Documents for use in Sweden (FAQs)

Documents issued in countries which are signatories to the Apostille Convention can be authenticated for use in Sweden by obtaining an apostille stamp from the authorities of the country of issue. This Apostille stamp should be recognised directly by Swedish authorities as confirming the document’s authenticity. Countries which issue apostilles include Ireland - United States - United Kingdom - India - Hong Kong - France - Germany - South Africa - Brazil - South Korea - Japan

Documents issued in countries which are not signatories to the Apostille Convention must be legalized in the country of issue and additional by the local Swedish embassy or consulate.

Yes - if the issuing country is a member of the Apostille Convention, then an Apostille Stamp issued in the issuing country will be accepted by Swedish authorities.

Submission within the European Union
Certain documents do not require Apostilles for submission to authorities in Sweden when they are issued in another European Union Member State (the receiving authority should accept the original or a certified copy).

When applying for certain public documents, a multilingual standard form may be requested to accompany the original. A multilingual standard form must always be issued and signed by an authority of the EU country where the public document is issued, providing a translation aid designed to help the receiving authority to understand a public document which is in a language not accepted by Sweden.
See: EU Multilingual standard forms

Documents not requiring Apostilles for use in Sweden include birth, death, marriage certificates, absence of a criminal record (a clean criminal record of a citizen of the issuing country), certificates of nationality and residence:
See: Regulation (EU) 2016/1191

Other documents, including academic certificates, still require Apostille certification and certified translation to be valid in Sweden.

Document attestation by Swedish embassies is a procedure to legalize foreign documents that are required for submission to authorities in Sweden or in support of Swedish visa or citizenship applications. Normally the document must be legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the issuing country before being submitted to the embassy for attestation. A certified translation may also be required.

Since Sweden is a member of the Apostille Convention, documents issued by other countries that are signatory countries of the Apostille Convention can be legalized with an Apostille Stamp issued by the competent authority of the issuing country and do not require attestation by a Swedish embassy to use in Sweden.

Check legalization procedures by country

A first option is to carry out a translation of the document in the country of origin. If the country of origin is a signatory to the Apostille Convention, a translation certified under local law can then be authenticated with an Apostille Stamp, giving the translation validity in Sweden.

If the originating country is not a member of the Apostille Convention and does issue Apostilles, a local translation will need to be certified by the originating country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by the Swedish embassy or consulate. The Swedish embassy may require a translation in any case in order to attest the original document. The embassy may have specific requirements for the translation, otherwise in most countries a locally certified, sworn or notarized translation can be authenticated by the originating country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then by the Swedish embassy, making it valid for use in Sweden.