Certifying documents for overseas jobs and scholarships — 101 FAQs

Your name exactly as in your passport, job title, start and end dates, full-time or part-time status, hours per week, a short list of duties, the signatory's name and position, and company contact details on letterhead. Assessors such as VETASSESS and Engineers Australia routinely reject letters that omit weekly hours or duties.

Translate it into the language the receiving body uses, then apply the level of certification that body requires. Government offices and embassies usually want a translation certified by the Department of Consular Affairs; Australia and New Zealand normally want NAATI; a private employer usually accepts a certified translation with a certificate of accuracy. Confirm with the recipient first.

Build a combined evidence pack: Social Security Office contribution records, historic payslips, withholding tax certificates (form 50 Tawi), the employment contract, and a statutory declaration or affidavit from a former supervisor signed before a Notarial Services Attorney. Most assessors accept combined evidence when the situation is explained clearly.

It depends on the destination. If the file must pass through the Department of Consular Affairs or an embassy, the authorised signatory normally signs before a Notarial Services Attorney first, because consular certification requires a verifiable signature. Submissions straight to a private employer usually do not need this.

Yes, whenever the assessor asks for proof of payment to confirm the employment was real — typically three to twelve months per claimed period. Translate every line including the header and company seal, and make sure every figure matches the original digit for digit.

Usually institution-certified true copies, keeping the originals yourself. If the file must go through the Department of Consular Affairs or an embassy, you also need to present the original or a freshly issued copy, because certification is based on the institution's authorised signature.

If the English version is an official document issued by the institution itself, a further translation is generally unnecessary, though signature certification and legalisation may still apply. If the destination uses another language — German, French, Spanish or Arabic — translate from the version that destination accepts as the source.

Confirmation that the institution and programme are recognised in Thailand comes from the institution and from MHESI (mhesi.go.th). Deciding what your Thai qualification is equivalent to in the destination country is the job of the receiving evaluator, such as WES or an ENIC-NARIC centre.

Ask the registrar to issue the transcript in an envelope sealed and stamped across the flap and to post it directly to the assessor's stated address. If you open the envelope yourself the document is void. Translations are usually sent separately by the translator.

Student records of dissolved institutions are normally transferred to the supervising authority such as MHESI or to a successor institution. File the request there and also request a letter confirming when the original institution closed; receiving assessors usually want that letter attached.

It is a letter from your professional council confirming that your registration is current and that you have no disciplinary findings. Request it from the council you are registered with — the Medical Council (tmc.or.th), Nursing Council (tnmc.or.th), Council of Engineers (coe.or.th) or Architect Council (act.or.th). Foreign regulators commonly require it to be less than three to six months old.

Typically the nursing and midwifery licence, transcripts with curriculum details and clinical hours, employment letters, a Certificate of Good Standing from the Nursing Council, language test results and a police clearance certificate. The whole set must be translated in the system the destination accepts and legalised as that regulator specifies.

Generally the degree certificate, transcript, subject syllabi, employment letters stating duties and hours, and a Competency Demonstration Report where no mutual recognition pathway applies. Documents not in English need a translation from an accepted translator, which for Australia means NAATI.

Not automatically. A licence is valid only in the jurisdiction that issued it. To practise abroad you must register with that country's regulator, which uses your Thai documents as supporting evidence and usually adds examinations, skills assessment or a period of supervised practice.

Obtain the teaching licence and a status letter from the Teachers' Council of Thailand (ksp.or.th) alongside the degree, transcript and police clearance certificate, then translate and legalise them as the destination school or ministry requires. Some countries require the receiving school to file the attestation itself.

Most application rounds accept scans with a translator-certified translation and only ask for fully legalised documents after shortlisting. Prepare originals early, but avoid paying for full legalisation of the whole set in round one unless the call for applications explicitly requires it.

Usually written permission from the supervisor and home agency, a study-leave contract and a guarantor undertaking under Office of the Civil Service Commission rules (ocsc.go.th), plus salary and length-of-service letters. When these are used by a foreign institution they must be translated and the translation certified as that institution requires.

Funders and institutions generally want bank documents issued within one to three months, on bank letterhead with a bank stamp — not app screenshots. Translate only after you have the latest version so the document does not expire while you wait in a queue.

Usually not. Funders rely on the delivery channel for authenticity, so referees are normally asked to upload directly or send from an institutional email. Only if the call for applications requires signature certification should you use a Notarial Services Attorney.

Colour scan from the original at 300 dpi or better, full page, with seals and signatures clearly legible; combine all pages of one document into a single PDF; name files in English as instructed; and place the translation after the original in the same file when the system does not allow separate uploads.

