International students in Georgia: documents from enrolment to the diploma apostille

What documents do you need for admission?

As a rule, an international applicant is admitted to a Georgian university without sitting the Unified National Examinations. This route is governed by Order No. 224/n of the Minister of Education and Science of 29 December 2011. Applications are received by the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement (NCEQE), a public body within the Ministry of Education system which, among other things, assesses education obtained abroad. The centre passes the package to the Ministry, and on the basis of the complete documents and the university's consent the Minister takes a decision, after which the university can enrol you.

According to the centre's official page, the application must include:

• School-leaving certificate and transcript of grades. A copy of the document confirming complete general education, with its supplement or transcript of grades, and its notarised Georgian translation.
• Proof of the last two years. A document showing that you studied the last two years of school abroad.
• Passport. A copy of every page of your citizenship document, including the blank pages.
• University consent. Written confirmation from your chosen university that a place is available.
• Fee receipt and, if someone else submits the application on your behalf, a power of attorney.

As of 12 October 2026, the centre usually completed its review within one month, or within 15 working days under the expedited procedure, each with its own fee; check the current fee on eqe.ge before applying. The university's international office often assembles the package, but you are still responsible for the accuracy of the translation: if your name is spelled differently in the translation of your school certificate, that spelling may later carry over to your student card, your residence permit and even your diploma.

Does your school-leaving certificate need recognition and an apostille?

Recognition of general, vocational and higher education obtained abroad is also NCEQE's responsibility. The documents for this service are an application, an identity document (for a foreign national, a copy of the passport with a notarised translation), a notarised translation of the education document, a power of attorney where needed, and a payment receipt. The centre states plainly that the Georgian translation of any foreign-language document must be notarised.

In Georgia, notarisation works like this: a translator translates the document, and a notary certifies the translator's signature and binds the translation together with a copy of the original. We do this work through our notarised translation service; before you order, we will tell you from which languages and within what time frame we can prepare a Georgian translation.

As for an apostille on a foreign school certificate: the centre's official pages mention only a notarised translation in the requirements for admission and recognition. So before you leave your home country, ask the university in writing whether it or the centre requires an apostille on your school certificate. Getting an apostille at home is far simpler than sending the document back later.

What documents do you need during your studies?

The most important document during your years of study is the study residence permit. It is issued by the Public Service Development Agency (PSDA), which is part of the Ministry of Justice system and provides its services at Public Service Halls, the one-stop centres for public services. According to the agency's page, this permit is granted to an adult to study a higher education or vocational programme at an authorised educational institution.

To apply for the permit you need an application in the prescribed form, a copy of your travel document, proof that you are legally present in Georgia, a certificate from the educational institution confirming your enrolment and the expected length of study, proof of lawful income or of sufficient funds in a bank account, an electronic photograph and a fee receipt. The application must be submitted at least 40 calendar days before your period of legal stay expires. If your proof of income comes from your home country, for example a bank letter from a parent, check with the agency in advance how it must be translated and certified.

2026 changes affecting international students

On 25 June 2026, Parliament adopted at the third reading, by 81 votes, amendments to the Law of Georgia on the Legal Status of Aliens and Stateless Persons. According to Parliament's official announcement, an international student must present a language proficiency certificate recognised by the Government of Georgia on enrolment and must earn at least one third of the mandatory credits in each academic year. The study residence permit may be revoked if the student's status has been suspended for more than 90 days or if the student has stayed outside Georgia for more than 183 days without a valid reason.

The announcement does not give a date of entry into force, so until the new rules are fully in effect, ask your university how they apply to students who are already enrolled. One practical conclusion can be drawn now: keep the documents that prove long stays abroad, academic leave or illness, because they are exactly what will establish a valid reason.

Other documents build up during your studies too: a certificate of student status for a bank, a scholarship or an embassy, semester transcripts, certificates for clinical rotations. Keep electronic copies of them in one folder. Some countries, India for example, require the whole course of study to be completed at one and the same institution, so before you think about changing university, read our guide for Indian students.

What do you receive on graduation, and what should you check?

When you complete a medical programme, the university issues a diploma and a diploma supplement (transcript). The supplement shows the subjects, credits, grades and the volume of the programme, so foreign regulators study it no less closely than the diploma itself. Before you take the documents for an apostille, check three things: your first name and surname are spelled exactly as in your passport; the start and end dates of your studies are correct; and every page of the supplement bears a signature or stamp, if the university's format provides for this.

