Apostille in Bratislava: Document Apostille and Sworn Translation

Ukrainian and other foreign documents

A Ukrainian document needs an apostille from Ukraine – a Slovak authority cannot issue it. With our own offices at both ends of the route, we file for the apostille directly with the Ukrainian ministries through our own Kharkiv and Kyiv offices and then provide the sworn Slovak translation in Bratislava. No mailing originals, no travel.

For documents from other countries we advise whether an apostille, superlegalisation or a simplified treaty-based regime applies.

What an apostille is and when you need one

An apostille is a single stamp that replaces the whole chain of consular legalisation between the states of the 1961 Hague Convention: it confirms that a public document is genuine and thereby opens it to every member state at once. In Bratislava people look for it in two directions – a Slovak document leaving for abroad, or a foreign document arriving at a Slovak authority.

What lands on the desk most often is a birth or marriage certificate, a criminal-record extract, a diploma with its transcript, a notarial deed or a court decision. Outside the Convention the stamp is not enough and superlegalisation takes over – which of the two regimes governs your destination we establish before anything is filed.

Which Slovak authority issues the apostille

There is no single “apostille counter” in Slovakia – the competent authority depends on the document type: regional courts apostille documents of district courts, notaries and bailiffs in their district as well as official translations and expert opinions; district offices handle civil-registry documents (birth, marriage, death certificates); the Ministry of Education covers education documents; the Ministries of Interior, Health and Defence cover their own sectors; and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs everything else. The administrative fee follows the authority’s tariff.

This is where most mistakes and lost time happen. Send us a scan – we tell you exactly where the document belongs, prepare the filing and provide the sworn translation in one go.

Apostille + sworn translation: the right order

The golden rule runs: apostille the original first, order the sworn translation second – because the translator also translates the apostille clause itself, and that clause has to be in the text. The reverse order looks equally finished, yet the receiving authority sends such a translation back, the stamp being absent from it.

In Bratislava the mistake has a cause of its own: when every central authority sits in one city, popping out for a translation before the stamp feels natural. We hold the order for you – check what the destination institution requires, arrange the apostille, and have the document translated by a sworn translator from the Ministry of Justice register. One order instead of a tour of offices.

How we work

1. 1Send a scan and the country of useA photo or scan is enough, plus one line about where the document is going: the country and the institution decide whether a stamp is needed at all.
2. 2We identify the authority and quoteWe tell you which authority issues the apostille, whether you need one at all, and prepare an exact quote with a deadline.
3. 3Apostille and sworn translationWe obtain the stamp where the document belongs – at a Slovak authority or directly in Ukraine – and a sworn translator renders the document together with its clause.
4. 4Receive the finished setIn person in Ružinov, by post across Slovakia, or electronically.

Prices

• Apostille assistance for a Slovak document the authority’s administrative fee is includedindividual quote
• Apostille on a Ukrainian document arranged directly in Ukraine; state fee includedfrom €25
• Sworn translation of the apostilled document Ministry of Justice-registered translator, apostille clause includedindividual quote

The amounts shown are indicative: the document type and its length decide. The authority’s administrative fee is already inside them, so nothing is topped up at filing. We prepare an exact quote after reviewing the scans – together with an answer on whether your institution truly requires the stamp.

FAQ