WES (wes.org) is a private credential evaluator used widely in the United States and Canada that issues equivalency reports for employers and institutions. The ENIC-NARIC network (enic-naric.net) comprises national recognition information centres in Europe that issue recognition statements. Both need originals or institution-sent documents plus translations in their own prescribed format.

The common causes are employment letters that omit weekly hours or duties matching the occupation code, translations not produced by an accepted translator, incomplete scans, and names spelled differently from the passport. Check those three points before every upload.

No. Legalisation confirms that signatures and seals on a document are genuine. Skills assessment decides whether your qualifications and experience match the destination's occupational standard. Passing legalisation says nothing about the assessment, and some assessors do not want legalisation at all.

Credential evaluators such as WES, VETASSESS and ACS generally do not require an Apostille; they set rules about document provenance and translation format instead. An Apostille is usually needed when filing with a foreign government office or professional regulator. Read each recipient's requirements separately.

Normally only the subjects the assessor identifies as relevant to the nominated occupation. Include a cover page or institutional letter confirming the syllabus belongs to the year you studied, and keep subject codes identical to those on the transcript.

From the Criminal Records Division of the Royal Thai Police, submitting fingerprints taken at a police station or authorised unit together with a passport copy and evidence of purpose, such as the employer's or regulator's request letter.

The certificate carries no expiry date; the recipient sets the acceptable age. Most employers and regulators accept certificates issued within three to six months, so apply once your application timetable is confirmed rather than many months in advance.

Yes. Fingerprints are usually taken at a local police station or a Royal Thai Embassy, and a representative in Thailand files on your behalf under a power of attorney. That power of attorney must be signed before embassy staff or a foreign notary and legalised before it can be used in Thailand.

It depends on the outcome and on how the record is held. Where a court dismissed the case or the record was removed under the applicable criteria, it may not appear. If you are unsure, request your own record check before applying for a job so you know the facts before completing employer forms.

There is no single universal type. Australia and New Zealand rely on NAATI; Germany, France, Spain and Italy on their own sworn translators; the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom on certified translations with a certificate of accuracy; Thai government offices and embassies on MFA-certified translations. Fix the destination before ordering the translation.

That is the single most common rejection cause. Every translation must spell your name exactly as in the passport. Where older documents use a different spelling, keep the original spelling in the translation with a translator's note and attach the name-change record or a same-person certificate.

Yes. A sound translation renders the text of every seal, signature block, Garuda emblem and reverse-side annotation, labelled as a seal or signature. Omitting them is read as an incomplete translation and usually triggers a full re-translation.

Generally no. Most recipients require an independent third-party translator, so translating your own or a family member's documents is normally refused even if an agency stamps it afterwards.

Typically: obtain the original or a freshly issued copy from the issuing body; translate in the system the destination accepts; have the translation certified by the Legalisation Division of the Department of Consular Affairs; then obtain an Apostille if the destination is a Convention party, or embassy legalisation in Thailand if it is not; then file with the recipient.

The 1961 HCCH Apostille Convention enters into force for Thailand on 28 February 2027. Until then, Thai documents for use abroad still follow the existing route of consular certification plus destination-embassy legalisation. Check the Department of Consular Affairs' latest announcements before planning a filing.

No. The Apostille replaces the chain of inter-state authentications only; it does not replace translation or translation certification. The overseas recipient still decides which translator system it accepts, and in many cases the Apostille is issued over an already-certified translation.

Yes, but they must first become verifiable — normally by having the company's authorised officer sign before a Notarial Services Attorney, or by attaching the DBD company affidavit evidencing signing authority — before the translation is submitted to the Department of Consular Affairs.

Typically the institution certifies the copy, the Thai Department of Consular Affairs certifies it, the UAE Embassy in Thailand legalises it, and on arrival the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs attests it again before it is used for the work permit. Confirm the current requirements directly with the embassy, as conditions change.

Usually yes. Degrees, employment letters and medical certificates commonly need a certified Arabic translation plus legalisation by the destination embassy in Thailand. The employer or its recruitment agent normally specifies the accepted format.

Yes — Thai law on recruitment and jobseeker protection requires notifying the Department of Employment (doe.go.th) through the applicable channel, whether the employer takes you, a licensed agency places you, or you travel independently. Notification secures protection and entitlements from the jobseeker assistance fund.

If it supports an overseas-work notification or a visa application it usually needs a Thai translation and may need legalisation by the employer country's embassy or by the Department of Consular Affairs, depending on the receiving office. Ask the recipient for its document list in writing first.

