Diploma recognition & apostille in Lithuania

To study or work in Lithuania with a foreign diploma you usually need two separate things: academic recognition of the qualification (so it "counts" here) and, depending on your country, an apostille or legalisation that proves your document is genuine. The path differs sharply for EU, non-EU and Erasmus students.

Recognition vs apostille — what's the difference?

These are often confused, so keep them apart:

• Academic recognition is a decision about what your qualification is equal to in Lithuania (e.g. "this is equivalent to a Lithuanian bachelor's degree"). It is done by SKVC (the Centre for Quality Assessment in Higher Education) or by your university.
• Apostille / legalisation is a stamp confirming that your document is authentic — that the signature and seal on it are real. It is done in the country that issued the diploma, not in Lithuania.

You may need both, one, or neither, depending on your situation.

Do you even need to do this?

Erasmus / exchange students

If you are coming for a semester or two and staying enrolled at your home university, you generally do not need formal diploma recognition — your learning agreement and transcript of records handle credit transfer. Apostille is rarely required for exchange.

Degree-seeking students (applying to a Lithuanian university)

In most cases the university recognises your qualification itself as part of admission — you do not need to contact SKVC first. The university may ask SKVC for advice and can verify your documents. Send your diploma and transcript through the application system and follow the international office's instructions.

You contact SKVC directly only in special cases — for example, refugees and people from conflict zones who cannot provide originals, or qualifications obtained in an unusual way (as of 2026 — confirm on SKVC).

For work, residence or further study elsewhere

If you need recognition for a job, a regulated profession, or a residence permit, SKVC handles it directly through its online portal.

Who is exempt from recognition

Some qualifications are recognised automatically with no procedure:

• Higher education degrees from Latvia, Estonia, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg — under a Baltic–Benelux agreement in force since 1 May 2024.
• European Baccalaureate diploma holders.
• Secondary qualifications issued in Latvia and Estonia since 2019.

If your diploma is not on this list, you go through the standard procedure — but it is still usually free.

How SKVC recognition works — step by step

SKVC handles recognition through its EPE Electronic Recognition Area at epe.skvc.lt (use Chrome or Firefox). The flow is:

1. Register on EPE and confirm your account from the email you receive, then start an application for the relevant service.
2. Upload full-colour scans of the originals: your diploma/degree certificate and the academic transcript or diploma supplement (subjects, grades, credits).
3. Add an official translation if your documents are not in Lithuanian, English or (in some cases) Russian.
4. Follow the country-specific requirements EPE shows you while filling in the form (see the next section) — these decide whether you also need apostilled/attested originals or direct verification.
5. Submit and wait. If SKVC asks for paper originals, processing only starts once those originals arrive; a requested original cannot be replaced by a notarised copy.

How SKVC verifies authenticity

SKVC does not just read your scans — it checks that the qualification is real. It does this in three main ways, depending on your country:

• Apostille or legalisation on the originals (the most common route).
• Attestation by a national authority before submission — for example education-ministry or examination-board attestation in some South Asian countries.
• Direct verification at source — for a handful of countries SKVC requires the awarding body or examinations authority to post the documents directly to SKVC in a sealed envelope, or to email from an official address, so authenticity is confirmed without going through your hands.

Item	Detail
Where	EPE portal — epe.skvc.lt
Cost	Free of charge
Timeline	About 1 month / 20 working days after a complete package is in
If documents are missing	Review pauses; the case closes after 3 months if nothing arrives (you can reapply)
Outcome	Full recognition, partial recognition, recognition with conditions, or refusal
Decision format	E-signed electronic document, shareable through EPE with universities and employers

Figures as of 2026 — confirm on SKVC general documentation requirements. You can usually appeal a negative decision within 14 days.

Apostille and legalisation — by country

This step happens in the country that issued your diploma, before you submit it. Note that a diploma and its supplement are usually treated as two separate documents, so each may need its own apostille.

Your diploma is from...	What you need
A Hague Convention country	An apostille (a single certificate)
A non-Convention country	Consular legalisation — certified in the issuing country, then by a Lithuanian diplomatic mission
Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Moldova	Neither — just a Lithuanian translation

Country-specific document chains

SKVC publishes country-specific requirements and shows them inside EPE as you apply. The exact chain — and who must authenticate — varies a lot. Examples (as of 2026; always confirm the live list, which changes):

Turkey (Hague country, EU-candidate)

Turkey is an EU candidate, not a member, so its diplomas do not get EU automatic recognition — you still go through the standard SKVC route. Turkey has been a Hague Apostille country since 29 September 1985, so the authentication chain is short: the apostille is placed by the District Governorship (Kaymakamlık) or a courthouse, not by a foreign embassy. For secondary qualifications SKVC typically wants the Lise Diploması, a transcript covering the last four years, and the relevant national exam results (YKS for 2018 onward, or older YGS/LYS).

India (Hague country)

India uses a multi-step chain. Educational documents are first verified by the State Education / HRD department, then apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) (e-Sanad supports this online). SKVC generally expects apostilled originals of both the degree certificate and the consolidated mark sheet (and, for school qualifications, the Class X and apostilled Class XII certificates with mark sheets).

Pakistan (attestation route)

Pakistan acceded to the Hague Convention in March 2023, but several EU states objected to its accession, so an apostille from Pakistan may not be reliably accepted everywhere. For SKVC the established route is attestation by the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) for school certificates and by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) for degrees, followed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs — originals, not copies.

Other South Asian routes

• Bangladesh — Higher Secondary Certificate and Secondary School Certificate with their transcripts.
• Nepal — documents attested by the National Examinations Board (NEB) and then legalised by Nepal's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
• Sri Lanka — official GCE statements posted directly to SKVC by the Department of Examinations in a sealed envelope (direct-verification route — your own copies are not enough).

In Lithuania, apostilles are issued by notaries and the Chamber of Notaries / Ministry of Foreign Affairs — relevant if you ever need to apostille a Lithuanian document for use abroad. Fees apply (secondary sources cite around €15 per apostille; confirm the current fee with a notary or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Translations

Documents not in Lithuanian (and sometimes English) usually need an official translation signed by a translator. EU multilingual standard forms can remove the translation requirement for some civil documents. Check exactly which languages your university or SKVC accepts before paying for translation.

English-language proof is a separate step

Diploma recognition and authentication say nothing about your English level — that is a different admission requirement set by the university. If your previous studies were in English, you may be able to skip IELTS with a Medium-of-Instruction letter; see MOI vs IELTS & applying without a Lithuanian embassy.