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade in Ireland, and,
  2. Be authenticated by the diplomatic or consular mission accredited to Ireland of the country in which you wish to use the document