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.
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.
Ukraine is becoming more and more attractive for foreign investment, economic migration and education. However, foreigners often have problems with using documents issued by the appropriate authority of a foreign state on the territory of Ukraine. In particular, there is a need to certify that the document has been properly drawn up and signed by an official with the required qualifications.
The procedure for confirming the validity of the originals of official documents or certifying the authenticity of the signatures of authorized officials, as well as the validity of stamp prints, seals that are placed on the document is called legalization . As practice shows, in three out of five cases foreigners find out about the need to legalize documents after trying to use this document on the territory of Ukraine. Therefore, in order to avoid such situations, we will analyze in detail the procedure for legalizing documents in this article.
Broadly speaking, “legalization” covers two categories:
- Consular legalization
- Apostylation (affixing the stamp “Apostille”), i.e. simplified legalization.
The above procedures are carried out for the same purpose, but vary widely from one another. Below we will analyze the differences between these procedures.
Consular legalization:
- The process is quite complicated as it is necessary to turn to several institutions.
- The procedure for consular legalization of documents depends on the type of document and the country in which the document will be used.
- A document legalized in this way is valid only on the territory of the country for which it was legalized.
- The original document or its notarized copy must be provided for the consular legalization of the document.
Apostille:
- Affixing the “Apostille” stamp is a simplified way of legalizing foreign documents.
- However, such a procedure only applies to States Parties to the 1961 Hague Convention.
- Contrary to consular legalization, the apostillation procedure requires much less time as you only need to apply to one authority.
- Official documents are certified with a special stamp “Apostille”, which is affixed by the appropriate authorized body of the foreign country that issued the document.
- In addition, apostille documents can be used not only in one country, but in all states party to the Hague Convention.
- The stamp “Apostille” is placed on the original document, its notarized copy or it can be issued as an attachment.
Nevertheless, there are cases when the legalization of documents for their use abroad is not at all necessary. It is about the States Parties to the Minsk Convention, which abolished the requirement to legalize documents in relations between the parties to the treaty. Therefore, to use the official documents of these countries on the territory of Ukraine, it is enough to translate them into Ukrainian and certify such translation.
States Parties to the Minsk Convention
- Azerbaijan
- Armenia
- Belarus
- Bulgaria
- Macedonia
- Hungary
- Georgia (except 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 use abroad
Consular legalization:
Documents not subject to legalization:
– documents contrary to the legislation of Ukraine may harm the interests of Ukraine or violate the honor and dignity of citizens;
– originals or any copies of passports, military tickets, labor books, documents of correspondence nature, permits for the transport of weapons, vehicle registration documents (technical passports), driving licenses, identity cards, legal acts;
– documents issued with excessive authority of officials or bodies.
Documents subject to legalization:
– Originals: certificates of registration of civil status records; certificates of civil status registration authorities; documents on education – diplomas and excerpts from mandates (international standard), certificates of specialist training in medicine, diplomas of the candidate and doctor of sciences; archival documents issued by the archives of the State Archives Committee of Ukraine and departmental archives;
– other official documents (for example, commercial documents such as company registration certificates or product quality certificates, etc.) after their notarized copies and registration by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
Consular legalization procedure depending on the type of document:
– Documents issued by the registry office are certified by the regional justice departments of the region where they were issued initially, by the justice department of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, by the municipal justice of the cities of Kiev and Sevastopol, and then by the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
– In order to legalize education documents of an international standard, it is necessary to submit a written application from the university that issued the documents. Such a letter application must be duly certified by the ministry to which the relevant educational institution is responsible. Then such a document is legalized at the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
– Archival certificates are sent directly to the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, which certifies the signature of an official of the State Archives Committee of Ukraine.
– Commercial documents are first certified by the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Ukraine, and then legalized at the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine.
The final step in legalizing any document is its certification at the diplomatic mission of the country where such 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;
– original passport documents, military tickets, work books, ID cards, etc .;
– legal acts.
Documentation do apostille
The stamp “Apostille” is placed on 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;
– educational documents and academic titles;
– documents issued by public and private notaries;
– official certificates of registration of a document or fact that existed on a specific date.
Order of apostillation depending on the issuing authority:
– diplomas, certificates of educational institutions, curricula and other documents issued by schools or other public authorities, enterprises, institutions and organizations related to education and science are apostille in the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine .
