Ukraine is becoming more attractive for foreign investment, labor migration and education. However, foreigners often face problems using documents issued by an appropriate authority of a foreign state on the territory of Ukraine. In particular, there is a need to certify the fact that the document has been duly drawn up and signed by an official who has required authority.
The procedure of the validity confirmation of the originals of official documents or the authenticity certification of the signatures of authorized officials, as well as the validity of prints of stamps, seals, which are affixed to the document is called legalization. As practice shows, in three out of five cases, foreigners find out about the need of documents’ legalization after attempting to use this document on the territory of Ukraine. Therefore, in order to avoid such situations, we will analyze in detail the procedure of documents` legalization in this article.
In general, “legalization” covers two categories:
- Consular legalization
- Apostillation (placing the stamp “Apostille”), in other words, simplified legalization.
The above procedures are carried out for the same purpose, but differ significantly among themselves. We will analyze the differences between these procedures below.
Consular legalization:
- This process is rather complicated as it is necessary to address several institutions.
- The procedure of documents` consular legalization depends on the type of document and the country in which this document will be used.
- The document legalized this way, is valid only on the territory of the country for which the legalization was carried out.
- You shall provide the document`s original or its notarized copy for consular legalization of document.
Apostille:
- Placing the stamp “Apostille” is a simplified way of foreign documents` legalization.
- However, such a procedure applies only to States Parties to the Hague Convention of 1961.
- Unlike consular legalization, the procedure of apostillation requires much less time, since only one body needs to be addressed.
- The official documents are certified by a special stamp “Apostille», which is affixed by the appropriate authorized body of the foreign state which issued this document.
- In addition, apostilled documents can be used not only in one country, but in all States Parties to the Hague Convention.
- The stamp “Apostille” is placed on the document`s original, its notarized copy, or may be issued as an annex to it.
Nevertheless, there are cases when documents` legalization for their use abroad is not needed at all. It is about the States Parties of the Minsk Convention, which abolished the requirement for documents` legalization in relations between the parties to the treaty. That is why, for the use of official documents of these states on the territory of Ukraine, it is enough to translate them into Ukrainian and to notarize such translation.
States Parties of the Minsk Convention
- Azerbaijan
- Armenia
- Belarus
- Bulgaria
- Macedonia
- Hungary
- Georgia (except the Autonomous Republic of Abkhazia and South Ossetia)
- Kazakhstan
- Kyrgyzstan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Mongolia
- Poland
- Republic of Moldova
- Russian Federation
- Romania
- Serbia
- Tajikistan
- Uzbekistan
- Czech Republic
- Estonia
Consular legalization and apostillation of documents in Ukraine for their usage abroad
Consular Legalization:
Documents not subject to legalization:
– documents that contradict the legislation of Ukraine may harm the interests of Ukraine or encroach on the honor and dignity of citizens;
– originals or any copies of passports, military tickets, labor books, documents having the character of correspondence, weapons carry permits, vehicles registration certificates (technical passports), driver’s license, identity cards, legal acts;
– documents issued with excessive powers of officials or bodies.
Documents subject to legalization:
– Originals: certificates on registration of civil status acts; certificates of civil registration authorities; documents on education – diplomas and extracts from credentials (international standard), certificates of specialized training in medicine, a candidate and doctor of sciences diplomas; archival documents issued by the archives of the State Committee of Archives of Ukraine and departmental archives;
– other official documents (for example, commercial documents such as company registration certificates or product quality certificates, etc.) after their copies notarization and registration by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
The procedure of consular legalization depending on the document`s type:
– Documents issued by the civil registration authorities shall be certified by the regional departments of justice of the region where they were issued at first, by the Department of Justice of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, by the city administration of justice of the cities of Kyiv and Sevastopol, and then – by the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
– In order to legalize the documents on the education of an international standard, it is necessary to submit a letter-request from the higher educational institution that issued the documents. Such a letter-request must be duly certified by the ministry that the relevant educational institution is subordinated to. Afterwards such document is legalized in the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
– Archival certificates are directly sent to the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, which certifies the State Archives Committee of Ukraine official`s signature.
– Commercial documents shall first be certified by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, and then legalized in the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
The last step in legalizing any document is its certification in the diplomatic mission of the country where such a document will be used.
Apostille:
Documents not subject to apostillation:
– documents issued by foreign diplomatic institutions of Ukraine;
– administrative documents directly related to commercial or customs operations;
– originals of passport documents, military tickets, labor books, identity cards, etc .;
– legal acts.
Documents to be apostilled
The stamp “Apostille” is affixed to official documents issued in Ukraine and intended for use abroad, namely:
– documents of the judicial authorities of Ukraine;
– documents of the prosecutor’s office of Ukraine, bodies of the Ministry of Justice;
– administrative documents;
– education documents and academic titles;
– documents issued by state and private notaries;
– official certificates of registration of a document or fact that existed on a certain date.
The order of apostillation depending on the issuing body:
– diplomas, educational institutions certificates, curricula and other documents issued by schools or other public authorities, enterprises, institutions and organizations related to education and science are apostilled in Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine.
