Information regarding the legalisation of documents Need for authentication/legalisation? Official documents (including degree certificates and sworn translations) need to be authenticated in order to use them abroad. The authentication or legalisation certifies the origin of a document. During legalisation the genuineness of a signature, the capacity of the signer and, if applicable, the authenticity of the stamp or the seal on the document are verified. How to get a document legalised? The legalisation is done in the country where the document was issued. There are different procedures to authenticate a document. The procedure to follow depends on the country where the document was issued. Please always check the website of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (http://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/services/legalisation_of_documents/) for the most recent information. When using this website, always choose other documents drawn up or legalised by a competent local authority in the field document group. Traditional legalisation This procedure consist of a chain of individual authentications of the document. In first instance the verification is done by officials of the country where the document was issued, in second instance by the Embassy or Consulate where the document is to be used. Check the list of the countries for which a traditional legalisation is required on page 3 of this document Example legalisation by the Belgian Embassy (source: http://diplomatie.belgium.be/) 1
Apostille Countries that signed the Apostille Convention use a simplified legalisation procedure. The procedure is reduced to the issuance of a standard authentication certificate (or apostille) by an authority designated by the country where the public document was issued. Check the list of the countries for which an apostille is required on page 4 of this document. Please note that an apostille can only be provided by the designated authority. More details about these authorities can be found on this website: http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.authorities&cid=41 Example apostille (source: http://www.hcch.net/) Exceptions Certified copy Countries that signed the Brussels Convention of 25 May 1987 are exempted from the requirements of legalisation. For these countries a certified copy (a copy of the degree certificate stamped and signed by the issuing university) is sufficient. Check the list of the countries for which a certified copy is sufficient on page 5 of this document. Other procedures of legalisation For countries that are destabilized by war, other solutions are proposed to authenticate documents. The possible procedure of legalisation can be found on page 5 of this document. Please always check the website of the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (http://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/services/legalisation_of_documents/) for the most recent update. 2
Legalisation Belgian embassy/consulate source: http://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/services/legalisation_of_documents/ (November 2016) A Afghanistan Algeria Angola B Bangladesh Benin Bhutan Bolivia Burkina Faso C Cambodia Cameroon Canada Central African Republic Chad China Comoros Congo (Brazzaville) Congo (DR) Cuba D Djibouti Dominican Republic E Egypt Equatorial Guinea Ethiopia G Gabon Gambia Ghana Greenland Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana H Haiti I Indonesia Iran J Jamaica Jordan K Kenya Kuwait Kyrgyzstan L Laos Lebanon Liberia Libya M Madagascar Malaysia Maldives Mali Mauritania Micronesia Mongolia Mozambique Myanmar N Nauru Nepal Niger Nigeria North Korea P Pakistan Papua New Guinea Philippines Q Qatar R Rwanda S Saudi Arabia Senegal Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands Sri Lanka Sudan T Tajikistan Tanzania Thailand Timor-Leste Togo Tunisia Turkmenistan Tuvalu U Uganda United Arab Emirates Uruguay Uzbekistan V Vanuatu Vietnam Y Yemen Z Zambia Zimbabwe 3
Apostille source: http://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/services/legalisation_of_documents/ (November 2016) A Albania Andorra Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan B Bahamas Bahrain Barbados Belarus Belize Bermuda Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burundi C Cape Verde Chile China (SAR Hong Kong) China (SAR Macau) Colombia Costa Rica Croatia Cyprus Czech Republic D Dominica E Ecuador El Salvador F Fiji Finland French Polynesia G Georgia Greece Grenada Guam H Honduras Hungary I Iceland India Israel J Japan K Kazakhstan Kosovo L Lesotho Liechtenstein Lithuania M Macedonia (FYROM) Malawi Malta Marshall Islands Mauritius Mexico Moldova Monaco Montenegro Morocco N Namibia New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Norway O Oman P Panama Paraguay Peru Poland Portugal Puerto Rico R Romania Russian Federation Sa Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Samoa San Marino São Tomé and Principe Se Serbia Seychelles Slovakia Slovenia South Africa South Korea Spain Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland T Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Turks and Caicos Islands U Ukraine United Kingdom United States V Venezuela W Wallis and Futuna 4
Exceptions Certified copy Denmark Estonia France (+ French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Martinique, New Caledonia, Réunion) Germany Ireland Italy Latvia Luxembourg Netherlands Other procedures of legalisation Iraq 1. Legalisation of the original document by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Iraq 2. Legalisation by the Iraqi Embassy in Amman 3. Legalisation by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry in Amman 4. Legalisation by the Embassy of Belgium in Amman (with translation by a sworn translator in one of the national languages). Nepal 1. Legalisation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nepal 2. Legalisation by the honorary consul of Belgium in Kathmandu. Please note that the stamp "seen by Ministry of Foreign affairs" is not enough. Somalia Please contact the relevant Belgian Embassy or consulate for details about the procedure. Syria 1. Legalisation of the original document by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Syria 2. Legalisation by the Syrian Embassy in Amman 3. Legalisation by the Jordanian Foreign Ministry in Amman 4. Legalisation by the Embassy of Belgium in Amman (with translation by a sworn translator in one of the national languages). 5