– The stamp “Apostille” on the certificate issued by the state registry of civil status, extracts from the state registry of civil records, court decisions and other documents issued by judicial bodies, courts and documents issued by notaries of Ukraine are placed by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine.
– All other types of documents are apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine .
Consular legalization and document apostillation abroad for use in Ukraine
Consular legalization:
In general, the procedure of consular legalization abroad is similar to that in Ukraine. It is important, however, that in each country, and sometimes even in each administrative and territorial unit (voivodship, state, autonomy, etc.), there is a unique system of state bodies with different competences and status. All of this, as well as the type of document and the authority that issued it, have a significant impact on where you should apply for consular legalization. This means that if in one country the document is originally certified by the issuing authority and then by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the other country consular legalization may initially be performed by judicial authorities, notaries, prefectures,
In any case, the final stage of consular legalization of documents abroad for use in Ukraine is their legalization at the Ukrainian diplomatic mission.
Consular legalization is mandatory in the following countries:Algeria, Angola, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bahrain, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Bhutan, Vatican City, Gabon, Haiti, Guyana, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Yemen, Zambia, Western Sahara , Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Cameroon, Cameroon, Canada, Qatar, Kenya, Kenya, Kiribati, Comoros, Congo, Kosovo, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Maldives , Morocco, Federated States of Micronesia, Mozambique, Burma, Nauru, Nepal, Nigeria, 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:
Competent bodies to which to apply, costs and conditions for apostylating documents differ from one Hague Convention country to another. Below we present all the necessary information on the apostylation procedure in each of the States Parties to the Convention.
ALBANIA
Effective Date: May 9, 2004.
Designated competent authority: 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.
ANDORA
Effective Date: December 31, 1996.
Designated competent authority:
- Minister of Foreign Affairs;
- Coordinator for Bilateral and Consular Affairs;
- director of multilateral affairs and cooperation;
- Head of the General and Legal Affairs Department.
Addresses: C/ Prat de la Creu 62-64, AD500 Andorra la Vella, Księstwo Andory.
Cena: 8,58 €.
ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA
Effective Date: November 1, 1981.
Designated competent authority: Registrar of the Supreme Court of Antigua and Barbuda.
Adres: Registrar Supreme Court, High Street, Parliament Drive, St John’s, Antigua.
ARGENTINA
Effective Date: February 18, 1988.
Designated Competent Authority: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina (The Argentine Ministry of Foreign Affairs has signed an Agreement with the Federal Council of Notaries under which various Argentine notary authorities have been authorized to authenticate signatures with the legalization of the apostille. This entered into force on 1 December 2003.
The Argentine Ministry of Affairs. Foreign remains the body for the application of the convention.)
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship, Esmeralda 1212, C1007ABR, BUENOS AIRES, Argentina.
Price: by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Argentina – 39 pesos argentinos. The Colegios de Escribanos (notary bodies) charge a maximum fee of 69 pesos argentinos. This service includes the certification of the signature of a notary.
Source: http://www.mrecic.gov.ar/
AUSTRALIA
Effective Date: March 16, 1995.
Designated competent authority:
- Secretary in the Australian Commonwealth Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade;
- Embassies;
- High Commissions and Consulate (except consulates headed by an honorary consul).
Adres: RG Casey Building, John McEwen Crescent, Barton, ACT 0221, Australia.
Price: PLN 80.
Source: http://dfat.gov.au/about-us/our-locations/missions/Pages/our-embassies-and-consulates-overseas.aspx
AUSTRIA
Effective Date: January 13, 1968.
Designated competent authority:
Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs for all documents issued by:
- The Federal President or the Office of the Federal President;
- Chairman of the National Council;
- chairman of the federal council or parliamentary administrative office;
- federal government;
- federal ministry;
- Constitutional Court or Administrative Court;
- Supreme Court, Supreme Cartel Court at the Supreme Court, Supreme Restaurant Commission at the Supreme Court, Supreme Restitution Commission at the Supreme Court or
- Court of Auditors.
Address: Federal Ministry of Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs Minoritenplatz 8A – 1014 Vienna.
Price: District court fees (court and notary documents): EUR 13.70, Federal Ministry for Europe, Integration and Foreign Affairs fees: EUR 17.50.
Source: https://www.bmeia.gv.at/en/travel-stay/documents-and-authentications/authentication/apostille/
VALUE
Effective Date: July 10, 1973.
