All education certificates should be apostilled to prevent fraud. An apostille authenticates documents issued in one country for use in another, and is required for degree certificates to be used within the issuing country or abroad, especially in countries party to the Hague Convention. Degree certificate apostilles are needed for various purposes like employment visas, changing visa status, medical needs, and education equivalency or admissions. The time taken to apostille a degree certificate varies between embassies and countries.