A university degree is one of those papers that cannot be reprinted. You applied for it, waited weeks for the university to issue it, and now a foreign university, an education ministry or a consulate is asking you for it to process a recognition, a master's admission or a visa. The problem is that this one-of-a-kind document has to cross half the world inside an envelope. This guide explains, with the experience of someone who does it every day from Barcelona, how to send your university degree abroad without losing it along the way: which document each institution asks for, when an apostille is needed and on which copy, and how we protect an irreplaceable original.
Degree, transcript (SET) and certified copy: they are not the same thing
The first mistake we see at the counter is treating them as interchangeable. They are not, and sending the wrong one costs you days or a repeat trip.
- The official degree. This is the diploma itself, the document that certifies you hold the qualification. It is usually a single original, on special paper, with signatures and sometimes an embossed seal. It is the hardest one to replace.
- The academic transcript certificate (SET). The Diploma Supplement (Suplemento Europeo al Título) or the personal academic record details the subjects, credits and grades. Many master's admissions and recognition procedures ask for it together with the degree, because they need to see the content of your studies, not just that you finished them.
- The certified copy. This is a photocopy that an authorised official (a notary, or the university itself in some cases) certifies as a true copy of the original. It works when the recipient accepts a certified copy and you want to avoid risking the original.
The practical rule: before you send anything, ask the receiving institution exactly which document it wants and in what form. "A copy of the degree" is not the same as "the apostilled original degree". Each body specifies this, and that one sentence decides everything that follows.
Which one does each institution ask for?
- Recognition / equivalence at a foreign education ministry: almost always the original degree or an apostilled certified copy, and often the transcript (SET) as well.
- Admission to a foreign master's or university: they often accept a certified copy of the degree plus the transcript; some ask for the original only at final enrolment.
- Work visa or professional registration: usually requires an apostilled degree and, depending on the country, a sworn translation.
When the institution accepts a certified copy, it is usually the best option: you protect the original and the procedure moves forward all the same.
Apostille: an obligatory step to send a university degree abroad
If the destination country is part of the Hague Convention, your degree is not valid abroad simply because it has been issued: it needs the Hague Apostille, the stamp that certifies internationally that the document is authentic. Without it, many foreign administrations will not even look at it.
Here is the detail that causes the most confusion, and it is worth committing to memory:
The apostille goes on the original —or on a copy certified by a notary when the body accepts it—, never on a plain photocopy.
In other words: you cannot photocopy your degree at home and expect that copy to work once apostilled. Either you apostille the original, or you apostille a copy that a notary has certified beforehand (and not every body accepts this route: some only apostille originals). That is why the order matters: first you decide which copy is going to travel, then you apostille it, and only then do you send it. If you skip the order, you end up apostilling the wrong document.
Spanish degrees are apostilled through the corresponding education channel; you have the step by step in our guide on how to apostille documents in Spain, and if you're unsure whether to send the original or a copy, this article breaks it down in full.
And something worth knowing: you or your university handle the apostille, not the courier. We come in afterwards, once the document is ready to travel.
How to protect an irreplaceable original degree in transit
This is where who you send it with really matters. A lost original degree is not replaced with a refund: it is replaced with months of paperwork to request a duplicate, if that is even possible. This is how we protect a one-of-a-kind document:
- Rigid packaging. The degree travels flat, between rigid cardboard or in a reinforced anti-bending envelope, so that it doesn't arrive creased or with the signatures compromised. A diploma that arrives marked can be rejected.
- Courier tracked from start to finish. No mailboxes. The shipment goes out with tracking from the moment it comes through our door until it is delivered, so you always know where it is.
- Signature on delivery. The recipient signs on receipt: you have proof that the degree reached the right hands and didn't get left at a reception desk.
- Serious carriers. We work with UPS, DHL, SEUR and CTT Express, chosen according to destination and urgency. For an irreplaceable original, that tracked network is exactly what you want.
And if the shipment is also against the clock —an admission with a closing deadline, a visa with a date—, we have a dedicated guide on urgent document shipping from Spain.
A degree is a document: it pays no duties and doesn't go through commercial customs
This is the best news in the whole process, and many people don't know it. Your degree, your transcript and the certified copies are documents with no commercial value. That means:
- They are not merchandise. They generate no customs duties or import taxes.
- They don't go through commercial customs. They go out via the documentation channel, which is quick and clean.
- The only thing that matters is that they are declared correctly, as documents with no commercial value.
Watch out for a common confusion: this applies only to documents. If you put objects with value in the same shipment —a gift, a book—, that is merchandise and it can indeed go through customs. For your degree to travel via the clean channel, make sure the envelope contains papers only.
By destination, the honest timelines we work with for documents are: United States, 2 to 4 business days; United Kingdom, 2 to 3 days; Philippines, 2 to 7 days. For other countries we won't make up a figure: we tell you whether it's a matter of a few days and whether it's worth going in urgent mode, depending on where it's headed.
Cases we see every month at the office
This is literally what comes across our counter:
- The student heading off to do a master's. She sends a certified copy of the degree plus the transcript (SET) to the destination university; she keeps the original at home until enrolment.
- The graduate getting their degree recognised abroad. They send the apostilled original degree to the education ministry of the country where they're going to work, with rigid packaging and signature on delivery.
- The engineer who needs to register professionally. An apostilled degree and, depending on the country, a sworn translation, so she can practise her profession abroad.
The pattern is always the same: the right document, properly apostilled where required, and a tracked shipment that doesn't leave the original out in the open.
Pick-up in Barcelona and a fixed quote over WhatsApp
At Acacia Cargo we are a local operator in Barcelona specialising in delicate documentation. We prepare your shipment at Carrer de Pelai 9, 08001: we check that you have the right document, we pack it rigid so that it arrives impeccable, and we send it with a tracked courier and signature on delivery, via the documents channel that doesn't go through commercial customs.
The price is fixed: you tell us the destination and what you're sending, and we quote it —usually within a couple of hours over WhatsApp, or instantly with the online quote—, with no surprises at the end. We're backed by a 5.0 on Google (across around 23 reviews).
Work out your shipment now on our quote page, write to us on WhatsApp at +34 626 78 54 28 or drop by the office. We assist you in Spanish, English and Filipino.
Your degree took years to reach your hands. Let it cross the border intact, on time and without any hassle.
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