Designated competent authority:
- Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- General Director, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
- Undersecretary of State in the 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: Ministry of Foreign Affairs East Hill St, PO Box N 3746, Nassau, NP, Bahamas.
Price: There is a USD 20.00 fee per document for processing the document. If the main document is duplicate, the second and subsequent copies cost $ 20.00 each. If several copies make up one copy, the main document costs $ 20.00 each and the remaining copies $ 20.00 each. If more than one signature is required on one document, i.e. multiple certificates are attached to the same document, the first signature will cost $ 20.00 and the subsequent signature $ 10.00 each.
Source: http://www.bahamas.gov.bs (Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Government / Consular Services / Apostilles / Legalization of Documents)
BARBADOS
Effective Date: November 13, 1966.
Designated competent authority:
- General Counselor;
- Deputy General Counsel;
- Supreme Court Registrar;
- corporate secretary;
- permanent secretary in the ministry competent for foreign affairs;
- Head of Protocol.
Address: Department of Foreign Affairs # 1 Culloden Road St. Michael, Barbados, WI
Cena: 50$
Source: https://www.caipo.gov.bb
BELGIUM
Effective Date: 02/09/1976.
Designated competent authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation.
Address: rue des Petits Carmes 27,1000 BRUKSELA, Belgia.
Price: € 20 (excluding consular taxes (€ 10) if you prove poverty.)
Source: https://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/services/legalisation_of_documents/faq
BOŚNIA AND HERZEGOVINA
Effective Date: January 24, 1965.
Designated competent authority:
- Bosnia and Herzegovina courts of first instance
- Municipal Courts of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
- Basic Courts of Republika Srpska
- Brcko District Court of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Price: The fee varies depending on the number of documents requested by the applicant.
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) (15,000 notaries are competent for the apostille procedure in Brazil.)
Address: National Council of Justice SEPN 514, Bloco B, Lot 7, Room 11 Brasilia / DF, Brazil CEP 70095-900
CHINA
The procedure for affixing an apostille and legalizing documents in China may seem too complicated as Chinese legislation provides for 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 Apostil Convention of 1961, the procedure for apostilling documents is in force, and consular legalization is effective throughout the territory.
The apostille stamp is placed in the special organs of these administrative districts in China; the procedure provides for either copies of documents or originals, depending on the conditions laid down by the authorities or institutions to which the documents are to be submitted.
The period of affixing the apostille varies depending on the document and usually does not exceed thirty days, and for some documents a maximum of 10 days.
HONGKONG
Effective Date: April 25, 1965
Designated competent authority: Registrar of the Supreme Court.
Address: Registrar, Supreme Court, Room LG115, LG1, Supreme Court Building, 38 Queensway, Hong Kong
Cena: 125 HKD.
Source: http://www.judiciary.hk/en/crt_services/apostille.htm
RESIDENCE
Effective Date: February 4, 1969
Designated competent authority:
- Chief Executive Officer
- Secretary for Administration and Justice
- Director of the Department of Justice
Address:
- Chief Executive: Macao SAR Government Headquarters, Avenida da Praia Grande, Macao, China.
- Administration and Justice Secretary: Rua de S. Lourenço, 28 years old, Seat of Government, 4th Floor Macao, China.
- Director of the Department of Justice: Office of Legal Affairs, Rua do Campo, No. 162
Administration, 19th Public Floor, Macao, China. - Price: free.
CHILE
Effective Date: August 30, 2016
Designated competent authority:
- Deputy Secretary of Justice (Undersecretary 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, Health Service Directors, Health Services Intendant (Regional Health Secretaries, Health Service Directors, Service Provider Intendant)
- National Director, Regional Directors of the Civil Registration and Identification Service (National Director, Regional Directors of the Civil Registration and Identification Service)
- General Directorate for Consular and Immigration Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Directorate General for Consular and Immigration Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Address: These institutions will issue apostille documents in a decentralized manner throughout the territory of Chile, in particular in the respective capitals of the 15 geographical regions of the country. The only exception will be the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has no regional offices. For this reason, the Ministry is only apostille at its headquarters in Santiago.
Dinner: free.
Source: http://apostilla.gob.cl/en/caracteristicas-de-la-apostilla-chilena/
COLOMBIA
Effective Date: January 30, 2001.
