Bangladesh acceded to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the 1961 Apostille Convention) on 29 July 2024, and the Convention entered into force for Bangladesh on 30 March 2025. Twelve states objected to the accession; Ukraine is not among them, so the Convention applies between Bangladesh and Ukraine (HCCH status table).
For Ukrainian institutions this means one authentication step in Bangladesh: an apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, the designated competent authority (apostille e-register: mofa-servicedirectory.apostille.mygov.bd). After that the document goes for a certified Ukrainian translation.
Which Documents Need an Apostille
A Bangladeshi public document needs an apostille when a Ukrainian authority asks for it. Typical cases:
- Educational certificates and diplomas — when a university, an employer or a regulated profession asks for them
- Birth certificates — for family-based applications
- Marriage certificates — for family-based applications
- Police clearance certificates — when requested (for example by a consul for a visa, Resolution No. 118, para. 10, or for an immigration permit, Law No. 2491-III, Art. 9)
- Company registration documents — RJSC documents for companies registered in Bangladesh
- Professional licences and authority documents from Bangladeshi regulatory bodies
The DSZ work-permit file needs only copies of your passport data pages with a certified Ukrainian translation and a photo from you (Law No. 5067-VI, Art. 42-2); no apostille of the passport copy is required.
The Chain: Step by Step
| Step 1: Notary (where required) | Some documents need a notary before the MFA will apostille them; certificates that already carry an official government seal often go to the MFA directly. Check with the MFA apostille desk which applies to your document. |
|---|---|
| Step 2: MFA Bangladesh apostille | The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh verifies the signature and seal of the issuing authority and issues the apostille, as an e-Apostille through MyGov. Take the current fee and processing time from the MFA apostille portal before you start. Check: every apostille can be verified in the MFA e-register (mofa-servicedirectory.apostille.mygov.bd). |
| Step 3: Ukrainian translation and notarisation | Documents issued abroad are filed with a Ukrainian translation certified by a notary (Resolution No. 322, para. 13). Translate the apostille together with the document. In practice this is done in Ukraine: a Ukrainian notary certifies the signature of a translator known to the notary. |
Timeline and Cost
With the embassy step gone, the chain is the MFA apostille (plus a notary where required) in Bangladesh, courier to Ukraine, and the translation. Take the MFA fee and processing time from the MFA apostille portal and ask the translation bureau in Ukraine for a quote. There is no Ukrainian embassy legalisation fee.
Translation Requirements
Ukrainian authorities need a Ukrainian translation of every foreign-language document:
- The translation is certified by a notary (Resolution No. 322, para. 13)
- The translation must be complete, including the apostille
- The translation is attached to the apostilled original and submitted together with it
- If the original is bilingual (e.g., English-Bengali), the translation covers the full content
An English translation done in Bangladesh replaces neither the apostille nor the Ukrainian translation for DMSU purposes.
What Happens if a Document Is Missing Its Apostille or Translation
At the visa stage the embassy may request the missing document (Resolution No. 118, para. 10); if it is not provided, consideration stops 90 calendar days after the form was registered (para. 11). At DMSU the document is not accepted until it is in the required form.
Presenting a document with a fake apostille or a fraudulent seal is a criminal matter under Ukrainian law (Criminal Code, Art. 358) and differs in kind from a simple missing-document problem.
Common Shortcuts to Avoid
"Getting an apostille through a third country"
Only the country that issued a public document can apostille it. An Indian or other third-country apostille on a Bangladeshi document authenticates nothing. For Bangladeshi documents the only valid apostille is the one issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh.
Paying for an "Embassy of Ukraine stamp"
Since 30 March 2025 a Bangladeshi document with an MFA apostille needs no further legalisation for Ukraine. An agent selling an extra embassy legalisation step is charging for something that no longer exists.
Paying an agent in Dhaka to "handle the apostille"
The apostille is issued only by the MFA through its official service. An agent who claims to get documents apostilled without your originals, or who hands you an apostille that is missing from the MFA e-register, is a warning sign.