Education

APS certificate (Academic Evaluation Centre) for applicants from Vietnam

Anyone who wants to study in Germany with Vietnamese certificates usually needs a certificate from the Academic Evaluation Centre (APS) in Hanoi, which verifies the documents.

Last updated: 5 October 2026 · Draft – not yet editorially reviewed.

The APS (Akademische Prüfstelle) in Hanoi checks Vietnamese academic documents for people who want to study in Germany. If the review is successful, APS issues a certificate or confirmation that is one of the admission requirements for a German university; the APS documents are valid without time limit 1.

Who needs this

Applicants with Vietnamese certificates who want to study in Germany may need APS, depending on their study goal 1.
For undergraduate study (grundständiges Studium), this applies to applicants with Vietnamese certificates who do not yet have a Vietnamese university degree, including school graduates after 12 years and Cao dang graduates 1 2.
For advanced study (weiterführendes Studium), this applies to applicants with a Vietnamese university degree who want to study further in Germany, including a second bachelor’s, master’s, or postgraduate program 1 4.
Applicants with Vietnamese certificates in purely artistic programs, applicants already in Germany through family reunification, and applicants for a German doctoral program are covered by separate rules in the APS sources 1.
Applicants with non-Vietnamese degrees or academic records are not checked by APS under the Vietnam procedure 1 4.
APS is not required for applicants with Vietnamese certificates who were selected for a publicly funded scholarship by, for example, DAAD, MOET, or a German foundation, and for applicants aiming for a doctorate at a German university 1.

Step by step

Check whether your case is the undergraduate or advanced-study APS procedure 1 2 4.
Prepare the required Vietnamese documents and the application form from the website of the German Embassy in Hanoi 2 4.
Pay the APS fee in advance at Vietcombank and keep the payment receipt 2 4.
Submit the documents to APS in Hanoi, either in person or by post 2 4.
If you are in the undergraduate procedure, take the TestAS in English or German and submit the result for university or Studienkolleg applications 1 2.
If you are in the advanced-study procedure, attend the interview in Hanoi or Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt; the interview is in German or English and is not a language test 1 4.
After successful review, APS issues the certificate digitally as DigZert for applicants who completed the procedure after 1 November 2023 1 2 4.

Documents

Completed application form with a photo, filled in German or English and using your full name as in your ID or passport 2 4.
Payment receipt for the APS fee 2 4.
For undergraduate applicants with school leaving documents: the school graduation exam result and the temporary secondary school leaving certificate, each with official copies and a certified translation 2.
For undergraduate applicants with one or two completed study years: secondary school leaving certificate and transcript of completed semesters, each with official copies and a certified translation 2.
For advanced-study applicants: upper secondary graduation certificate, university transcript, and university degree certificate, each with official copies and certified translations; a Vietnamese-English degree certificate needs only official copies 4.
For advanced-study applicants, an optional certified copy of proof of English and/or German can be added 4.
For advanced-study applicants, also include a CV, a list of courses from the last two semesters, and a certified copy of your ID card or the passport data page 4.
A white DIN A4 envelope without any logo, with your name, first name, address, and mobile number, is required 2 4.

Cost and time

The APS fee is 150 USD for the undergraduate procedure and 250 USD for the advanced-study procedure 2 4.
The fee is not refundable after registration or submission 2 4.
For the advanced-study procedure, the APS interview takes about 15 minutes 1 4.
If you fail the APS interview, it can be repeated after six months; you may repeat it twice 4.

Deadlines

For undergraduate applications, documents can be submitted at any time, without a deadline 2.
For advanced-study applications, interviews take place twice a year in May and November in Hanoi and in Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt 1 4.
For the November interview, documents must be submitted by the end of August; for the May interview, by the end of February 1 4.
If no interview is planned, documents can be submitted to APS Hanoi at any time 1.

City by city

Hanoi: APS is located at the German Embassy in Hanoi, 27 Tran Phu, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi 1 2 4.
Hanoi: the DAAD office for study advice is at the Vietnamesisch-Deutsches Zentrum, Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST), with Tuesday and Thursday office hours from 9:00 to 12:00 2 4.
Ho-Chi-Minh-Stadt: APS interviews for advanced study also take place there twice a year 1 4.