– Stamp “Apostille” on the certificate issued by the state civil registration, extracts from the State register of acts of civil status, court decisions and other documents issued by the judicial authorities, courts, and documents issued by the notaries of Ukraine places the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
– All other types of documents are apostilled by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
Consular legalization and apostillation of documents abroad for their use in Ukraine
Consular Legalization:
In general, the procedure of consular legalization abroad is conducted according to a similar principle as in Ukraine. However, it is important that in each particular country, and sometimes even in each administrative-territorial unit (province, state, autonomy, etc.), there is a unique system of state bodies that differ in their powers and status. All this, as well as the type of document and the authority that issued it, have a significant impact on where you need to apply for consular legalization. That is, if in one country the document originally is certified by the issuing authority and then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the other country, consular legalization may initially be carried out by judicial authorities, notary bodies, prefectures, bodies or officials of local governments or the Ministry of Justice with further legalization in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
In any case, the final stage of documents` consular legalization abroad for use in Ukraine is their legalization in the diplomatic mission of Ukraine.
Consular legalization is mandatory for the following countries: Algeria, Angola, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Bhutan, Vatican, Gabon, Haiti, Guyana, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Yemen, Zambia, Western Sahara, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Qatar, Kenya, Kenya, Kiribati, Comoros, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kosovo, Côte d’Ivoire Ivory Coast, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Maldives, Morocco, Federates the United States of Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Nicaragua, United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Singapore, Solomon Islands , Somalia, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Tanzania, Togo, Tuvalu, Tunisia, Uganda, Uruguay, Philippines, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Sri Lanka, Jamaica.
Apostille:
The authorized bodies that need to be addressed, the cost and terms of the documents` apostillation varies in each of The Hague Convention States. We provide all the necessary information on the apostillation procedure in each of the States Parties to the Convention below.
ALBANIA
Effective Date: 09.05.2004.
Designated Competent Authority: the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Consular Department Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Boul. Gjergj Fishta, no 6 1000-TIRANA Albania.
Price: Albanian documents: 200 lek (± 1.6 €), foreign documents: reciprocity.
ANDORRA
Effective Date: 31.12.1996.
Designated Competent Authority:
- The Minister of Foreign Affairs;
- The Coordinator of Bilateral and Consular Affairs;
- The Director of Multilateral Affairs and Cooperation;
- The Head of Unit of General and Juridical Affairs.
Address: C/ Prat de la Creu 62-64, AD500 Andorra la Vella, Principat d’Andorra.
Price: € 8.58.
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
Effective Date: 01.11.1981.
Designated Competent Authority: The Registrar of the High Court of Antigua and Barbuda.
Address: Registrar Supreme Court, High Street, Parliament Drive, St John’s, Antigua.
ARGENTINA
Effective Date: 18.02.1988.
Designated Competent Authority: The Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs (The Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs has signed an Agreement with the Federal Board of Notariat, by which the different Bodies of Notaries Public of Argentina have been authorised to authenticate signatures with the Apostille legalisation.This designation has become in force on 1 December 2003.
The Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs remains being the Authority of Application of the Convention.)
Address: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto, Esmeralda 1212, C1007ABR, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina.
Price: By The Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs – $39 pesos argentinos.The Colegios de Escribanos (Bodies of Notaries Public) charge a maximum fee of $69 pesos argentinos. This service includes the certification of the signature of the Public Notary.
Source: http://www.mrecic.gov.ar/
AUSTRALIA
Effective Date: 16.03.1995.
Designated Competent Authority:
- The Secretary to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Commonwealth of Australia;
- Embassies;
- High Commissions and Consulate (except Consulates headed by an Honorary Consul).
Address: R.G. Casey Building, John McEwen Crescent, Barton, ACT 0221, Australia.
Price: 80 AUD.
Source: http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/our-locations/missions/Pages/our-embassies-and-consulates-overseas.aspx
AUSTRIA
Effective Date: 13.01.1968.
Designated Competent Authority:
The Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs with regard to all documents issued by:
- the Federal President or the Office of the Federal President;
- the President of the National Council;
- the President of the Federal Council or the Parliamentary Administrative Office;
- the federal government;
- a federal ministry;
- the Constitutional Court or the Administrative Court;
- the Supreme Court, the Supreme Cartel Court at the Supreme Court, the Supreme Restoration Commission at the Supreme Court, the Supreme Restitution Commission at the Supreme Court or
- the Court of Audit.
Address: Bundesministerium für Europa, Integration und Äußeres Minoritenplatz 8A – 1014 Vienna.
Price: The fees at the regional courts (judicial and notarial documents): € 13,70, Fees at the Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs: € 17,50.
Source: https://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/travel-stay/documents-and-authentications/authentication/apostille/
BAHAMAS
Effective Date: 10.07.1973.
Designated Competent Authority:
- Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Director General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Under Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Senior Assistant Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
First Assistant Secretary,
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Address: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs East Hill St, P. O. Box N 3746, Nassau, N.P.,The Bahamas.
Price: A fee of $20.00 per document is charged to process a document. If the main document is done in duplicate, the second and subsequent copies are $20.00 each. If several copies make up a whole, the main document is $20.00 and the others are $20.00 each. If more than one signature is required on a single document, i.e. there are several certificates attached to the same document, certification of the first signature is $20.00 and each subsequent signature is $10.00.
