Getting a Russian Diploma Ready for a WES Evaluation in Canada
A civil engineer who had moved to Toronto needed her Russian university diploma apostilled and translated so World Education Services (WES) would recognize it for a professional licensing application.
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Names and identifying details in this case study have been changed, and the situation described is a composite of the kind of diploma evaluation requests we handle regularly — not a single verified client account. It illustrates the real process and typical requirements.
The Client
“Marina” graduated from a technical university in Novosibirsk with a civil engineering degree and moved to Toronto three years later. To register with a Canadian professional engineering body, she first needed her degree evaluated by WES — a standard step for internationally educated professionals in regulated fields — and WES’s requirements for a Russian diploma are specific about how the apostille and translation need to be presented.
The Challenge
WES requires the educational institution or the Ministry of Justice to apostille the diploma, and it wants the certified translation to include both the diploma and its academic transcript (the supplement listing every course and grade) — not just the diploma certificate on its own, which is a common mistake that gets an evaluation returned for more documents. Marina’s diploma also used the older Soviet-successor format from the mid-1990s, with degree terminology that does not map neatly onto Canadian equivalents, which meant the translation needed to render her qualification in a way a WES evaluator unfamiliar with the Russian system could still assess accurately.
What We Did
Steps in Marina's Case
- Confirmed with Marina exactly what WES's current document checklist required before starting — diploma, academic transcript, and apostille on both — since evaluation-body requirements shift and we would rather confirm than assume.
- Apostilled both the diploma and the transcript through the Ministry of Justice, since WES specifically wants the apostille on the originals, not just on a notarized copy.
- Translated both documents together as a matched set, keeping course titles and grading-scale terminology consistent between them so a WES evaluator could cross-reference the transcript against the diploma without confusion.
- Had a Krasnodar notary certify the translator's signature on both documents under Article 81, since WES requires the translation to be certified, not just professionally done.
- Sent Marina signed digital copies for her WES online submission the same week the apostille came back, with the physical originals following by courier for her records.
The Result
WES accepted the submission on the first pass — no request for additional documents, which is the outcome that matters most, since a returned evaluation can add months to the process. The diploma-only mistake is common enough that we now confirm the transcript is included before any Russian diploma job starts, specifically for clients whose evaluation is going to WES or a similar credential body.
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions About Diploma Apostilles and Evaluations
Do I need to translate the transcript too, or just the diploma?
For most credential evaluation services, including WES, yes — the transcript (the document listing your individual courses and grades) is usually required alongside the diploma certificate itself. Submitting only the diploma is one of the most common reasons an evaluation gets sent back for more documents.
Where does the apostille go — on the diploma or on a copy?
This depends on the receiving institution's specific rules, which is exactly the kind of detail we confirm before starting a job rather than assuming. Some evaluation services want the apostille on the original document; others accept it on a notarized copy.
My diploma is from the Soviet era or uses old terminology. Is that a problem?
Not for us to translate, but it's worth flagging when you order: older Russian and Soviet-successor diplomas use degree and specialization terms that don't map directly onto current systems, and a good translation renders them in a way an unfamiliar evaluator can still assess correctly.
How long does apostille + translation take for a diploma and transcript together?
Typically a similar timeline to a single document once the apostille is back from the Ministry of Justice — the main variable is how long the Ministry of Justice apostille step itself takes, which we quote before you order.
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This case study is an illustrative, anonymized composite based on the kind of diploma evaluation cases we handle — it is not a specific verified client account, and names and identifying details have been changed. Credential evaluation requirements are set by the evaluating body (such as WES), not by us, and can change; we recommend confirming the current document checklist with the evaluator before ordering.
