Apostille and translation: Italy and Albania

In short

A document issued in one country does not speak for itself in the other. To be used in Italy, an Albanian document has to show two things: that the signature of whoever issued it is genuine, and what it says, in Italian. The same holds the other way round for an Italian certificate needed by an Albanian office.

Between Italy and Albania the first is dealt with by the apostille, a stamp set out in the 1961 Hague Convention. The second by a certified translation. Put like that it sounds small. In practice it is three or four signatures from different offices, in a set order, and each one has to hold for the next to mean anything.

This guide explains how the chain is built and where it usually stops. It is not a list of steps to follow: for those, the office that will receive the document is the reference.

When you need it

For people living between the two countries it comes up more often than you would expect. A marriage in Albania to be registered with your Italian comune. The birth of a child or a grandchild. A death certificate, at a time when nobody wants to deal with paperwork. In the other direction, the Italian pension certificate for the pensioner residence permit, or the marriage certificate for the residence card of a non-EU spouse.

The documents differ. The logic is the same.

The apostille between Italy and Albania, since 2011

Albania acceded to the Hague Convention in 2003, with effect from 2004. Italy, with four other states, had raised an objection to the accession, and for some years the Convention did not apply between the two countries. According to the Hague Conference, Italy withdrew its objection on 26 May 2011, and from that day the Convention has been in force between Italy and Albania. The Ministry of the Interior informed prefects and comuni in circular no. 20 of 15 July 2011.

What this means for you: an Albanian public document does not need legalisation by the Italian consulate, but an apostille from the Albanian authority. And an Italian public document does not need legalisation by the Albanian Embassy, but an apostille from the Italian authority. Italian law allows for exactly this: art. 33 of Presidential Decree 445/2000 requires consular legalisation for foreign documents, but keeps the exemptions set by international agreements.

Who issues the apostille, according to the authorities designated to the Hague Conference:

• in Albania, the legalisation office of the consular directorate of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
• in Italy, the Public Prosecutor's office at the court for judicial and notarial documents, and the Prefecture with territorial competence for other administrative documents. For civil status records, since 31 March 2011, the Prefecture is competent.

The apostille goes only on public documents signed in the original. One prefecture's instructions also point out that the apostille itself does not expire, but the document it sits on may have a limited life under the rules of the country receiving it.

From Albania to Italy: the double apostille

This is what sets this corridor apart. The Italian Embassy in Tirana explains that since 1 January 2019 sworn translations made in Albania can also receive an apostille. Since then, for the Embassy and the Consulate General in Vlorë, an Albanian document to be used in Italy carries two apostilles from the Albanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs: one on the document and one on the Italian translation.

The translation is not just any translation. It is made by a sworn translator on the Albanian Ministry of Justice list, who writes on it a statement that it matches the original, with their name, signature and stamp. Then an Albanian notary attests that the signature is genuine and that the translator holds that status, under art. 135 of Albanian Law no. 110/2018 on notaries. Only then can the translation receive its own apostille. With both the document and the translation apostilled, it goes straight to the Italian authorities, without passing through the consulate.

There is an alternative, and both offices mention it: an Albanian document that already has its apostille can be translated in Italy by a translator recognised by the court, as a sworn translation (traduzione asseverata). Art. 33 of Presidential Decree 445/2000 asks, for foreign-language documents, for an Italian translation certified as accurate by the consulate or by an official translator.

Which of the two suits you depends on where you are, where the originals are and which Italian office will receive them. It is not a choice made once and for all.

Civil status records: two details that matter

For births, marriages and deaths to be registered in Italy, the Consulate General in Vlorë adds a condition: the record must carry the handwritten signature of the Albanian civil registrar who issues it.

Which certificate you ask for matters too. The Supertabella published by the Italian prefectures, in its version of 9 March 2021, suggests for a birth the Albanian certificate on the seven-language form, because it also shows the surname before marriage and can avoid the need for a marriage certificate for someone who took their spouse's surname. That form still needs translating. The same table advises against the personal certificate (Çertifikatë personale), because many Italian comuni do not accept it for registration. These are 2021 indications: before asking for a certificate it is worth checking with the Italian comune that will receive it.

From Italy to Albania

In the other direction the Albanian rule is in Council of Ministers decision no. 858/2021, the one that lists the documents for residence permits. Documents from the country of origin must be translated into Albanian, issued within the last six months, certified and legalised in line with international agreements. Between Italy and Albania, since 2011, that agreement is the Hague Convention, which replaces legalisation with the apostille. The requirement applies to the first permit application. For a family member's residence card the same decision asks for the document proving the family link legalised or apostilled and translated into Albanian.

On the Italian side, certificates from the comune receive their apostille from the Prefecture of the province where the comune sits; notarial and judicial documents, such as the criminal record certificate, from the Public Prosecutor's office. One prefecture's instructions recommend saying, when you request the certificate, that it is for use abroad, so that it carries the right wording.

The point the texts we read do not cover is the Albanian translation: who may make it and how it must be certified for the office receiving it. That is a question for that office before anything is translated.

Where the chain stops

Almost never because of a big mistake. More often because of a detail found only at the last office, when the document has already made its journey:

• a certificate issued more than six months earlier, for an Albanian office that wants recent ones;
• a civil status record without the registrar's handwritten signature, or a form the comune does not accept for registration;
• a translation made in Albania without its own apostille, or without the notary's signature on the translator;
• a document requested in Italy without saying it is for use abroad.

Each of these can be put right. But putting it right means redoing part of the chain, often in another country, and the lost time adds to the time of the other steps, from AIRE to the passport.

What this guide does not do

It does not list costs, timings or office addresses, which change and which each office publishes itself. It does not say whether a document will be accepted: that is for the office receiving it, and if you have a legal doubt about your situation, for example a delicate registration, the right person is a qualified lawyer. The texts cited were read on 6 November 2026.

If someone offers to take care of it, the same checks apply as in the guide on how to choose help you can trust.