Apostille vs. Embassy legalisation for Vietnam
An apostille is a single certificate that one state adds to a public paper so another state will take it without further checks. Embassy legalisation is the older and longer road: the home state stamps the paper, then the foreign mission stamps it again. For Vietnam the longer road is the one that works right now, and it is the one to book if your date is close.
Vietnam's Hague status and what it means
Vietnam joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2026. Joining and starting are two different things: the treaty only takes effect there on 11 September 2026, and before that day an Italian certificate on its own opens no door in Vietnam. So the country is on the list, yet the consular chain is still the live route for this corridor.
The Rome to Vietnam route step by step
Work back from the desk that will read the paper. First get a recent original from the Italian register or notary that issued it. Next take it to the Prefettura in Rome, or to the Procura della Repubblica when a court or a notary signed it. Then hand the stamped file to the mission that serves Vietnam. Every office stamps the signature of the one before it, so the order cannot be moved around.
Cost and timing for this route
Two costs sit on this route and only one of them is Italian. The €16 tax stamp is the Italian part, and a few civil records are exempt from it. The consular fee belongs to the mission that handles Vietnam, so it moves with their tariff. Timing splits the same way: the Prefettura leg is short, and the consular leg is the one that decides your date.
Destination-specific requirements
Vietnam reads the file in Vietnamese, so a translation is normally part of the parcel even though no Italian office demands one. Employers in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City tend to want the degree or the police record itself, not a summary of it. Keep the legalised original, the translation and the consular stamp together as one bundle, because a page split from its stamps counts as a loose copy.