Designated competent authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legalization Area.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legalization and Apostille Coordination, 19 Avenue no. 98-03 Floors 5, 6, 7 and 8, 100 B Tower Building, BOGOTA, DC, Colombia.
Price: 31,000 Colombian pesos.
Source: http://www.cancilleria.gov.co/
COSTA RICA
Effective Date: April 6, 2011.
Designated competent authority: Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Culture, Authentication Department
Address: Authentication Department, Directorate General, Costa Rican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Worship Avenida 7-9, Calle 11-13, San José, Costa Rica.
Dinner: 625.00 ¢ (= 1 euro).
Source: https://www.rree.go.cr
CROATIA
Effective Date: January 24, 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 a fee of HRK 30 for each apostille. This price is specified in the Croatian Administrative Tax Act. Municipal courts charge a court tax in the amount of 50 to 60 Croatian kuna, according to the law on court tax (the price depends on whether
the text is in Croatian – 50 kuna – or the translation – 60 Croatian kuna).
Source: https://pravosudje.gov.hr/
CYPRUS
Effective Date: April 30, 1973.
Designated competent authority: Ministry of Justice and Public Order of the Republic of Cyprus.
Address: 125, Athalassas Avenue, 1461 Nicosia (Nicosia), Cyprus.
Cena: 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: December 29, 2006.
Designated competent authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Legalization Office, Asiatisk Plads 2, DK, 1448 Copenhagen, Denmark.
Price: DKK 195.
Source: http://um.dk/da
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC
Effective Date: August 30, 2009.
Designated competent authority:
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Service of the Dominican Republic
- Deputy Ministry for Consular and Migration Affairs
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Służby Zagranicznej Ave. Independencia No. 752 Estancia San Geronimo, Santo Domingo National District, Dominican Republic.
Price: 620 Dominican pesos ($ 16)
Source: http://www.mirex.gov.do/
ECUADOR
Effective Date: April 2, 2005
Designated competent authority: Director General for Legalization, Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address : Carrion E1-76 i 10th August, QUITO, Ecuador.
Price: US $ 20.
Source : http://www.cancilleria.gob.ec/
Savior
Effective Date: May 31, 1996.
Designated competent authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Address: ulica El Pedregal, Kancelarii bulwar, Old Cuscatlan, El Salvador
Dinner: free.
Source : https://rree.gob.sv
FIJI
Effective Date: October 10, 1970.
Designated competent authority: Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.
Address: Levels 1 and 2, South Wing, Bose Levu Vakaturaga Complex, 87 Queen Elizabeth Drive, PO Box 2220, Government Buildings, Suva, Republic of Fiji.
Price: There is currently no fee for the apostille stamp.
Source: http://www.foreignaffairs.gov.fj
FRANCE
Effective Date: January 24, 1965.
Designated competent authority: “Prosecutors General in the Courts of Appeal”.
Address: a list of addresses.
(https://assets.hcch.net/docs/e7b31b40-450f-42d6-bb53-95e02f8e9976.pdf)
Price: free.
FINLAND
Effective Date: August 26, 1985.
Designated competent authority: registry offices.
Cena: 13,00 €.
Source: http://www.maistraatti.fi/en/
GERMANY
Effective Date: February 13, 1966.
Designated competent authority:
- For federal documents: Federal Administrative Office (Exception: For documents of the Federal Patent Court and the German Patent Office, the apostille is issued by the President of the German Patent Office).
- For German state documents: Documents of the administrative authorities (except the judicial administrative authorities):
- Ministries of the Interior (Senate departments), regional commissioners, regional administration;
- in Berlin: National Housing and Regulation Authority;
- in Lower Saxony: the police stations in Braunschweig, Göttingen, Hanover, Lüneburg, Oldenburg and Osnabrück;
- in North Rhine-Westphalia: the Directorate for Supervision and Services in Kaiserslautern;
- in Saxony: the state directorates in Chemnitz, Dresden and Leipzig;
- for Saxony-Anhalt: Magdeburg Administrative Office;
- in Thuringia: the State Administrative Office in Weimar.
- Documents of judicial administration bodies, common courts (civil and criminal courts) and notaries : ministries of justice (senate departments), presidents of state (administrative) courts.
- Court documents other than those of general jurisdiction : ministries of internal affairs (senate divisions), regional commissioners, regional administration, ministries of justice (senate divisions), presidents of state (administrative) courts.