Source: http://www.bahamas.gov.bs (Ministry of Foreign Affairs/Government/Consular Services/ Apostilles/Legalization of Documents)
BARBADOS
Effective Date: 13.11.1966.
Designated Competent Authority:
- Solicitor-General;
- Deputy Solicitor General;
- Registrar of the Supreme Court;
- Registrar of Corporate Affairs;
- Permanent Secretary in the Ministry responsible for Foreign Affairs;
- Chief of Protocol.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs #1 Culloden Road St. Michael, Barbados, W.I.
Price: 50$
Source: https://www.caipo.gov.bb
BELGIUM
Effective Date: 09.02.1976.
Designated Competent Authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.
Address: rue des Petits Carmes 27,1000 BRUSSELS, Belgium.
Price: € 20 (free of consular taxes (10 €) if indigence is proven.)
Source: https://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/services/legalisation_of_documents/faq
BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Effective Date: 24.01.1965.
Designated Competent Authority:
- Courts of First Instance of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Municipal Courts of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Basic Courts of Republika Srpska
- Basic Court of Brcko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Price: The fee differs depending on the number of documents that the applicant is requesting to be apostillised.
Source: https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=311
BRAZIL
Effective Date: 14.08. 2016.
Designated Competent Authority: The National Council of Justice (NRYU) (15 thousand notaries are the competent authorities for the apostille procedure in Brazil.)
Address: Conselho Nacional de Justiça SEPN 514, bloco B, lote 7, sala 11 Brasilia/DF, Brasil CEP 70095-900
CHINA
The procedure for placing apostille and legalization of documents in China may seem too complicated because Chinese legislation predict as apostille as consular legalization.
This is because the administrative regions of the Republic of China (Hong Kong and Macao) are independent parties to the Hague Convention on Apostil from 1961, the procedure for apostilling documents here applies, and consular legalization operates throughout the rest of the territory.
The Apostille stamp is placed in special organs of the aforementioned administrative districts in China; the procedure foresees placement either on copies of documents or on originals, depending on the conditions laid down by the authorities or institutions in which documents are required to be submitted.
The period of placement of apostille varies according to the document and usually does not exceed thirty days, and for some documents maximum 10 days.
HONG KONG
Effective Date: 25.04.1965
Designated Competent Authority: The Registrar of the High Court.
Address: The Registrar, High Court, Room LG115, LG1, High Court Building,38 Queensway, Hong Kong
Price: $125 HKD.
Source: http://www.judiciary.hk/en/crt_services/apostille.htm
MACAO
Effective Date: 04.02.1969
Designated Competent Authority:
- Chief Executive
- Secretary for Administration and Justice
- Director of Justice Affairs Department
Address:
- Chief Executive: Sede do Governo da RAEM, Avenida da Praia Grande, Macao, China.
- Secretary for Administration and Justice: Rua de S. Lourenço, n.º 28, Sede do Governo,4.º andar Macao, China.
- Director of Justice Affairs Department: Legal Affairs Bureau, Rua do Campo, n.º 162
Administração, Pública 19.º andar, Macao, China. - Price: free of charge.
CHILE
Effective Date: 30.08.2016
Designated Competent Authority:
- Assistant Secretary of Justice (Under-Secretary of Justice), Regional Ministerial Secretaries of Justice (Regional Ministerial Secretariat of Justice)
- Regional Secretaries of the Ministry of Education (Regional Secretaries of the Ministry of Education)
- Regional Ministerial Health Secretaries, Directors of Health Services, Intendant of Health Providers (Secretarial Regional Secretaries of Health, Health Service Directors, Intendent of Health Providers)
- National Director, Regional Directors of the Civil Registry and Identification Service (National Director, Regional Directors of the Civil and Identification Registration Service)
- General Directorate of Consular and Immigration Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (General Direction of Consular and Immigration Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Address: These institutions will apostille documents in a decentralized way throughout the Chilean territory, specifically in the respective capitals of the 15 geographical regions of the country. The only exception will be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which does not have regional offices. For that reason this Ministry shall only apostille documents in its headquarters in Santiago.
Price: free.
Source: http://apostilla.gob.cl/en/caracteristicas-de-la-apostilla-chilena/
COLOMBIA
Effective Date: 30.01.2001.
Designated Competent Authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legalization Area.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Coordination of Legalizations and Apostille, Avenida 19 no. 98-03 pisos 5, 6, 7 y 8, Edificio Torre 100 B, BOGOTA, DC, Colombia.
Price: 31,000 Colombian pesos.
Source: http://www.cancilleria.gov.co/
COSTA RICA
Effective Date: 06.04.2011.
Designated Competent Authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship of Costa Rica, Department of Authentications
Address: Departamento de Autenticaciones,Dirección General, Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y Culto de Costa Rica Avenida 7-9, Calle 11-13 , San José, Costa Rica.
Price: ¢ 625.00 (= € 1).
Source: https://www.rree.go.cr
CROATIA
Effective Date: 24.01.1965.
Designated Competent Authority: Municipal courts or the Ministry of Justice and Administration.
