The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, the Apostille Convention, or the Apostille Treaty, is an international treaty drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. Apostille in India is done for personal documents like birth/death/marriage certificates, degree, diploma and educational documents It specifies the modalities through which a document issued in one of the signatory countries can be certified for legal purposes in all the other signatory states. A certification under the terms of the convention is called an apostille (from Latin post ill and then French: a marginal note) or Hague apostille. It is an international certification comparable to a notarization in domestic law, and normally supplements a local notarization of the document. In this guide, you will know everything about the process, cost and how much time does it take to get it done in India.
Apostille in India
An Apostille is a type of attestation in which documents are legalized in a particular format that is acceptable in all nations that belong to the Hague Convention. Essentially, Apostille is an international attestation that is acceptable in about 92 countries, and most of the western world recognizes Apostille.. . Under normal circumstances, once the document is apostilled, it does not require to be attested further from the concerned embassy.
Apostille stamp is a square shaped computer generated sticker stamp, pasted on reverse of the document by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India. This is a unique computer generated stamp having a unique identification number, through which any member country of The Hague convention can check its authenticity online.
Apostille In India By PCC
Apostille attestation is the authentication of the documents when they are required for international purposes involving the countries that are a part of the Apostille Hague Convention. It is done at the time of obtaining a student visa, work visa, or resident visa or when you are willing to perform business in the apostille country. When you are considering the term ‘apostille attestation’, it can be broken down into two – apostille and attestation. Apostille as an individual word means ‘certification’ and attestation is the way of witnessing a document with a stamp and signature so that it can be submitted by the concerned authority.
When is Apostille Required ?
The law of the country where the document was issued considers it to be a public document; and. The country in which the document is to be used requires an Apostille in order to recognize it as a foreign public document. e.g. importing or exporting products. This requirement is mandatory for the countries which are part of the Hague convention.
Hague Convention
The Hague Convention , also called Apostille Convention, was signed on 5th of October, 1961 in the town of Luxembourg. However, it only became effective from 14th of January, 1965. The Hague Convention protects children and their families against the risks of illegal, irregular, premature or ill-prepared adoptions abroad.When one obtains an apostille on documents, there is no need of same on the documents again for another signatory country. Barriers in trading and other areas have been reduced and there is better accessibility through the nations.
Which countries required apostille of documents?
The Apostille Hague Convention countries that comprise the convention are about 154 in number and apostille of documents is needed for these nations only. Following is the list of all the Hague Convention countries.
Members
- Albania
- Andorra
- Argentina
- Armenia
- Australia
- Austria
- Azerbaijan
- Belarus
- Belgium
- Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Brazil
- Bulgaria
- Burkina Faso
- Canada
- Chile
- China, People’s Republic of
- Costa Rica
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Dominican Republic
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Estonia
- European Union
- Finland
- France
- Georgia
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- Iceland
- India
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Jordan
- Kazakhstan
- Korea, Republic of
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Mexico
- Monaco
- Montenegro
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Norway
- Panama
- Paraguay
- Peru
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Republic of Moldova
- Republic of North Macedonia
- Romania
- Russian Federation
- Saudi Arabia
- Serbia
- Singapore
- Slovakia
- Slovenia
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Suriname
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Tunisia
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
- United States of America
- Uruguay
- Uzbekistan
- Venezuela
- Viet Nam
- Zambia
Contracting Parties
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Bahamas
- Bahrain
- Barbados
- Belize
- Benin
- Bolivia
- Botswana
- Brunei Darussalam
- Burundi
- Cabo Verde
- Cambodia
- Colombia
- Congo
- Cook Islands
- Côte d’Ivoire
- Cuba
- Dominica
- El Salvador
- Eswatini (formerly Swaziland)
- Fiji
- Gabon
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guatemala
- Guinea
- Guyana
- Haiti
- Holy See
- Honduras
- Iraq
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Kosovo
- Kuwait
- Kyrgyzstan
- Lebanon
- Lesotho
- Liberia
- Liechtenstein
- Madagascar
- Malawi
- Mali
- Marshall Islands
- Mongolia
- Namibia
- Nepal
- Nicaragua
- Niger
- Niue
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Palau
- Rwanda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Saint Lucia
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Samoa
- San Marino
- Sao Tome and Principe
- Senegal
- Seychelles
- Tajikistan
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Turkmenistan
- Vanuatu
- Zimbabwe
Apostille in India
Apostille. ..Essentially, Apostille is an international attestation that is acceptable in about 92 countries, and most of the western world recognises Apostille. Apostille stamp is a square shaped computer generate sticker stamp, pasted on reverse of the document by the Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India.