Price: Fees are based on the value of the certificate. The costs incurred by the applicant range from a minimum of 10 euros to a maximum of 130 euros. The average fees are between 10 and 20 euros.
Source: https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=322
GREECE
Effective Date: May 18, 1985
Designated competent authority:
- Provincial self-government for all documents issued by their services / offices.
- Decentralized administrations for all documents issued by:
- public civil services of the Regions, which are not under the competence of the Voivodship Self-government;
- Legal persons under public law;
- First degree self-government organizations;
- Registry Offices.
- For court documents, the court of first instance in the region where the issuing authority is located.
Address:
Decentralized administrations ( https://assets.hcch.net/docs/cc3ac3f9-737f-4749-95b6-408275d59a76.pdf )
Courts of first instance ( https://assets.hcch.net/docs/8056af52-3fab-4515-a3fb-2e948f3e0a33.pdf ).
Price: no fees.
Source: https://diavgeia.gov.gr/
HONDURAS
Effective Date: September 30 , 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, adjacent to the Supreme Court, TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras
Price: 150.00 Lps (about 5-6 euro).
Source: http://www.sre.gob.hn/
INDIE
Effective Date: July 14, 2005
Designated Competent Authority: Indian Government Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Adres: CPV Division, Patiala House Annexe, Tilak Marg, New Delhi 110001, Indie.
Price: Indian Rs. 50.00.
Source: http://www.mea.gov.in
IRELAND
Effective Date: March 9, 1999.
Designated competent authority: 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 issuing an apostille stamp is € 20. For adoption files, which can contain up to 300 documents, the Department will charge a fee of € 50 for the adoption package.
Source: https://www.dfa.ie/
ISRAEL
Effective Date: August 14, 1978.
Designated competent authority:
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the State of Israel
- Secretaries of the Courts of Peace and Civil Service Officers appointed by the Minister of Justice on the basis of the Notarial 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 the Notarial Law, 1976, Courts Administration, 22 Kanfey Nesharim St., Jerusalem 95464, Israel.
Price: 35 shekels.
Source: http://mfa.gov.il
ITALY
Effective Date: February 11, 1978.
Designated competent authority:
- in the case of court documents, civil status records and notarial deeds – the prosecutor before the courts competent for the place of issuing the documents;
- For all other administrative documents provided for in the convention, the territorial prefect, the president of the region for Valle d’Aosta and the government commissioner for the provinces of Trente and Bolzano.
Address: In any case, the address can be found at the link: https://www.giustizia.it/giustizia/it/mg_4.wp?facetNode_1=3_2&selectedNode=3_2_13
JAPAN
Effective Date: July 27, 1970.
Designated competent authority: Tokyo Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Kasumigaseki 2-2-1, Chiyoda-ku, TOKIO 100-8919, Japonia.
Price: no fees.
Source: http://www.mofa.go.jp
LIBERIA
Effective Date: February 8, 1996.
Designated competent authority:
- Minister of Foreign Affairs, Deputies and Deputy Ministers;
- Minister of Justice, Deputy and Deputy Ministers;
- Registrar and Deputy Registrar (s) of the Supreme Court and District Court;
- Registrars and Deputy Registrars of the Corporation;
- Commissioner and deputy commissioners for maritime affairs or their special agents.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Capitoline Hill, Monrovia, Republic of Liberia.
Source: http://www.mofa.gov.lr
LIECHTENSTEIN
Effective Date: September 17, 1972
Designated competent authority: The Government Office of the Princely Government.
Address: Government Office of the Princely Government, Government Buildings, 9490 Vaduz, Liechtenstein.
Price: 30 CHF – for an apostille (approx. €20.00)
Source: https://www.llv.li
LUXEMBOURG
Effective Date: June 3, 1979.
Designated competent authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs (Passport, Visa and Legalization Office), 43 Roosevelt Boulevard, L-2450 LUXEMBOURG
Cena: 20,00 €.
Source: http://www.mae.lu/
MALAWI
Effective Date: December 2, 1967.
Designated competent authority:
- The Public Prosecutor General or the General Counselor;
- permanent secretary of the government ministry;
- Supreme Court Registrar;
- General secretary;
- government agent;
- notary;
- resident judge.
Address:
- Attorney General or Attorney General, Attorney General and Secretary of Justice, Ministry of Justice Headquarters, Capital Hill, Private Bag 333, Lilongwe 3, Malawi.
