Diploma Translation in Odesa - online, with apostille and Nova Poshta delivery
Odesa produces two different streams of diplomas, and they are prepared differently. The first is seafarers and graduates of maritime programmes, who need the set in English for a crewing agency. The second is international graduates of Odesa Medical, carrying a doctor's diploma home to a licensing board. We ask which one you are in the first message, because the answer decides both the language and the order of the steps.
From there it is the same for everyone: scans of the diploma and transcript via Telegram, Viber or WhatsApp, the translation, notarisation where needed, the MON apostille filed for you in Kyiv, and the finished wet-stamped original sent by Nova Poshta to Odesa - to a branch, a parcel locker, or a relative's name if you are at sea. Translation from UAH 150 per page, the MON apostille from UAH 950, the state fee already inside. The bureau has no Odesa office: Etalon works from Kharkiv since 2010 and from its Kyiv office.
- Everything happens online and by Nova Poshta - down to the locker near your home, or a relative's name
- Diploma and transcript travel as one set: a crewing agency and a licensing board both read the transcript
- MON/MOH/MFA apostille filed for you in Kyiv - documents do not travel out of region twice
- The sworn (przysięgły) translation for Poland is done by our own translators, not by someone else's queue
- Dedicated track for graduates of Odesa Medical, Maritime, Polytechnic and Mechnikov universities
An apostille on a diploma cannot be obtained anywhere in Odesa - education documents pass only through the Kyiv ministries. We file it; your part is handing the original to Nova Poshta and getting it back already stamped.
How it works with no Odesa office: online + Nova Poshta + apostille filed in Kyiv for you
We have no office in Odesa and will not pretend otherwise: no come-and-see-us, no local pickup, no local apostille. The last one does not exist in the city at all - education documents are apostilled only by the ministry in Kyiv. So the work is remote and starts with a photograph: the diploma and transcript via Telegram, Viber or WhatsApp, and the price and timeline quoted for free.
The finished wet-stamped set goes by Nova Poshta wherever suits you - Tairova, Cheremushky, Kotovskoho, the centre, the suburbs. Odesa orders come with two habits other cities do not have: sending it to a relative's name while you are at sea, and sending the scan first so an employer or crewing agency can check it, with the paper following only after their yes. The apostille we file in Kyiv under a power of attorney, so your diploma does not cross the country twice.
Diploma and transcript: why both documents are translated
The diploma states your qualification in a single line; the transcript (transcript of records) is where that line is opened up - subjects, hours, credits. That is where the receiving side learns what the name of the speciality actually covers. In Odesa the difference is particularly visible: a crewing agency looks for shipboard subjects and sea practice, a foreign licensing board for hours in clinical subjects. The diploma alone answers neither question.
So we translate both documents as one set: the surname strictly as in the passport, subject and institution names identical in the diploma and in the transcript. The English names of Odesa universities are settled - Odesa National Medical University, Odesa National Maritime University, Odesa Polytechnic National University - and a discrepancy between the two documents is enough for the package to come back. The grading scale is presented so the correspondence can be read, without inventing conversions that the Ukrainian diploma does not contain.
Two journeys for Odesa graduates: going abroad and legalising a Ukrainian diploma
The first journey is an Odesa graduate leaving. Polytechnic, Mechnikov University, the Maritime University: the set of documents is usually the same, while the form of translation depends on the country - Poland most often asks for a sworn one, and several German states prefer it done locally. We name that fork before you pay, not after.
The second journey runs the other way: an international graduate of an Odesa university taking a Ukrainian diploma home. Here the destination country decides, not the university. A Hague Convention member means an apostille; a non-member means consular legalisation, which is a different chain and a different timeline. In both cases the order matters more than speed: a translation made before the stamp does not contain its text, and it has to be done again at your expense.
For Odesa Medical graduates: legalising a doctor's diploma for work abroad
The international faculty of Odesa Medical is the largest source of such orders in the city: a graduate goes home and presents a Ukrainian diploma to a licensing board to be admitted to the exam. The difficulty is not the translation but the route: destination countries vary widely, and some are not in the Hague Convention, so consular legalisation replaces the apostille - a longer chain with a different set of steps.
We work the route out for your country in advance and file the documents in Kyiv ourselves. The translation is prepared with medical terminology and the surname in Latin exactly as in the passport: the board compares diploma, transcript and passport against each other, and one difference in spelling is enough for it to read them as papers belonging to different people. Where a double apostille is required, the second stamp goes onto the notarised translation and therefore comes last - we say so from the start.
For Maritime University graduates: seafarer documents in English
Odesa is the country's largest maritime hub, so a separate stream is graduates of Odesa National Maritime University and maritime colleges who need the diploma, transcript, Certificate of Competency (CoC), seaman's record book and STCW certificates translated into English for crewing agencies and shipping companies.