Obtaining source documents from institutions or agencies generally takes three to fifteen working days, translation one to five working days per set, consular certification of translations follows the department's standard and express services, and embassy legalisation depends on each mission's queue. Allow at least three to six weeks for a multi-layer file.

Most often: name spelling that differs from the passport; photocopies used instead of freshly issued certified copies; incomplete translations or untranslated seals; a translator the destination does not accept; documents expiring while queued; employment letters without hours and duties; and re-stapling that tears a seal placed across the staple.

Usually not. If the problem is the translation, fix that document and re-certify only it. If the problem is the original — an uncertified copy or a document older than the recipient allows — you must obtain a fresh original and repeat the certification chain for that item.

Generally two to three months. Some items are valid for only three to six months, so starting too early lets them expire while starting late collides with embassy queues. The safe sequence is to obtain documents with no expiry first and the time-limited ones last.

Most steps can be handled by a representative under a power of attorney with certified copies of your ID or passport, but some steps — fingerprinting, or signing before embassy staff — require you in person. Contact our team by phone, LINE or email and we will sequence the work around your deadline.

Translate it into English line by line, keeping the company name, job title, employment dates and the signatory's details intact, then certify the translation at the Department of Consular Affairs. If the destination requires it, add the relevant embassy's stamp in Thailand. Asking the employer for a bilingual original at the outset removes a step.

Use verifiable substitutes: withholding tax certificates (form 50 Tawi), payslips, Social Security insured-person records, or a copy of the employment contract, supported by a statutory declaration whose signature is certified by a notarial services attorney. Most assessing bodies accept this bundle when the documents corroborate each other.

Most assessing bodies want documents sent directly by the institution in a sealed envelope, or copies certified by the institution. Self-submitted copies usually require a certified translation and consular legalisation. Read the receiving body's rules first — using the wrong channel means refiling weeks later.

Most receivers require issuance within 3-6 months of filing; some count to the decision date instead. Sequence the police clearance late, after other documents are ready, so it does not expire while the file is pending.

Certification must be by a person the receiver accepts, typically a notarial services attorney or an embassy officer. The certifier must see the original, date the certification and state their name and registration number. Where the destination is a Hague Convention party, legalisation or an Apostille may also be required under the rules in force on the filing date.

Not usually. Many schemes accept institution-certified copies at shortlisting and only require legalised documents from finalists. Prepare two tiers of documents and budget time and cost for the legalisation stage in advance.

Obtain a name or surname change certificate from the district registrar, have it translated and certified, and attach it as the link between the two identities. If it is only a difference in romanisation, follow the passport spelling in every translation and attach a short explanatory note.

Yes, if it is systematically evidenced: project contracts, invoices and proof of payment, client letters stating scope and dates, and income tax filings. Assessors look for consistency across documents rather than a particular employment form.

Start three to four months ahead. Translation and certification take weeks, legalisation and embassy stamping add more, and foreign credential assessments often run weeks to months. Starting late forces reliance on expedited services, which every authority limits.

The legalisation stamp attaches to the submitted original, so if the receiver keeps it, it cannot be reused. Order several certified sets at the first visit — cheaper than refiling. Some countries also demand their own embassy stamp, so a set made for one country may not serve another.

A salary certificate is issued by HR and confirms position, salary and start date, evidencing employment status. Payslips show actual monthly payments. Receivers usually want both to cross-check, and may also request bank statements showing matching credits.

Keep the licence number, issuing professional council, scope of practice and expiry date intact, and attach a Certificate of Good Standing from the council. Receivers need confirmation the licence is currently valid, not merely that it was once issued.

Many bodies accept scans for initial checks but require originals or certified copies at decision stage. Keep all originals and high-resolution colour scans of every page, including stamps and signatures, so verification does not force a refiling.

Read exactly which documents are missing and the deadline, then answer every point in a single response with an index and a one-line explanation per item. Piecemeal replies extend the review cycle. If legalisation is needed, start immediately — these deadlines are rarely extended.

Many EU states are Hague Convention parties and use an Apostille for documents issued in member states. Australia uses both Apostille and Authentication depending on the receiver, and translations often must come from an accredited translator such as NAATI, while several European countries require a sworn translator. Check country-specific rules before ordering translations.