- Registrar General , Fatima Arcade, Haile Sellaisie Road, PO Box 100, Blantyre, Malawi.
Source: http://www.sdnp.org.mw
MALTA
Effective Date: 03/03/1968.
Designated competent authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Adres: 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: August 14, 1992.
Designated competent authority:
- Marshall Islands Minister of Foreign Affairs,
- Public Prosecutor General and acting Public Prosecutor General,
- Secretary and Deputy Secretary of the Supreme Court,
- Corporation Registrars and Deputy Registrars,
- The Maritime Administrator and his Special Agents, and
- Commissioner and Deputy Commissioners for Maritime Affairs or their special agents.
Source: https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=373
MEXICO
Effective Date: August 14, 1995.
Designated competent authority: These fall into two categories:
- Apostille for Federal Documents (Directorate of Political Coordination with Powers of the
Subdirectorate for Formalization and Union Control) - Apostille for state documents ( There are 32 competent authorities designated to issue an apostille for state documents; more information – https://assets.hcch.net/upload/auth12contact_mx.pdf )
Price: 710 Mexican pesos an apostille for federal documents.
Source: http://dicoppu.segob.gob.mx/
MONACO
Effective Date: December 31, 2002.
Designated Competent Authority: Legal Services Department.
Address: Department of Legal Services, Palace of Justice, 5, Colonel Bellando de Castro Street, 98 000 MONACO, BP 513, MC 98015 Monaco Cedex.
Cena: 5 €
Source: http://service-public-particuliers.gouv.mc/Justice/Documents-et-demarches-judiciaires/Apostille-Direction
-Services-Courts / Apostille-to-document
NAMIBIA
Effective Date: January 30, 2001.
Designated competent authority:
- Registrar of the Supreme and Supreme Court of Namibia
- Ministry of Justice (Permanent Secretary)
Address:
- Registrar of the Supreme Court of Namibia, Supreme 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 fees.
NETHERLANDS
Effective Date: October 8, 1965.
Designated competent authority: district courts.
Address: to find the nearest one you can use this link ( https://www.rechtspraak.nl/Organisatie-en-contact/Organisatie/Rechtbanken/ )
Price: 20 euro for apostille.
Source: https://www.rechtspraak.nl
NEW ZEALAND
(Does not apply to Tokelau)
Effective Date: November 22, 2001.
Designated competent authority: Department of Internal Affairs, Authentication Department.
Address:
- Courier and Public Office , Authentication Unit, 120 Victoria Street, Te Aro, Wellington 6011, New Zealand.
- Standard Mail, Authentication Unit, PO Box 805, Wellington 6140, New Zealand.
Price: NZ $ 32 for an apostille and $ 15 for each additional apostille issued for documents submitted at the same time. One apostille can contain any number of documents issued by the same authority.
NORWAY
Effective Date: July 29, 1983.
Designated competent authority:
- 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 fees.
Source: https://www.regjeringen.no
OWN
Effective Date: 30/01/2012.
Designated competent authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Consular Department).
Address: PO Box 252, 113 Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.
PANAMA
Effective Date: August 4, 1991.
Designated competent authority:
- In the case of documents authorized by the competent judicial authorities or officers – the Secretary of the Supreme Court or his legal deputies.
- For acts drawn up by a notary or private documents certified by a notary – officials of the administrative department of the Ministry of Justice.
- In the case of other documents issued by any central administration authorities, any autonomous or semi-autonomous authorities, municipal or police authorities or the Ministry of Public Affairs – officials of the consular and legalization department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- For all other public documents, any of the three previous procedures is allowed.
Cena £:
- Supreme Court Secretary – No charges.
- Department of Administrative Services of the Ministry of Justice – 2 balboas (equivalent to $ 2).
- Consular and Legalization Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs – 2 balboas (equivalent to $ 2).
Source: https://www.mire.gob.pa
PARAGUAY
Effective Date: August 30, 2014.
Designated competent authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Directorate General for Consular Affairs.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Authentication Department, May 14 e / Star and Palm, Asunción – Paraguay.
Dinner: 40.312 Guarani ± 33 USD.
Source: http://www2.mre.gov.py/
PERU
Effective Date: September 30, 2010.
Designated competent authority: Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Peru © 2017, Jirón Lamp 545, Lima 1, Peru
Cena: 6,70 €.
