CSC Notarization: Apostille or Legalization?

Start with the current scholarship and university checklists. Chongqing's June 2026 CGS document guide requests a notarized photocopy of the highest diploma or education certificate. It separately requires notarized Chinese or English translations of academic records issued in other languages. Current students may provide a university-issued certificate of expected graduation or student status (Chongqing government document guide).

Those are document-specific requirements, not an instruction to notarize every upload. Make a separate checklist row for the diploma, transcript and each translation. Record exactly which version the receiving institution requests. The broader CSC application documents guide covers the other items; this page explains the authentication decisions that depend on where each document was issued.

No. A checklist can require a notarized copy or translation and also require authentication for its use abroad. An apostille authenticates the signature, the signer's capacity and, where relevant, the seal or stamp. It does not guarantee that a Chinese university will accept the document's content, format, translation or age (Chinese Embassy in Bangladesh guidance).

Treat the university's document requirement and the cross-border authentication route as separate questions. An English-language degree may avoid a translation requirement without avoiding a notarized-copy requirement. Equally, buying an apostille is not a substitute for checking whether the Convention applies between the issuing country and mainland China. The HCCH notification record for China records India's objection, which is why country membership alone is not a sufficient check.

For documents within the relevant rules, the current official routes differ:

• Pakistan: the Chinese Embassy's instructions, updated in July 2025, say covered Pakistani public documents need a Pakistani apostille for use in China, without additional Chinese consular legalization (embassy apostille instructions).
• Bangladesh: the embassy's June 2025 notice confirms that covered Bangladeshi public documents, including those with an official E-Apostille, do not need Chinese Embassy legalization. Older instructions describing a mandatory embassy step should not override that notice (embassy notice).
• India: do not assume an Indian apostille is sufficient for mainland China. The HCCH record lists India's objection to China's accession, and the Chinese Embassy publishes the notarization, Indian Ministry of External Affairs attestation and Chinese consular legalization route (HCCH record; embassy instructions).

Use the document's issuing country when checking authentication, not just your passport nationality. These examples are not a worldwide list. For another country, confirm the applicable treaty relationship and the current embassy or competent-authority instructions before paying for a service.

Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs checklist separates educational documents by type. Matric and Intermediate certificates issued by education boards require IBCC countersignature. University degrees require HEC attestation. Medical degrees require both HEC and the Ministry of National Health Services. Other certificates have their own prerequisites, so do not apply the university-degree chain to every document (MOFA checklist).

For covered Pakistani documents intended for China, the Chinese Embassy identifies Pakistan's MOFA in Islamabad and authorized liaison offices as the apostille authorities (embassy instructions). Check the current submission arrangements with MOFA and confirm which document the university wants authenticated. An education authority's attestation and an apostille are separate steps where both are required; neither should be described as a scholarship award or admission approval.

No. The receiving institution can still specify the language and certification of a translation. Sun Yat-sen University's 2026 Silk Road CGS guide requires originals plus notarized Chinese or English translations for documents in other languages. It additionally requires authentication of those translations by the applicable apostille or Chinese consular route (SYSU 2026 guide).

That is a university-specific example from a closed 2026 application round, not a universal CSC instruction or an announcement that applications remain open. Check the new notice for your intended intake.

Before ordering a translation, ask the receiving office whether it needs a notarized translation, authentication of the translation, or both the original and translation together. Clarify whether attached authentication pages also need translating. A translator's signature, a university stamp and a government apostille should not be treated as interchangeable certificates.

Check the university's instructions for the particular document and stage. An online application does not establish that scans will satisfy every later requirement.

Guangdong University of Foreign Studies' 2026 degree-admission notice is a useful university-specific example. Its supplementary checklist requests an original non-criminal record certificate with Chinese translation and the specified consular or apostille authentication. It tells applicants to send an electronic version for confirmation before mailing the original and to confirm the mailing address (GDUFS 2026 notice). This is an admission-document example, not a CSC-wide rule.

Keep upload, original-document submission and enrollment checks as separate entries in your checklist. Do not mail irreplaceable documents based only on a general blog post. Follow the named receiving office's instructions and retain copies. The CSC and university portal-order guide explains why completing one system may not finish the whole process.

Send the receiving office the document name, issuing country, original language and intended program. Ask which copy or original it needs, which translation is acceptable, whether cross-border authentication is required, and at which stage. Save the written answer with the dated official notice. Use the CSC contact guide to identify the responsible office.

Do not purchase every available stamp as a precaution. Build the sequence from the exact document requirement and the applicable official country route. If the instructions conflict, ask the receiving institution and competent authority to clarify before submitting or paying.

For an independent checklist comparison, the CSC Path Document Review can help identify inconsistencies between your documents and the supplied official instructions. It does not provide notarization, apostilles, consular legalization or legal advice, submit applications, or guarantee acceptance.

*CSC Path is an independent educational resource, not affiliated with the China Scholarship Council, any university, embassy, dispatching authority or scholarship provider. We do not submit applications, control admission or scholarship decisions, or guarantee nomination, admission or funding.*