Address: Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Croatia, Ulica grada Vukovara 49,10 000 Zagreb, Croatia.
Price: The Ministry of Justice charges for each Apostille 30 kuna. This price is prescribed by Croatian administrative tax Act. The Municipal Courts charge court tax from 50 to 60 Croatian kuna, according to the Act of court tax (the price depends on whether
the text is in the Croatian language – 50 kuna – or translation – 60 Croatian kuna.)
Source: https://pravosudje.gov.hr/
CYPRUS
Effective Date: 30.04.1973.
Designated Competent Authority: The Ministry of Justice and Public Order of the Republic of Cyprus.
Address: 125, Athalassas Avenue, 1461 Lefkosia (Nicosia), Cyprus.
Price: € 5.00.
Source: http://www.mjpo.gov.cy
DENMARK
It should be noted that this convention does not apply to Greenland and the Faroe Islands.
Effective Date: 29.12.2006.
Designated Competent Authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legalisation Office, Asiatisk Plads 2, DK, 1448 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Price: 195 DKK.
Source: http://um.dk/da
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Effective Date: 30.08.2009.
Designated Competent Authority:
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Service of the Dominican Republic
- Vice Ministry for Consular and Migratory Affairs
Address: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores y del Servicio Exterior Ave. Independencia No. 752 Estancia San Gerónimo, Santo Domingo Distrito Nacional ,Dominican Republic.
Price: 620 Dominican pesos (16 USD)
Source: http://www.mirex.gov.do/
ECUADOR
Effective Date: 02.04.2005
Designated Competent Authority: General Director of Legalization, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Carrión E1-76 y 10 de Agosto, QUITO, Ecuador.
Price: 20 US Dollars.
Source: http://www.cancilleria.gob.ec/
EL SALVADOR
Effective Date: 31.05.1996.
Designated Competent Authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Address: Calle el Pedregal, Boulevard Cancillería, Antiguo Cuscatlán,El Salvador
Price: free.
Source: https://rree.gob.sv
FIJI
Effective Date: 10.10.1970.
Designated Competent Authority: The Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Address: Levels 1 & 2, South Wing, Bose Levu Vakaturaga Complex, 87 Queen Elizabeth Drive, P.O. Box 2220, Government Buildings, Suva, Republic of Fiji.
Price: Presently there are no fees for Apostille Stamp.
Source: http://www.foreignaffairs.gov.fj
FRANCE
Effective Date: 24.01.1965.
Designated Competent Authority: “General Prosecutors at the Courts of Appeal”.
Address: list of addresses.
(https://assets.hcch.net/docs/e7b31b40-450f-42d6-bb53-95e02f8e9976.pdf)
Price: free of charge.
FINLAND
Effective Date: 26.08.1985.
Designated Competent Authority: Registry offices.
Price: €13.00.
Source: http://www.maistraatti.fi/en/
GERMANY
Effective Date: 13.02.1966.
Designated Competent Authority:
- For federal documents : Federal Office of Administration (Exception: For Federal Patents Court and German Patent Office documents, the Apostille is issued by the president of the German Patent Office.)
- For German State Documents : Documents of Administrative Authorities (except Judicial Administrative Authorities):
- Interior ministries (senate departments), regional commissioners, regional administration;
- in Berlin: State Office for Residence and Regulatory Affairs;
- in Lower Saxony: Police headquarters in Braunschweig, Göttingen, Hannover, Lüneburg, Oldenburg, and Osnabrück;
- in Rhineland-Westphalia: Supervisory and service directorate in Kaiserslautern;
- in Saxony: State directorates in Chemnitz, Dresden, and Leipzig;
- in Saxony-Anhalt: State administrative office in Magdeburg;
- in Thuringia: State administrative office in Weimar.
- Documents of Judicial Administrative Authorities, Courts of General Jurisdiction (Civil and Criminal Courts), and Notaries: Justice ministries (senate departments), chief justices of state (administrative) courts.
- Documents of Courts Other Than Those of General Jurisdiction: Interior ministries (senate departments), regional commissioners, regional administration, justice ministries (senate departments), chief justices of state (administrative) courts.
Price: Fees are set on the basis of the value of the certificate. The costs incurred by the applicant are between a minimum of €10 and a maximum of €130. On average the fees amount to between 10 Euros and 20 Euros.
Source: https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=322
GREECE
Effective Date: 18.05.1985
Designated Competent Authority:
- Regional Self Government for all documents issued by their services/ offices.
- The Decentralized Administrations , for all documents issued by:
- The public civil services of the Regions that do not fall under the competence of the Regional Self Governement;
- Legal Entities of Public Law;
- First degree Local Governement Organizations;
- The Registry Offices.
- For judicial documents, the First Instance Court of the region where the issuing authority is seated.
Address:
Decentralized Administrations (https://assets.hcch.net/docs/cc3ac3f9-737f-4749-95b6-408275d59a76.pdf)
The First Instance Courts (https://assets.hcch.net/docs/8056af52-3fab-4515-a3fb-2e948f3e0a33.pdf).
Price: no charge.
