Certificate of sponsorship and police checks: FAQ for Ukrainians

FAQ for Ukrainians on certificates of sponsorship, police checks, ACRO, DBS and apostille legalisation: process and typical mistakes.

Published September 22, 2026

A certificate of sponsorship ties you to one licensed UK employer, and for many roles the paperwork does not stop with that single page. Police checks follow, and anything issued outside the UK may need a certified translation or an apostille before an employer or caseworker will accept it. This page collects the questions Ukrainians ask most about that chain, and one thing up front: Apostilla UK is a private documentation-support company, not a government body.

What we can do is help you get the paperwork into a shape that passes. The apostille itself is attached by the Legalisation Office, which sits inside the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO).

How it works?

An apostille confirms one thing: the signature, stamp or seal on a document is genuine. According to gov.uk, the Legalisation Office checks those marks and then attaches the apostille stamp, which makes the document usable in countries party to the Hague Apostille Convention.

The route depends on where the document came from. Papers issued by a UK court with a wet seal, by a public registry such as a UK birth certificate, UK marriage certificate or UK death certificate, or by a government body with an official signature can be legalised directly. A power of attorney, a contract or a passport copy is different: gov.uk says these need certification by a UK public official, meaning a notary or a solicitor, before the FCDO will look at them.

There is also an electronic route. An e-apostille covers documents uploaded as PDF files carrying an electronic signature from a UK notary or solicitor. The limits are strict, though: gov.uk rules out the e-option for registry records, for the ACRO Police Certificate and for DBS certificates in England and Wales, so paper remains the normal path for police checks. A Ukrainian extract is the opposite case altogether. It was issued outside the UK, so the FCDO will not legalise it; it needs a certified translation, and any legalisation happens on the Ukrainian side before the document travels.

Read the delivery options before you apply. Gov.uk currently states that return of legalised documents to Ukraine is not possible, so the address you give at the start matters more than it seems.

Which countries accept an apostilled document?

A UK apostille works across the countries party to the Hague Apostille Convention, which covers most of Europe and a long list of other jurisdictions. That breadth is why the apostille replaced the older consular route for most purposes.

Outside the convention, an apostille on its own does not close the file. The document needs an embassy attestation, where the embassy of the destination country authenticates it further. If a sponsor or authority mentions attestation, ask which country the document is heading to, because the two routes are not interchangeable.

What happens if my document is rejected by the FCDO?

A rejection stings, but the causes are few and each has a fix. The most common is a document issued outside the UK: the FCDO cannot legalise it, and the paper must be dealt with in the country that issued it. The second is a signature or seal that cannot be verified, since the office checks marks against its records and an unknown one stops everything. The third is missing certification on copies or private papers, which need a UK notary or solicitor first.

After a refusal, correct the underlying problem and apply again. If you already hold an apostille and doubt its authenticity, any UK one, paper or electronic, can be verified online with the issue date and the apostille number, as gov.uk describes. Questions about UK legalisation itself go to the Legalisation Office on +44 20 4623 3100.

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Ukrainian police certificate: where everything starts

For many sponsorship cases the first document is not British at all. The extract about absence of criminal record is issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine through its electronic service, and MVS service centres do not hand out paper versions. If you are applying from the UK, Home Office guidance on criminal records checks for overseas applicants says you apply in the country of origin or through the relevant embassy.

The Ukrainian police certificate hub walks through that stage in detail: how to request the extract, what the electronic service expects, and how the document then fits a UK application. Start there before translation or legalisation.

Step by step: the order that works

Most delays come from doing things out of sequence rather than from the queue itself.

• Ask the employer holding the certificate of sponsorship to confirm in writing which police check they need, and from which country.

• Request the Ukrainian extract through the electronic service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, or apply through the relevant embassy in the UK if the online route is closed to you.

• If a UK check is also required, work out whether it is an ACRO Police Certificate for visa purposes or a DBS check arranged through the employer’s registered body.

• Order a certified translation into English for every document that is not already in English.

• Where a UK-issued document needs legalisation, get notary or solicitor certification first if the document type requires it, then apply to the Legalisation Office.

• Verify the finished apostille online by date and number before anything changes hands.

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Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Ordering a DBS check when the visa route asks for an ACRO Police Certificate, or the reverse. Different bodies, different purposes.

• Assuming an e-apostille covers everything. For ACRO, DBS and registry certificates it does not exist, per gov.uk.

• Sending a foreign-issued document to the FCDO. It will be refused, because legalisation happens in the country of issue.

• Skipping the certified translation, then finding the employer cannot accept a page in Ukrainian.

• Starting legalisation while the certificate itself is wrong.

• Leaving an apostille unchecked, when it can be verified online by date and number.

Other questions that come up

Does the Ukrainian extract need a UK apostille for a British employer? In practice no: the FCDO legalises UK documents only, so employers normally accept the original extract with a certified translation attached. Is a DBS certificate the same as a police certificate? No. One covers UK records for employment checks inside the UK, while a police certificate from your country of origin serves the visa route. The two come from different bodies and answer different questions.

Can a single apostille cover several documents at once? No. Each document receives its own certificate. Does the Legalisation Office pre-approve documents before you apply? It does not; signatures, stamps and seals are checked at the point of application, which is exactly why notary or solicitor certification has to be right the first time.

One small habit saves arguments later: note the issue date and the apostille number as soon as the document comes back. If a licensed sponsor, an employer or an official body ever queries the certificate, the online check settles the question without a single phone call.

Where to go from here

If the Ukrainian extract is still ahead of you, the Ukrainian police certificate hub lays out the full route: how the electronic service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs works, what it asks for, and how the finished document slots into a UK application. Get the sponsor’s requirement in writing first, keep translation and legalisation in the right order, and move through the chain one document at a time.

That sequence is what keeps a sponsorship file moving.

See also

• ACRO Certificate for a Child Under 18: FAQ

• I Lost My ACRO Certificate: What Now? FAQ

• ACRO Certificate After a Name Change or Marriage: FAQ

• ACRO Certificate Refund Policy: Common Questions

• Why Was My ACRO Certificate Rejected by an Embassy? Reasons and How to Fix It

This page is for general information only and is not legal advice. Apostilles for UK public documents are issued exclusively by the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) Legalisation Office; this site is not affiliated with any government body. Please consult a qualified professional before making decisions.

FAQ

An apostille is an official certificate attached to a UK document by the Legalisation Office, part of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. It confirms that a signature, stamp or seal on the document is genuine, so the document is accepted in countries party to the Hague Apostille Convention.

The Legalisation Office checks the signature, stamp or seal on your document and attaches the apostille stamp. You apply online with a debit or credit card, or by post if you add a return address and have access to a printer.

A UK apostille is accepted in countries party to the Hague Apostille Convention. Outside the convention, the receiving country asks for embassy attestation instead of an apostille.

Most rejections come down to three causes: the document was issued outside the UK, its signature or seal cannot be verified, or certification by a UK notary or solicitor is missing. Fix the underlying issue and apply again.

Apostilla UK is a private documentation-support company, not a government body. We help prepare documents for legalisation, including certified translation, but the apostille itself is issued by the Legalisation Office.

Helpful guides

Which UK documents can be apostilled: certificates, degrees, company and court papers, e-Apostille rules, FCDO rejections and embassy attestation explained.

Which countries accept a UK apostille, which require embassy attestation, and country-by-country guides for UK documents used abroad.

Apostille meaning explained for UK documents: what the FCDO certificate looks like, which documents qualify, e-Apostille, and when embassy legalisation.

Official sources

Rules are checked against official sources.

How it works