Source: http://www.rree.gob.pe
PORTUGAL
Effective Date: February 4, 1969.
Designated competent authority:
- The Public Prosecutor General of the Republic;
- The Prosecutors General on behalf of Porto, Coimbra and Évora and the Deputy Prosecutors General with the Representatives of the Republic of the Autonomous Regions of Madeira and the Azores.
Address: Attorney General of the Republic, Address: Rua da, Escola Politécnica, 140, 1269-103 Lisbon, Portugal.
Cena: 10,20 €.
Source: http://www.ministeriopublico.pt/
SAMOA
Effective Date: September 13, 1999.
Designated competent authority: Chief Executive, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, PO Box L1859, Apia, Samoa.
SAN MARINO
Effective Date: February 13, 1995.
Designated competent authority: Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Address: Registry Office and Conservatory, Via 28 Luglio, 196, 47893 Republic of San Marino.
Cena: 5,00 €.
Source: http://www.esteri.sm
SESELE
Effective Date: March 31, 1979.
Designated competent authority:
- the minister competent for foreign affairs or any person designated and officially authorized by him;
- The Public Prosecutor General or any person designated and officially authorized by him;
- cabinet secretary;
- Supreme Court Registrar.
Address: Ministry of Foreign Affairs, PO Box 656, ‘Maison Quéau de Quinssy, Mont Fleuri, Mahé
Republic of Seychelles
SLOVAKIA
Effective Date: February 17, 2002.
Designated competent authority:
- All district courts (“Krajský súd”) for: (a) official documents issued or certified by district courts, notaries or huissiers de justice within their territorial jurisdiction; b) translations made by official translators (ex officio) or opinions issued by official experts;
- The Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic (“Ministerstvo spravodlivosti Slovenskej republiky”) for all documents from judicial authorities other than those referred to above (ie documents from courts other than district courts).
- Ministry of the Interior of the Slovak Republic (“Ministerstvo vnútra Slovenskej republiky”) for public documents issued by bodies under its jurisdiction, with the exception of the documents specified in the point below;
- The Ministry of Education of the Slovak Republic (“Ministerstvo školstva Slovenskej republiky”) for public documents issued by authorities under its jurisdiction;
- The Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic (Ministerstvo zdravodníctva Slovenskej republiky) for official documents issued by bodies under its jurisdiction;
The Ministry of Defense of the Slovak Republic (“Ministerstvo obrany Slovenskej republiky”) for
- documents from authorities under its jurisdiction;
- County Office (obvodný úrad) for: a) extracts from birth, death and marriage records (matrika), with the exception of judgments concerning marital status; b) documents issued by autonomous local authorities;
- Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Slovak Republic (“Ministerstvo zahraničných večí Slovenskej republiky”) for all other official documents issued in the Slovak Republic not listed above.
Cena £:
- Ministry of Justice: EUR 10;
- Ministry of Health: EUR 10;
- Ministry of the Interior: EUR 10;
- Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport: EUR 10;
- Ministry of Defense: EUR 10;
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: 20Euro.
SLOVENIA
Effective Date: January 24, 1965.
Designated competent authority:
- Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Slovenia (to authenticate signatures and seals of notaries, district judges and court translators on official documents);
- District courts in Slovenia (to certify the authenticity of signatures and seals of notaries, candidates for notaries, judges (except district judges), state institutions, organizations and natural persons exercising public powers and legal persons on official documents – applies to all district courts in Slovenia ).
Cena £:
- The Ministry of Justice charges an administrative tax for issuing an apostille to official documents in accordance with the Administrative Tax Act. The administrative tax for each apostille is € 3.00.
- The county courts in Slovenia as judicial authorities are obliged under the Court Fees Act, which provides for a fee of EUR 2.46 per single apostille when the authentic instrument is in Slovenian and EUR 5.00 when the authentic instrument is in a foreign language .
Source: http://www.arhiv.mp.gov.si
SPAIN
Effective Date: September 25, 1978.
Designated competent authority: 1. Administrative documents:
- Secretaries for the Management of the High Courts of Justice
- Head of the Department of the Ministry of Justice
- Territorial Managers of the Territorial Management Office
Deans of Colleges of Notaries.
- Court documents:
- Secretaries for the Management of the High Courts of Justice
- Head of the Department of the Ministry of Justice
- Territorial Managers of Territorial Management Offices.