Source: https://diavgeia.gov.gr/
HONDURAS
Effective Date: 30.09.2004
Designated Competent Authority: Minister of Foreign Affairs, Secretary of State in the Office of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Government Civic Center, Presidential House, Blvd. Kuwait, adjoining the Supreme Court of Justice, TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras
Price: Lps.150.00 (approximately 5-6 euros).
Source: http://www.sre.gob.hn/
INDIA
Effective Date: 14.07.2005
Designated Competent Authority: Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India.
Address: CPV Division, Patiala House Annexe, Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110001, India.
Price: Indian Rs. 50.00.
Source: http://www.mea.gov.in
IRELAND
Effective Date: 09.03.1999.
Designated Competent Authority: The Department of Foreign Affairs.
Address:
- Consular Section, Department of Foreign Affairs, Hainault House, 69 – 71 St. Stephen’s Green, DUBLIN 2, Ireland
- Consular Services, Department of Foreign Affairs, 1a South Mall, CORK, Ireland
Price: The price charged by the Department for the issuance of an Apostille Stamp is €20. In relation to an Adoption dossier, which could contain up to 300 documents, the Department charges €50 per Adoption pack.
Source: https://www.dfa.ie/
ISRAEL
Effective Date: 14.08.1978.
Designated Competent Authority:
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel
- Registrars of Magistrates’ Courts and Civil Servants appointed by the Minister of Justice under Notaries Law.
Address:
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 9 Yitzhak Rabin Blvd., Kiryat Ben-Gurion, JERUSALEM 91035, Israel.
- Registrars of Magistrates’ Courts and Civil Servants, appointed by the Minister of Justice under Notaries Law, 1976, Courts Administration, 22 Kanfey Nesharim St., Jerusalem 95464 , Israel.
Price: 35 Shekels.
Source: http://mfa.gov.il
ITALY
Effective Date: 11.02.1978.
Designated Competent Authority:
- In the case of judicial documents, civil status documents and notarial acts – the public prosecutor at the courts in the jurisdiction in which the documents were issued;
- In the case of all other administrative documents provided for in the Convention – the prefect with territorial competence, for the Valle d’Aosta the President of the Region, and for the provinces of Trente and Bolzano the Government Commissioner.
Address: In each case, the address could be found by the link: https://www.giustizia.it/giustizia/it/mg_4.wp?facetNode_1=3_2&selectedNode=3_2_13
JAPAN
Effective Date: 27.07.1970.
Designated Competent Authority: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Tokyo.
Address: Kasumigaseki 2-2-1, Chiyoda-ku, TOKYO 100-8919, Japan.
Price: no charge.
Source: http://www.mofa.go.jp
LIBERIA
Effective Date: 08.02.1996.
Designated Competent Authority:
- The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputies and Assistant Ministers;
- The Minister of Justice, the Deputies and Assistant Ministers;
- The Clerk and Deputy Clerk(s) of the Supreme and Circuit Court(s);
- The Registrars and Deputy Registrars of Corporations;
- The Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of Maritime Affairs or Special Agents thereof.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Capitol Hill, Monrovia, Republic of Liberia.
Source: http://www.mofa.gov.lr
LIECHTENSTEIN
Effective Date: 17.09.1972
Designated Competent Authority: Government Chancellery of the Princely Government.
Address: Government Chancellery of the Princely Government, government buildings, 9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
Price: CHF 30 – per Apostille (apporox. € 20.00)
Source: https://www.llv.li
LUXEMBOURG
Effective Date: 03.06.1979.
Designated Competent Authority: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Office of Passports, Visas and Legalizations), 43 Roosevelt Boulevard, L-2450 LUXEMBOURG
Price: € 20.00.
Source: http://www.mae.lu/
MALAWI
Effective Date: 02.12.1967.
Designated Competent Authority:
- the Attorney General or the Solicitor General;
- the Permanent Secretary of a Government Ministry;
- the Registrar of the High Court;
- the Registrar General;
- a Government Agent;
- a notary public;
- a Resident Magistrate.
Address:
- The Attorney General or the Solicitor General, Solicitor General and Secretary for Justice, Ministry of Justice Headquarters, Capital Hill, Private Bag 333, Lilongwe 3, Malawi.
- Registrar General, Fatima Arcade, Haile Sellaisie Road, P.O. Box 100, Blantyre, Malawi.
Source: http://www.sdnp.org.mw
MALTA
Effective Date: 03.03.1968.
Designated Competent Authority: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Palazzo Parisio, Merchants Street, VALLETTA CMR 02, Malta
Price: EUR 20 (commercial), EUR 12 (non-commercial).
Source: https://foreignaffairs.gov.mt
MARSHALL ISLANDS
Effective Date: 14.08.1992.
Designated Competent Authority:
- Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Marshall Islands,
- Attorney General and Acting Attorney General,
- Clerk and Deputy Clerk of the High Court,
- Registrars and Deputy Registrars of Corporations,
- Maritime Administrator and Special Agents thereof, and
- Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners of Maritime Affairs or Special Agents thereof.
Source: https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=373
MEXICO
Effective Date: 14.08.1995.