Ask your former employer to issue it on company letterhead in English, stating your position, exact start and end dates, a short description of duties, and the signatory's name and title. When the recipient is a government body or professional council, the signature is usually notarised by a Thai Notarial Services Attorney, then legalised at the Department of Consular Affairs, and finally at the destination country's embassy if that country does not yet accept apostilles from Thailand. If only a Thai version exists, submit a certified translation legalised the same way.

Substitute paper trails for the employer letter: withholding tax certificates, Form 50 Tawi, Social Security contribution records, past employment contracts, and payslips. Add a statement from your former supervisor in a personal capacity, attaching their ID copy and evidence of their former role, then have that signature notarised and translated as the recipient requires. Include a short covering letter explaining why no company letter is available so the case officer can see the gap was addressed deliberately.

As a rule WES expects transcripts and degree certificates to arrive directly from the issuing institution in its own sealed envelope, so open the case first and give the reference number to your university registrar. Documents hand-carried by the applicant are normally treated as unverified. Notarisation and consular legalisation do not replace this direct-sending channel, but a separate legalised set is usually still needed for professional councils or immigration authorities.

Spelling mismatches are one of the most common reasons for rejection. Fix it at source first by asking the university to reissue the document matching your passport. If that is impossible, prepare a one-and-the-same-person declaration attaching your passport, Thai ID card and house registration, have the signature notarised, then legalised at the Department of Consular Affairs. That gives the reviewing officer an official document linking both spellings.

Many government scholarships and any placement involving children or patients require a police clearance certificate from the Royal Thai Police Criminal Records Division. State the destination country in the application so the certificate is issued in the format accepted abroad. Recipients typically accept it for three to six months, so request it close to your submission date and allow one to two extra weeks for consular and embassy legalisation before the deadline.

No. A salary certificate is issued by your employer, so the authorised signatory's signature is notarised and the document translated as required. A bank statement is issued by the financial institution, so request a branch-stamped and signed copy instead. Some recipients only accept statements issued within the last month. Confirm the requirement in writing first so you do not spend time legalising the wrong type of document.

Australian skills assessors require non-English documents to be accompanied by translations from a recognised translator, and for work done in Australia they generally point to NAATI-certified translators. Translations prepared in Thailand must carry the translator's certification statement, contact details and the translation office stamp. Submit colour copies of the originals alongside the translation page for page, and never omit seals or endorsements from the translated text.

Most universities accept reference letters sent directly from the referee's institutional email without notarisation. However, government scholarships and paper submissions routed through an embassy often require the referee's signature to be notarised first. Read the submission-format section of the call for applications carefully, and if it is silent, ask in writing so you can keep the reply as supporting evidence for your file.

Consular legalisation and apostilles do not expire in themselves; the recipient sets the acceptable age of the underlying document. Civil-status records, police clearances and financial certificates are commonly limited to three to six months, while transcripts and degree certificates have no age limit. The safest plan is to obtain the time-limited documents last, ideally no more than one to two months before you submit.

Count your destinations and add at least one spare set, because a second round means requesting fresh originals and queuing at the consular office again, which takes far longer than producing several sets in one pass. Some recipients return documents after checking, but many keep them on file, so do not plan on getting the original set back. For time-limited documents, produce every set in the same round so the issue dates match.

Assemble alternative proof: a Social Security Office insured-person certificate, payslips, withholding-tax certificates and a signed letter from a former supervisor confirming role and dates. A statutory declaration with a notarised signature can tie the evidence together so the assessor sees a complete career history.

Many assessors require transcripts and degree certificates to arrive from the institution in a sealed envelope or through an institution-operated electronic channel. File the request with the registrar, quote the assessor's name and reference number, and allow for the institution's international dispatch time.

No. Translate exactly what the original shows and leave conversion to the assessing body. If the reverse side explains the grading scale, translate that page too so the assessor can calculate from the institution's own data.

Most receiving bodies want a document issued within three to six months of filing. Request it once the filing date is known and sequence translation, legalisation of the translation and any embassy stamp inside that window, otherwise the whole set has to be redone.

State the position, start and end dates, weekly hours and itemised duties that mirror the nominated occupation description, with the signatory's name, title, verifiable contact details and company letterhead, because assessors often verify by phone or email.

Usually yes, since many bodies retain originals and do not return them. The efficient route is to order several certified copies from the issuing source at once, then translate and legalise them together to save fees and queue visits.

Use the official English title published by the institution and attach an institution-issued course description showing content and credit hours. That lets the assessor place the qualification correctly and reduces requests for further documents.

It should confirm current employment, approval of study leave, the approved period and the conditions for returning to duty. Civil servants should reference their agency's study-leave regulation. Translate the letter and legalise the translation as the funder requires.

