Documents for working abroad
For a work visa or employment abroad you are usually asked for an educational diploma with an apostille and a translation, a criminal record certificate and your international passport. Where the qualification is subject to official recognition — doctors, engineers, teachers — a separate recognition procedure in the country of employment is added.
Needed almost always
- usually no more than 3–6 months old on the application date Order it close to the visa application date: many countries accept one no more than 3–6 months old Route
- Required for skilled worker visas and wherever the profession is formally recognised Route
- A passport is not apostilled; a copy of the photo page is needed
- Prepared by the employer; no apostille, but a translation is often needed for the immigration service
Often requested
- Prepared by the applicant; no apostille or certified translation needed
- The form and number depend on the employer and the profession
- The list of examinations is set by the consulate or the employer; there is no single standard
- Needed where a visa is also being arranged for a spouse or partner Route
- Needed when moving with children, for their visa or residence permit Route
Sometimes needed
The validity of the criminal record certificate is what people forget. Russian law sets no expiry, but consulates and employers usually accept a document no more than three to six months old, so it is worth ordering it close to the visa application rather than early with everything else. The second common gap is the translation of the employment contract sent by the employer: without it the immigration service does not always accept the file.
The final list, the translation requirements and whether the diploma needs recognition are set by the employer and the immigration service of the particular country. What follows is a guide, not a guaranteed list for any vacancy.
Germany almost always requires formal recognition of the diploma (Anerkennung) through the state authority and a sworn translation for work visas, including the Blue Card. The Gulf states — the UAE, Qatar, Kuwait — use consular legalisation through the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and their embassy rather than an apostille, followed by attestation of the document on arrival. In the Eurasian Economic Union (Kazakhstan, Armenia, Belarus) and parts of the CIS documents are often accepted without an apostille under intergovernmental agreements, yet employers ask for a criminal record certificate almost everywhere. For regulated professions — medicine, teaching, engineering — the apostille and translation of the diploma are only the first step; recognition by the relevant authority follows separately.
Questions
Does an employment record book need an apostille to prove length of service abroad?
Can one criminal record certificate serve both for the visa and for the employer?
Is an apostille needed on the diploma if the profession is not regulated in the country?
What if the university has been renamed or reorganised since the diploma was issued?
We can prepare the whole set
Translation, copies, apostille and legalisation for every document on the list, with courier delivery across Russia.