NCEQE also offers a separate service: confirming the authenticity of a Georgian education document. The centre establishes whether the person completed the programme in full or in part and whether a qualification document was issued to them. You need an application, a notarised copy of the document, a copy of your identity document, a power of attorney where needed and a receipt; for an additional fee, the decision is also issued in Georgian and English. This is useful when a foreign authority asks for official confirmation from the Georgian side, but it does not take the place of an apostille.

NCEQE appears on the World Federation for Medical Education (WFME) list as a recognised accrediting agency, with its status valid until October 2028. How much this matters for you is for the regulator of the receiving country to decide; country-by-country requirements are described in our diploma recognition guide.

How is an apostille placed on a Georgian diploma?

An apostille is the certification established by the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention: it confirms that the signature and seal on the document are genuine, but does not assess the content of the document. Georgia has three competent apostille authorities, and for education documents the decision is taken by NCEQE. A university cannot put an apostille on its own diploma; and a notarised copy is not essential, because Government Resolution No. 405 of 2016 also allows the original to be certified.

1. Preparing the original

   Collect the original diploma and supplement and check that every page is signed and stamped. Decide which document each country needs, because sometimes two sets are required.

2. Submission at the Public Service Hall

   You submit the education document to the Public Service Development Agency, in person or through a representative holding a power of attorney. The agency forwards it to NCEQE through its electronic system.

3. NCEQE check

   The centre compares the signature and seal with the specimens on file and issues a positive or negative decision. According to the Hague Conference, for an education document this takes 10 working days.

4. Translation after the apostille

   Once the apostille has been placed, have the diploma, the supplement and the apostille itself translated, so that the recipient can read every element.

The fee depends on the processing time and changes from time to time, so you can find out the current rate at the Public Service Hall or from us. If the receiving country is not a party to the Hague Convention, legalisation is needed instead of an apostille; you can check this with our “Apostille or legalisation?” tool, and our apostille service can handle the whole procedure on your behalf.

Into which language, and by whom, should the diploma be translated?

The language and form of the translation are set by the country where you will present your diploma. One country accepts an English-language document without translation, another recognises only a translation by a sworn translator in its own territory, and a third also accepts a translation notarised in Georgia. So before translating, obtain the written requirement of your regulator or recognition centre and send it to us: we prepare the document exactly according to it.

A few rules work for every country. Your first name and surname are written in the translation in the Latin form shown in your passport, not by ear. The name of the qualification is rendered as in the original, and its equivalence is determined by the authority of the receiving country. Credits and hours are carried over in figures, unchanged, and the text of the apostille is translated too. Our education documents translation page tells you more about translating a diploma and supplement, and the Translation price calculator shows the estimated cost.

What if you have already left Georgia?

Many students go home straight after graduation and only discover they need an apostille when the regulator asks for documents. The easiest route is to start the apostille and translation before you leave Georgia: you have the original at hand, the university is close by, and correcting an error takes a day rather than months.

If you have already left, a representative in Georgia can submit the document on your behalf. This requires a power of attorney, which abroad is usually executed at a Georgian consulate or before a local notary and then certified with an apostille or legalisation. Our remote power of attorney service explains how the text should be drafted and how it should reach Georgia. Some NCEQE services are also available on my.gov.ge, but they require a Georgian ID card and an electronic signature, so for an international graduate the representative route is usually the one that remains.

The most common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Different spellings of your name. Your surname is spelled differently in the translation of your school certificate, your residence permit and your diploma. Check this as soon as you enrol and show the university the spelling in your passport.
• An apostille on a copy nobody needs. The recipient often asks for the apostille on the original. Read the requirement first, then choose between the original and a certified copy.
• Translating before the apostille. If the translation was done before the apostille was placed, the apostille text will not be in it and you will have to have it translated again.
• Missing the residence permit deadline. The application must be lodged 40 calendar days before your stay expires; do not leave it until the last week.
• Forgetting the supplement. A diploma without its supplement is rarely enough, especially in medicine, where hours and clinical subjects are counted.
• Starting too late. The apostille processing time, the translation and postal delivery take several weeks, and the application deadline in your country will not move.

Solidaroba.ge is a private service provider; it is neither a state agency nor a representative of any university. Our job is to prepare your documents: the apostille under a power of attorney, translation into the language you need, notarisation and postal delivery of the finished package. We can communicate in English and Russian, and in other languages through an interpreter.

Frequently asked questions about international students' documents