Apostille

In order for the documents of one country to have legal force in another, they need to be legalized - additionally certified. In the general case, complex, long and expensive consular legalization is used for this - the document is certified sequentially: by a notary, in the Ministry of Justice, in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the consulate of the country of destination. However, in 1961, many countries simplified the procedure and came up with an apostille - a square stamp 10 by 10 centimeters. An Apostille is possible if both countries (the country of the document and the country of destination) recognize Apostilles. But not all countries signed the apostille agreement, so for some, consular legalization is still applied.

If, according to the official registry of the Hague Convention , the country of the document and the country of destination (where you plan to submit the document) recognize apostilles, then consular legalization for your document is not needed, an apostille is needed. Remember that an apostille is always placed in the country whose state authorities issued it. If, however, at least one of the two countries does not recognize the apostille, then the apostille is not needed, but consular legalization is needed. There are exceptions when a separate agreement on the mutual recognition of public documents is concluded between countries. In such cases, neither an apostille nor consular legalization is needed, a notary's certification is sufficient.

Which countries recognize an apostille?

Apostille is recognized by: Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, American Samoa, Andorra, British Antarctic, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Bahrain, Belize, Belgium, Bermuda, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burundi, Vanuatu, United Kingdom , Venezuela, Virgin Islands (UK), Virgin Islands (US), Guyana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Germany, Guernsey, Gibraltar, Honduras, Hong Kong, Grenada, Guam, Denmark, Jersey, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Israel, Ireland, Iceland , Cape Verde, Cayman Islands, Colombia, Kosovo, Costa Rica, Cook Island, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Mauritius, Mayotte, Macao, Malawi, Malta, Morocco, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Monaco, Montserrat, Isle of Man , Namibia, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Niue, New Zealand, New Caledonia, Norway, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Puerto Rico, Reunion, El Salvador, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saint Helena , Northern Mariana Islands, Seychelles, Saint Pierre and Mick Elon, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Suriname, USA, Turks and Caicos, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Wallis and Futuna, Uruguay, Fiji, Philippines, Falklands, France, French Polynesia , Chile, Switzerland, Sweden, Ecuador, Eswatini, South Africa, South Korea, Japan.

Source: Hague Convention register .