What changed on 7 November 2023
The Hague Apostille Convention entered into force for mainland China on 7 November 2023. Before that date, a diploma or transcript issued abroad had to travel through a three-step chain: a local notary, then the foreign ministry of the country that issued it, and finally a Chinese embassy or consulate in that country. That last step no longer exists for countries that are party to the Convention.
In its place, a single certificate is attached to your document by the designated authority in the country where the document was issued. Chinese authorities accept that certificate directly. The Chinese Consulate General in San Francisco put it plainly for its own jurisdiction when the change took effect: from 7 November the Chinese embassy and consulates-general in the United States would cease consular authentication, and public documents within the scope of the Convention issued in the US would need only a US apostille before being sent to the Chinese mainland. Equivalent notices were issued by Chinese missions elsewhere.
Hong Kong and Macao were already covered long before 2023 — the Convention has applied there since 1965 and 1969 respectively, and continued to apply after the 1997 and 1999 handovers. The 2023 change extended it to mainland China. A great deal of study-in-China advice published before late 2023 is still online and still describes the old embassy step. Check the date on anything you read, including this page.
Which route applies to you
There are only three situations, and which one you are in depends entirely on the country that issued the document — not on your nationality and not on the university you are applying to.
| Your situation | What your document needs |
|---|---|
| The country that issued the document is a party to the Convention | An apostille from that country's designated authority. No Chinese embassy or consulate step. |
| That country is not a party to the Convention | The old chain still applies: notarisation, then that country's foreign ministry, then the Chinese embassy or consulate there. |
| The document was issued in India | Consular legalisation, not an apostille. See below — this is the exception that catches people out. |
Membership is not static and countries continue to join, so the only reliable way to place yourself is to look your country up in the status table maintained by the Hague Conference, linked below. Check it yourself rather than trusting a list copied into a blog post, including this one.
The India exception
India is a party to the Apostille Convention, and China is now a party too — yet the Convention does not operate between them. India lodged an objection to China's accession in September 2023, which under the Convention means it simply does not enter into force between those two states.
The practical consequence is that a document issued in India and destined for mainland China still needs the full consular legalisation chain, ending at a Chinese diplomatic mission in India. An Indian applicant who obtains an apostille because a guide said China joined the Convention will have bought a certificate that Chinese authorities will not accept for this purpose.
China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs states this directly, and the Hague Conference records the objection in its status table. Both are linked below, and both are worth showing to anyone who tells you otherwise.
This matters far beyond a technicality: India sends a large number of students to Chinese universities, particularly to medical programmes, and the simplified apostille message is the one that has spread. If your documents come from India, budget the time and the fees for the longer route.
An apostille is not a translation, and it is not an approval
This is the single most common misunderstanding, and it can cost a whole intake. An apostille certifies one narrow thing: that the signature and seal on the document are genuine. It says nothing about what the document contains, it does not make the document valid for any particular purpose, and it does not put the document into Chinese.
Your degree certificate can be perfectly apostilled and still not meet an admissions office's language requirement. The consulate notice announcing the change tells applicants in as many words to check with the relevant Chinese authorities about format, content, time limits and translation requirements — translation is named as a separate matter that the receiving body decides.
Peking University, to take one published example, requires application materials in Chinese or English, and states that documents in any other language must be accompanied by notarised Chinese or English translations. Other universities set their own rules. Read the admissions page of the university you are actually applying to.
Requirements are set per institution. Do not assume one university's published rule applies to another, and do not assume a rule you were told last year still stands.
Getting the order right
Order matters, because each step certifies the one before it. Getting it wrong usually means paying twice.
- Obtain the document itself in final form from the issuing body — your school, university or government registry. Nothing can be certified until the document exists in the form you intend to submit.
- Have it notarised if your country's designated authority requires notarisation before it will issue an apostille. Practice varies by country and by document type, so ask the authority that issues the apostille what it needs.
- Obtain the apostille, or if the Convention does not apply between your country and China, complete the consular legalisation chain instead.
- Have the document translated, once the certification is physically attached. A translation prepared before certification will not show the apostille or legalisation stamps, and the receiving office may ask for the complete document.
- Submit to the university or consulate, keeping the originals. Ask before sending anything irreplaceable by post.
Do not have documents translated before you know whether the certification will be attached as an extra page. If it is, that page is part of the document and is usually expected to appear in the translation too.
The other direction: a Chinese document for use abroad
If you graduate in China and later need your Chinese degree recognised at home, the process runs in reverse. China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs states that you first obtain a notarial certificate for foreign use from a Chinese notary office, and only then apply for the apostille or, for non-party countries, consular legalisation.
Apostilles on Chinese documents are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by authorised provincial and municipal Foreign Affairs Offices, which can certify notarial documents produced within their own administrative area. Some listed offices only receive applications and pass them upward, so confirm before travelling to one.
Documents moving between mainland China and Hong Kong or Macao are a separate case and use neither an apostille nor consular legalisation, because they are transfers within one Contracting Party rather than between two.
Frequently asked questions
Does China accept apostilles?
Yes, for mainland China since 7 November 2023, when the Hague Apostille Convention entered into force there. Hong Kong and Macao were already covered, since 1965 and 1969 respectively. The one significant exception is India: because India objected to China's accession, the Convention does not operate between the two countries and documents issued in India still require consular legalisation.
Do I still need to go to the Chinese embassy to legalise my diploma?
Not if the document was issued in a country that is party to the Convention. Chinese embassies and consulates stopped providing consular authentication for those documents on 7 November 2023. If the issuing country is not a party, or if the document was issued in India, the embassy or consulate step still applies.
Does an apostille mean my document does not need to be translated?
No. An apostille only certifies that the signature and seal are genuine. It does not translate the document and it does not decide whether the document is acceptable for your purpose. Chinese universities and government offices set their own language requirements, and many require a Chinese or English version, sometimes a notarised one.
Should I translate the document before or after getting the apostille?
After, in most cases. The apostille or legalisation is often attached as an additional page and forms part of the finished document, so a translation prepared beforehand will not reflect it. Confirm with the office that will receive the document if you are unsure.
How do I find out whether my country is covered?
Look your country up in the status table published by the Hague Conference on Private International Law, which lists every party, the date the Convention entered into force for it, and any objections. Countries continue to join, so check the table itself rather than a list republished elsewhere.