Maritime translation has its own specifics: competence, rank and function titles under the STCW Convention must be translated consistently with the wording in the seaman's identity document and the CoC. We keep a single terminology across the whole package so the crewing agency does not bounce documents over discrepancies. Seafarer document translation into English starts from around UAH 400 per page; the finished package is shipped by Nova Poshta to Odesa or, if needed, as scans for the employer to pre-check.
The Poland corridor: sworn translation and diploma nostrification
For Odesa, Poland is a study destination rather than a work one: polytechnic and Mechnikov graduates go there, maritime specialists almost never do. The university counts credits from the transcript, so a set without it is not examined at all. The diploma needs a MON apostille, and the translation needs whatever form the particular institution names: many accept only a sworn translation, made by a tłumacz przysięgły from the register of the Polish Ministry of Justice.
That translation is produced by our own translators, never passed outside - roughly from UAH 350 per page. In timelines that is what decides: with an intermediary your order waits in someone else's queue. Nostrification itself is run by the Polish university - its own paid procedure and its own decision, which no bureau can guarantee; our part is making sure the package gives it nothing formal to object to.
How we work
- 1Send the scansPhotos or scans via Telegram, Viber or WhatsApp - plus one line about the purpose: crewing, study, a licence back home. The quote and timeline are free.
- 2MON apostille filed in Kyiv for youIf an apostille on the original is needed, we file it in Kyiv under a power of attorney ourselves; your presence in the capital is required at no step.
- 3Translate the setWe translate the whole set, the surname as in the passport. For Poland we produce the sworn translation in-house where needed; for crewing, an English set with consistent terminology.
- 4Nova Poshta delivery to OdesaScans for checking go out immediately, the paper by Nova Poshta to Odesa or to whichever address you name.
Prices
- Diploma translation per pagefrom UAH 150
- Transcript translation (grades supplement) per pagefrom UAH 150
- Notarisation of translation per documentfrom UAH 250
- Sworn translation (Polish) per page, in-house translatorfrom UAH 350
- Seafarer document translation (EN) per page, STCW/CoCfrom UAH 400
- MON apostille on diploma state fee includedfrom UAH 950
- Nova Poshta delivery to Odesa at carrier ratesfrom UAH 80
Bureau rates are minimums ("from") and already include the authority state fee - there is nothing to pay when the document is filed. Legal entities are charged a higher authority rate, so their total is higher. We quote the final amount for free after reviewing your scans.
FAQ
Do you have an office in Odesa where I can drop off my diploma?
No, and it changes nothing: the bureau has no Odesa office, we work from Kharkiv and Kyiv. The whole exchange runs on scans and Nova Poshta, down to the locker near your home. If you are at sea, we send the original to a relative's name - for Odesa orders that is routine.
Can the apostille be placed on a diploma in Odesa?
Nowhere in Odesa: education documents are apostilled only by the relevant ministry in Kyiv. We file under a power of attorney, so there is neither a trip to the capital nor a second shipment of your document across the country.
Do I need to translate the transcript, or is the diploma alone enough?
The transcript is needed in almost every case: without it the speciality stays a single line, while the receiving side needs subjects and hours. Exceptions are named by whoever accepts the documents, not by us - if you were told in writing that the diploma alone is enough, send us that wording and we will do as asked.
I am a foreign Odesa Medical graduate - how do I legalise my doctor's diploma for my country?
You usually need a MON apostille on the diploma (sometimes the transcript too), then a professional translation into your country's language, and for non-Hague countries consular legalisation. A double apostille is often required: on the original and on the notarised translation. We file the apostille for you in Kyiv and prepare the translation with correct medical terminology, telling you the right sequence in advance.
Do you provide a sworn diploma translation for Poland?
Yes - the sworn (przysięgły) translation is done by our own translators and never leaves the bureau, roughly from UAH 350 per page. The difference shows in the timeline: with an intermediary your order sits in someone else's queue. Nostrification, though, is run by the Polish university, and the decision is theirs.
Do you translate seafarer documents for crewing agencies?
Yes. We translate into English the diploma and transcript of Maritime University graduates, the Certificate of Competency (CoC), seaman's record book and STCW certificates, keeping a single terminology across the whole package so crewing agencies do not bounce documents over discrepancies. From around UAH 400 per page, delivered by Nova Poshta to Odesa.
How much does a diploma translation with apostille cost and how long does it take?
Translation is from UAH 150 per page, the transcript counted separately; notarisation from UAH 250. The MON apostille is from UAH 950 with the state fee included. Translating the set usually takes 1-2 business days; the MON apostille officially takes up to a few weeks. We confirm the exact amount and timing for free after reviewing your scans.
How will I receive the finished documents in Odesa?
The finished stamped translation (with apostille if ordered) is shipped by Nova Poshta to your branch or parcel locker in Odesa. If you wish, we first send scans of the finished translation for review, so you can confirm the data is correct before we dispatch the original.
Updated: 2026-10-13