India is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention and any official document destined for this country requires an Apostille from the Secretary of State. India joined the Hague Apostille Convention on July 14, 2005. (Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents).In India, the validity of the apostille sticker is six months. The Government of India decided to make self attestation of documents valid for government related applications. … Self attestation, however, will be retained at places where it is a statutory requirement.
Apostille Procedure
The Government of India decided to make self attestation of documents valid for government related applications. … Self attestation, however, will be retained at places where it is a statutory requirement.The central body that carries out document apostille is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). All original documents/copies requiring Apostille/attestation from MEA must be first verified by the designated authorities of the State/Union Territory from where the document is issued. The cities of operation include -, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, New Delhi, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal ,Guwahati, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Panaji, Raipur, and Thiruvananthapuram. Generally, it begins at the local notary from where the document was issued and is followed by the state authentication and then lastly the MEA apostille sticker.
Personal Document Apostille
It is pretty clear from the term that personal document apostille is the legalization of documents that contain personal data. It comprises the birth certificate apostille and marriage certificate apostille.
- Divorce Certificate
- Death Certificate
- Police Clearance Certificate(PCC)
- Experience Certificate
- Migration Certificate
- Marriage Certificate
- Adoption Deed
- Medical Certificate
- Birth Certificate
- Passport Copies etc.
The personal document apostille process consists of the following steps;
- Notary Attestation
- Home Department Attestation or SDM Attestation
- Apostille from MEA
Educational Certificate Apostille
- Education Department of the concerned State Government/Union Territory (HRD/GAD)/NORKA + Apostille from MEA.
- Degree Certificate
- SSC Certificate
- Transfer Certificate
- Transcript Certificate
- Mark Sheet
- School Leaving Certificate
- Engineering Certificate
- Diploma Certificate
- Nursing Certificate etc.
Depending on the origin or type of the document, the procedure for the attestation of educational certificates will vary. Following are given the different procedures that are specific to the place of issuance of the document and its kind.
- For Maharashtra issued documents
- For out of Maharashtra issued documents
- As per the country’s requirement where HRD is compulsory
Commercial Document Apostille
The documents that approve of the business capital owned by any entrepreneur are referred to as commercial documents. These include documents like property papers, partnership deeds, Memorandum of Association, etc.
- Memorandum Of Association
- Power Of Attorney
- Authority Letter
- Board Resolution
- Article Of Association
- Certificate Of Incorporation
- Commercial Invoice
- Bill Of Lading
- Insurance Certificate
- Invoice Bills etc.
The commercial document apostille process includes the following steps:
- Chamber of Commerce Attestation
- Apostille from MEA
What are apostille services?
An Apostille is a type of attestation in which documents are legalised in a particular format that is acceptable in all nations that belong to the Hague Convention. If a document is apostilled, it does not require to be attested. .. Apostilles authenticate the seals and signatures of officials on public documents such as birth certificates, court orders, or any other document issued by a public authority so that they can be recognized in foreign countries that are members of the 1961 Hague Convention Treaty.
Where can I get apostille services?
Apostille services available online can be accessed through the internet and other media. They higher accessibility compared to the offline ones and can be easy to inquire at. We at GLOBE Pvt. Ltd. are ranked among the best apostille services in India and provide quality services and excellent customer support. We also have 24*7 accessibility and are available online taking queries and supporting the customers in need. Our services are spread all over india also provide service in haugu convection country.
Frequently Asked Questions