Designated Competent Authority: they are divided into two categories:
- Apostille for Federal Documents (Dirección de Coordinación Política con los Poderes de la Unión
Subdirección de Formalización y Control) - Apostille for State Documents (There are 32 competent authorities designated to issue Apostilles for state documents; for more information – https://assets.hcch.net/upload/auth12contact_mx.pdf)
Price: 710 pesos mexicanos per apostille for federal documents.
Source: http://dicoppu.segob.gob.mx/
MONACO
Effective Date: 31.12.2002.
Designated Competent Authority: Department of Legal Services.
Address: Department of Legal Services, Palace of Justice, 5, Colonel Bellando de Castro Street, 98,000 MONACO, BP 513, MC 98015 Monaco Cedex.
Price: € 5.
Source: http://service-public- particuliers.gouv.mc/Justice/Documents-et-demarches-judiciaires/Apostille-Direction
-des-Services-Judiciaires/Faire-apostiller-un-document
NAMIBIA
Effective Date: 30.01.2001.
Designated Competent Authority:
- Registrar of the High and Supreme Court of Namibia
- Ministry of Justice (The Permanent Secretary)
Address:
- Registrar of the High and Supreme Court of Namibia, High Court Building, Luderitz Street, Private Bag, 13179, WINDHOEK, Namibia.
- Ministry of Justice, Justitia Building, Independence avenue , 3rd floor, Private Bag 13302, WINDHOEK, Namibia.
Price: no charge.
NETHERLANDS
Effective Date: 08.10.1965.
Designated Competent Authority: district courts.
Address: to find the nearest one you may use this link (https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Organisatie-en-contact/Organisatie/Rechtbanken/)
Price: 20 euro per apostille.
Source: https://www.rechtspraak.nl
NEW ZEALAND
(Does not apply to Tokelau)
Effective Date: 22.11.2001.
Designated Competent Authority: Department of Internal Affairs, Authentication Unit.
Address:
- Courier and public office, Authentication Unit, 120 Victoria Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, New Zealand.
- Standard post, Authentication Unit, PO Box 805, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
Price: NZ$32 for an Apostille certificate and $15 for each additional Apostille issued for documents submitted at the same time. Any number of documents issued by the same authority may be included in one Apostille.
NORWAY
Effective Date: 29.07.1983.
Designated Competent Authority:
- The County Governors.
- Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 7. juni-plassen / Victoria Terrasse, PO box 8114 Dep., 0032 Oslo, Norway.
Price: no charge.
Source: https://www.regjeringen.no
OMAN
Effective Date: 30.01.2012.
Designated Competent Authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Consular Department).
Address: P.O. Box 252, 113 Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
PANAMA
Effective Date: 04.08.1991.
Designated Competent Authority:
- Concerning the documents authorized by competent court authorities or officials – the Secretary of the Supreme Court or his legal substitutes.
- Concerning deeds drawn up by a notary or private documents authenticated by a notary – the officials of the department of administrative service of the Ministry of Justice.
- Regarding other documents issued by any central government bodies, any autonomous or semi-autonomous bodies, municipal or police authorities or a Public Ministry – the officials of the consular and legalisation department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- Regarding all other public documents, any of the three preceding procedures are allowed.
Price:
- The Secretary of the Supreme Court – no charge.
- The department of administrative service of the Ministry of Justice – 2 balboas (equivalent to USD $2).
- Consular and legalisation department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – 2 balboas (equivalent to USD $2).
Source: https://www.mire.gob.pa
PARAGUAY
Effective Date: 30.08.2014.
Designated Competent Authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate-General of Consular Affairs.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General of Consular Affairs, Authentications Department, 14 de Mayo e/ Estrella y Palma, Asunción – Paraguay.
Price: 40.312 Guarani± 33 US$.
Source: http://www2.mre.gov.py/
PERU
Effective Date: 30.09.2010.
Designated Competent Authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores del Perú © 2017, Jirón Lampa 545, Lima 1, Perú
Price: € 6.70.
Source: http://www.rree.gob.pe
PORTUGAL
Effective Date: 04.02.1969.
Designated Competent Authority:
- The Attorney General of the Republic;
- The Attorneys General on behalf of Porto, Coimbra and Évora and the Assistant Attorneys General with the Representants of the Republic of the Autonomic Regions of Madeira and Açores.
Address: The Procurator-General of the Republic, (Procuradoria Geral de República), Address: Rua da, Escola Politécnica, 140, 1269-103 Lisboa, Portugal.
Price: €10.20.
Source: http://www.ministeriopublico.pt/
SAMOA
Effective Date: 13.09.1999.
Designated Competent Authority: The Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, PO Box L1859, Apia, Samoa.
SAN MARINO
Effective Date: 13.02.1995.
Designated Competent Authority: The Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Ufficio Del Registro E Conservatoria, Via 28 Luglio, 196, 47893 Repubblica San Marino.
Price: € 5.00.
Source: http://www.esteri.sm
SEYCHELLES
Effective Date: 31.03.1979.
