Legalization guidelines

Your documents and their translations require an apostille. The state in which your documents were issued is a member of the Hague Conference and has ratified the Apostille Convention.
The apostille is issued by the competent authority designated by each state that has ratified the Apostille Convention.  
Only official documents can have an apostille attached to it. Each contracting state defines which documents are regarded as official and which as private. Private documents must be certified by the appropriate authority before being legalized by apostille. The authority must certify the authenticity of the signature of the person who has issued the document.

Please note:

• For verification purposes we only accept apostilles issued from the South African Department of Foreign Affairs/Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO): https://dirco.gov.za/consular-notarial-services/
  Apostilles issued by the courts (e.g. High Court) and other public authorities will not be accepted (exception: translations).

• The apostille must be affixed to the original document or on an attached page.

• The apostille must confirm the authenticity of the signature of the person who has issued the document. We do not accept documents that are certified to be a true copy of the original document.

Translation guidelines

You can present your documents either in German or in English. If the documents were issued in a language other than German or English, they have to be translated by an officially certified court interpreter.

Please note:

• The original document must include all required legalization stamps before it is translated.

• All stamps/seals and legalization notes on the document (front and back) must be translated as well. The apostille itself does not need to be translated.

• The translation must be permanently attached to the original document by the interpreter.

Required procedure for translations done in Austria:

1. Legalization of the original document by means of an apostille from DIRCO

2. Translation of the legalized original documentClick here for a list of all Austrian certified court interpreters (in German)

 

Required procedure for translations made in South Africa and verified by the High Court:

1. Legalization of the original document by means of an apostille from DIRCO

2. Translation of the legalized original document

3. Legalization of the translation attached to the original document by means of an apostille from the High Court