Apostille vs. Embassy legalisation for Vietnam
An apostille is a single certificate one country adds to a paper so another country will trust the signature on it. Embassy legalisation is the older and longer way: a national stamp first, then a stamp from the destination's own mission. For now the longer way still applies, so document legalisation for Vietnam runs through both desks. That changes on 11 September 2026.
Vietnam's Hague status and what it means
Vietnam joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2026, but joining and starting fall on different days. The treaty only takes effect there on 11 September 2026. Before that day an Italian apostille has no standing at the far end, so the consular stamp is the thing that makes a paper work. After it, the same paper needs one stamp fewer and one desk fewer. In short, the apostille requirements for Vietnam become one certificate from that date.
The Padua → Vietnam route step by step
Begin with the original paper rather than a photocopy. Take it to the Prefettura if a public office issued it, or to the Procura della Repubblica if a judge or a notary signed it. Buy the €16 stamp, hand the paper in, then collect it stamped. The file next goes to the Vietnamese mission in Italy, which adds the consular stamp and the charge that goes with it. Only then is it ready to travel.
Cost and timing for this route
Two costs sit on the route while the consular leg lasts. The Italian side is a tax stamp on each paper, with some record types exempt. The consular side sets its own charge, which no national rule pins down. Timing follows the same split: the Italian desk moves at its own pace, then the mission adds days of its own. An apostille from Italy to Vietnam will cut that second wait away entirely once the treaty starts there.
Translation and the order of work
Order of work matters more than anything else here. If your file needs a translation, have it sworn before an Italian court first — that is the asseverazione, a signed statement that the words match — and only then send it for stamps. A degree from Padua that reaches the consular desk with a translation stapled on afterwards goes back to the start. Build the bundle once, in the right order, and it moves in one pass.