Designated Competent Authority:
- the Minister responsible for Foreign Affairs, or any person designated and officially authorized by him/her;
- the Attorney General, or any person designated and officially authorized by him/her;
- the Secretary to the Cabinet;
- the Registrar of the Supreme Court.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs,P. O. Box 656, ‘Maison Quéau de Quinssy, Mont Fleuri, Mahé
Republic of Seychelles
SLOVAKIA
Effective Date: 17.02.2002.
Designated Competent Authority:
- All Regional Courts (“Krajský súd”) for: a) public documents issued or certified by District Courts, notaries or huissiers de justice within their territorial jurisdiction; b) translations executed by official (court appointed) translators or opinions issued by official experts;
- The Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic (“Ministerstvo spravodlivosti Slovenskej republiky”) for all documents emanating from judicial authorities other than the documents specified above (i.e. documents emanating from courts other than District Courts.).
- The Ministry of Interior of the Slovak Republic („Ministerstvo vnútra Slovenskej republiky”) for public documents emanating from authorities within its jurisdiction with the exception of documents specified in point below;
- The Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic („Ministerstvo školstva Slovenskej republiky”) for public documents emanating from authorities within its jurisdiction;
- The Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic (Ministerstvo zdravotníctva Slovenskej republiky), for public documents issued by authorities falling under its jurisdiction;
The Ministry of Defence of the Slovak Republic („Ministerstvo obrany Slovenskej republiky”) for public
- documents emanating from authorities within its jurisdiction;
- The District Office (obvodný úrad) for: a) extracts from registers of births, deaths and marriages (matrika), except for decisions concerning civil status; b) documents issued by autonomous local authorities;
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic („Ministerstvo zahranièných vecí Slovenskej republiky”) for any other public document issued in the Slovak Republic not specified above.
Price:
- Ministry of Justice: 10 Euro;
- Ministry of Health: 10 Euro;
- Ministry of Interior: 10 Euro;
- Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport: 10 Euro;
- Ministry of Defense: 10Euro;
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 20Euro.
SLOVENIA
Effective Date: 24.01.1965.
Designated Competent Authority:
- The Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia (for certification of the authenticity of the signatures and seals of notaries, district judges, and court interpreters on public documents);
- District Courts in Slovenia (for certification of the authenticity of the signatures and seals of notaries, notary candidates, judges (except district judges), state institutions, organisations and individuals, executing public powers of attorney and legal persons on public documents-applicable for all district courts in Slovenia).
Price:
- The Ministry of Justice charges administrative tax for the issuance of Apostille on public documents in accordance with the Act on administrative taxes. The administrative tax for issuance of each Apostille amounts to € 3,00.
- District courts in Slovenia as judicial authorities are obliged by Court fees Act, which prescribes a fee of € 2,46 for a single Apostille when the public document is in the Slovenian language and € 5,00 when the public document is in a foreign language.
Source: http://www.arhiv.mp.gov.si
SPAIN
Effective Date: 25.09.1978.
Designated Competent Authority: 1. Administrative documents:
- Governance Secretaries of the High Courts of Justice
- The Head of the Unit of the Ministry of Justice
- The Territorial Managers of the Territorial Management Bureau
Deans of the Notarial Colleges.
- Judicial documents:
- Governance Secretaries of the High Courts of Justice
- The Head of the Unit of the Ministry of Justice
- The Territorial Managers of the Territorial Management Bureaux.
- Notarial documents: Deans of the Notarial Colleges or those acting in lieu thereof, pursuant to the regulations, or in those Public Notaries in whom the former may delegate, regardless of where in Spain such documents were issued.
- Documents issued by High Courts: Only the Governance Secretary (Secretario de Gobierno) of the relevant Court for documents issued by the Court in question or their legal deputies as well as the officers in whom the latter may delegate are competent.
- Public documents: At the citizen’s choice and both on paper or electronically, by any of the authorities mentioned in Section 1 above.
Price:
The High Courts of Justice and the Ministry of Justice do not charge for the issuance of an Apostille.
The Professional Association of Notaries charges between € 3.50 and € 7.50.
SOUTH AFRICA
Effective Date: 30.04.1995.
Designated Competent Authority:
- Any magistrate or additional magistrate;
- Any registrar or assistant registrar of the Supreme Court of South Africa;
- Any person designated by the Director-General: Justice;
- Director-General: International Relations and Cooperation.
Price: free.
Source: http://www.dirco.gov.za/
SWEDEN
Effective Date: 01.05.1999.
Designated Competent Authority: all public notaries.
Price: SEK 250 (approx. €27).
SWITZERLAND
Effective Date: 11.03.1973.
Designated Competent Authority:
Address: The following link includes a list of the above-mentioned bodies and their address https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=349
Price: Generally, the prices vary from 15 to 30 Swiss francs (approx. €10 to €20).
TURKEY
Effective Date: 29.09.1985.
Designated Competent Authority:
Administrative documents: a) in provinces: Governor, Head Official of the District, Chief Secretary;
- b) in towns: Head Official of the District.
Judicial documents: Presidencies of the Judicial Commissions where the high criminal courts exist
Price: no charge.
Source: http://www.adalet.gov.tr/
UNITED KINGDOM
(Does not apply to the countries that emerged from the UK and have not signed the Convention)
Effective Date: 24.01.1965.
Designated Competent Authority:
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
- The Legalisation Office.