It depends on the receiving body. Many accept a passport copy only, while others want proof of address or name changes. In that case obtain a registrar-certified civil-registration extract, then translate and legalise it, since self-certified copies are often not enough.

Many assessors accept files whose source can be verified, such as institution upload portals or documents carrying a verifiable digital signature. Translation certification and embassy stamping still generally rely on paper, so prepare both formats.

Allow roughly three to six weeks per set for issuing documents at source, translation, the consular legalisation queue, embassy queues and international courier time. A credential assessment adds several more weeks of processing on the assessor's side.

Work through the request line by line, separating items that must be reissued at source, items needing only translation, and items needing a fresh certified translation. Batch everything that goes to the same office into one queue visit so the reply lands inside the assessor's deadline.

Many assessors require documents in a sealed institutional envelope or through a designated delivery system. Give the registrar the reference number and the recipient address shown in the portal, then keep proof of dispatch. Personally certified copies remain useful in parallel for visa or job applications.

Request a grading-system statement from the institution showing score ranges, the pass mark, total credits and programme length, issued on institutional letterhead with an authorised signature. Translate and certify it so every figure matches the transcript, since mismatched numbers trigger fresh document requests.

Combine contracts or work orders, invoices or receipts, bank records of payment, client letters stating scope and dates, and income tax filings, then add a signed chronological statement of work with certified signature so the assessor can follow a continuous record.

Yes, when evidence of the name change is attached, such as a change-of-name certificate, marriage certificate or divorce record, with certified translations. Placing a name-comparison table on the first page of the bundle lets the reviewer see the link immediately and reduces queries.

Most scholarships require copies certified by the issuing institution or translations certified by an accepted body; some require consular certification and legalisation at the awarding country's embassy. Follow the document list in the scholarship announcement exactly, since both missing and excess layers cause refiling.

State the position, start and end dates, full-time or part-time status, weekly hours and a bulleted list of main duties matching the occupation description filed, together with the signatory's name, title and contact details the assessor can verify.

Tell HR in advance that verification may occur, provide a named contact with a company-domain email, ensure the reference letter matches HR records, and leave HR a copy of what was filed so the answers given are consistent.

A qualification assessment is supporting evidence, not visa approval. Destination immigration usually also wants the original qualification, certified translations, the report and a job offer, so keep the full original bundle and check the report's acceptance window with that authority.

Many assessors set no expiry on the report itself, but receiving bodies such as immigration authorities or professional councils often require issue within a set period. Plan the filing around the receiving body's window rather than the assessor's.

Allow roughly three to six weeks, covering documents from the institution or employer, translation, the consular certification queue, embassy queues and the assessor's processing time. Scholarship intake periods run longer, so start well before the closing date.

Most assessor portals accept colour scans of originals or certified copies within stated resolution and file-size limits, but originals may be requested later for verification, so keep originals and certified copies until the process closes.

Ask the awarding institution for a statement identifying the awarding body, the credit split between institutions, the study mode and the programme's accreditation status, and file it with transcripts from both institutions and certified translations, since the assessor must establish the awarding body before reporting.

Yes, and it should state which language prevails in case of conflict. The Department of Employment and Immigration compare the contract against the work permit application, so the company name, job title, scope of duties, salary, work location and start date must match across every version and every supporting document.

The Labour Protection Act sets severance by length of service: 30 days' wages after 120 days but under one year, 90 days after one year, 180 days after three years, 240 days after six years, 300 days after ten years and 400 days after twenty years, calculated on the last wage rate. Advance notice of at least one pay period, or payment in lieu, is required as well.

Foreign employees working for a registered employer are enrolled under Section 33 on the same basis as Thai staff. Contributions are withheld by the employer and cover sickness, maternity, invalidity, death, child allowance, old age and unemployment benefits. Employees leaving Thailand permanently can claim the old-age benefit subject to the applicable conditions.

The work permit is tied to the employer. On termination the employer must notify the Department of Employment within the statutory deadline and the non-immigrant visa status ends accordingly. The grace period to find a new employer or leave the country is short, so a transfer should be prepared in parallel before the last working day, not afterwards.

No. A passport is the individual's personal identity document and retaining it to secure employment exposes the employer to forced-labour allegations. Use a certified copy for company records and always leave the original with the employee.

Thai courts assess whether the scope of work, geography and duration are reasonable. A clause so broad that it prevents the employee from earning a living can be reduced under the Unfair Contract Terms Act. Practical drafting keeps the period short and identifies specific competitors, territories or client groups rather than an entire industry.