Address: The Legalisation Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, P.O. Box 6255, Milton Keynes MK10 1XX, United Kingdom.
Price:
- Businesses and members of the public are charged £30 per apostille.
Premium Service in Central London
- : £75 per document.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Effective Date: 15.10.1981.
Designated Competent Authority:
- The United States of America has three tiers of authorities competent to issue the apostille certificate.
- The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Passport Services, Vital Records Section affixes apostilles to Consular Reports of Birth, Death and Marriage of U.S. Citizens abroad and certificates of birth and death originally issued by the Panama Canal Zone Government between 1904 and 1979.
- The Clerks and Deputy Clerks of the Federal Courts of the United States are authorized to issue apostilles on documents issued by those courts. As an alternative, the U.S. Department of Justice may authenticate the seal of the Federal court and the U.S. Department of State Authentications Office will then place an apostille over that seal.
- Public documents issued by U.S. states, the District of Columbia and other U.S. jurisdictions may be legalized with an apostille by designated authorities in each jurisdiction, generally the state Secretary of State’s office.
However, each state has its own features and the order of apostilization.
Price:
- The U.S. Department of State Authentication Office charges $8.00 per document.
- The U.S. Department of State, Passport Services, Vital Records Office charges no fee for issuance of an apostille on a document bearing the seal of a U.S. embassy or consulate.
- The fees charged by individual U.S. states vary, ranging from US$3 to US$20.
Source: for additional information: https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=353
URUGUAY
Effective Date: 14.10.2012.
Designated Competent Authority: General Directorate for Consular Affairs.
Address: Colonia 1206 str., Montevideo, Uruguay.
Price: Uruguayan Pesos $ 392.
Source: http://www.mrree.gub.uy
VANUATU
Effective Date: 30.07.1980.
Designated Competent Authority:
- The Department of Foreign Affairs;
- The Vanuatu Financial Services Commission for public documents falling under its jurisdiction.
Address: Financial Services Centre, Bouganville Street, PMB No. 9023, Port Vila, Republic of Vanuatu.
Price: Single sided page document US$50; double sided page document US$100; and per copy certificate US$25 (Apostille of identical document/same issuing authority).
Source: http://www.vfsc.vu/
Typical mistakes in documents, which are legalized abroad and how to avoid them:
- The sheet with the stamp “Apostille” is not attached to the document.
Typically, the stamp “Apostille” is affixed on the free from the text place of the document or on its reverse side. However, there may be cases when apostille is affixed in separate sheet from the document. In this case, you need to ensure that the official, who puts down the apostille, sealed the sheet with the apostille and the document itself to prevent cases of their separation. The number of fastened sheets is confirmed by the signature of the official who affixed the apostille. - Mistakes in translations.
To solve this problem, we advise you not to translate documents abroad, but to translate directly in Ukraine. This will not take much time, but will significantly facilitate the use of documents in Ukraine and reduce the risks of detecting mistakes at the stage of information processing. - Using in Ukraine a document that was legalized by the way of consular legalization for another country.
It should be remembered that even if the document was legalized by the way of consular legalization and used in the country of destination, it cannot be used in Ukraine, because the order of consular legalization of the document clearly provides the country in which the document will be used.
Frequently Asked Questions From Foreigners
- Is it possible to legalize the document of a foreign state on the territory of Ukraine?
Yes, it is possible to do it at the diplomatic representation of a foreign state on the territory of Ukraine with further legalization in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. However, it should be noted that not all countries have their diplomatic representations in Ukraine. Also not all diplomatic representations can perform such a function on the territory of Ukraine. For more information on each country, please contact the embassy or consulate of the corresponding foreign country. - Can I certify several documents at once with one stamp “Apostille”?
No you can not. The stamp “Apostille” is affixed to only one document. It is a matter of the fact that two or more documents can not be affixed by one stamp “Apostille”, even if they are issued by the same authorized body or official. As our experience shows, even when a foreign state body or its official has apostilled several documents with a single stamp, these documents in no case will be valid on the territory of Ukraine. - What documents are subject to legalization?
The official documents, namely: certificates; documents issued by public authorities and their officials, bodies of local self-government and their officials; court documents; documents on education and other documents after their notarization are subject to legalization.
However, commercial or custom documents; originals / copies of passports, labor books, driver’s license; legal acts, as well as documents that contradict legislation of Ukraine or issued with excessive powers of officials or bodies are not subject to legalization. - What is the best to legalize: originals or notarial copies of documents?
Legalization may be carried out both regarding the originals and, in certain cases, regarding notarized copies of official documents. However, Ukrainian legislation often contains a requirement to present the originals of documents. Therefore, we recommend legalizing only the original of document. - Where can I apply for documents` legalization to use in Ukraine? Can this be done by the Consulate of Ukraine?
No, diplomatic missions of Ukraine do not legalize documents issued by foreign authorities for their use in Ukraine. In addition, when it comes to the stamp “Apostille”, as already mentioned, it is affixed by the competent authorities of the foreign state in which such a document was issued. If we are talking about consular legalization, Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad only conduct the final stage of such legalization, but do not have the authority to legalize the document independently.
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