- Notarial documents: Deans of the Colleges of Notaries or their deputies, as required by law, or with those notaries where the former may delegate, irrespective of where in Spain such documents have been issued.
- Documents issued by the Higher Courts: In the case of documents issued by a particular court or their legal representatives, as well as officials who may be delegated by the latter, only the Managing Secretary (Secretario de Gobierno) of the relevant court has jurisdiction.
- Official documents: at the citizen’s choice, both in paper and electronic form, by any of the bodies mentioned in sec. 1 above.
Cena £:
Higher courts and the Ministry of Justice do not charge an apostille.
The Professional Association of Notaries charges from EUR 3.50 to EUR 7.50.
SOUTH AFRICA
Effective Date: April 30, 1995.
Designated competent authority:
- Any judge or additional judge;
- Any registrar or assistant registrar of the South African Supreme Court;
- Any person appointed by the director general: justice;
- General Director: International Relations and Cooperation.
Dinner: free.
Source: http://www.dirco.gov.za/
SWEDEN
Effective Date: May 1, 1999.
Designated competent authority: all notaries.
Price: CZK 250 (approx. EUR 27).
SWITZERLAND
Effective Date: March 11, 1973.
Designated competent authority:
Address: The link below contains a list of the above-mentioned authorities and their address https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=349
Price: Generally prices range from 15 to 30 Swiss Francs (approx. 10 to 20 euros).
TURKEY
Effective Date: September 29, 1985.
Designated competent authority:
Administrative documents: a) in voivodships: voivode, district head, secretary-general;
- b) in cities: Head of the County.
Court Papers: Presidencies of Judicial Commissions where there are high criminal courts
Price: no fees.
Source: http://www.adalet.gov.tr/
UNITED KINGDOM
(Does not apply to countries that left Great Britain and did not sign the Convention)
Effective Date: January 24, 1965.
Designated competent authority:
- Foreign and Commonwealth Office;
- Legalization Office.
Adres: The Legalization Office, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, PO Box 6255, Milton Keynes MK10 1XX, Wielka Brytania.
Cena £:
- Companies and members of the public pay £ 30 for the apostille.
Premium service in central London
- : 75 GBP per document.
Source: https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Effective Date: October 15, 1981.
Designated competent authority:
- The United States of America has three levels of authorities competent to issue an Apostille Certificate.
- The U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Passport Services, Marital Records Section places an apostille on consular reports of birth, death, and marriage of U.S. citizens abroad, and birth and death certificates originally issued by the Panama Canal zone government in 1904-1979.
- Officials and Assistant Registrars in US federal courts are authorized to issue an apostille on documents issued by those courts. Alternatively, the US Department of Justice may authenticate the federal court seal and the US State Department Authentication Authority will affix an apostille to the seal.
- Official documents issued by US states, the District of Columbia and other US jurisdictions may be legalized apostille by designated authorities in each jurisdiction, usually through the office of the Secretary of State.
However, each state has its own characteristics and order of apostillization.
Cena £:
- The US Department of State’s Bureau of Authentication charges a fee of $ 8.00 per document.
- The US Department of State, Passport Services, and the Civil Registry Office do not charge for issuing an apostille on a document with the stamp of the US embassy or consulate.
- The fees charged by individual US states range from $ 3 to $ 20.
Source: additional information: https://www.hcch.net/en/states/authorities/details3/?aid=353
URUGUAY
Effective Date: October 14 , 2012.
Designated competent authority: Directorate-General for Consular Affairs.
Address: ul. Colonia 1206, Montevideo, Uruguay.
Price: Uruguayan Pesos $ 392.
Source: http://www.mrree.gub.uy
VANUATU
Effective Date: July 30, 1980.
Designated competent authority:
- Department of Foreign Affairs;
- Vanuatu Financial Services Commission for Public Documents under its jurisdiction.
Address: Financial Services Center, Bouganville Street, PMB No. 9023, Port Vila, Vanuatu.
Price: One-sided document $ 50; two-sided document $ 100; and for a copy of a certificate worth USD 25 (Apostille of identical document / same issuing authority).
Source: http://www.vfsc.vu/
Common mistakes in documents that are legalized abroad and how to avoid them:
- The sheet with the stamp “Apostille” is not attached to the document.
Usually, the stamp “Apostille” will appear on a blank space in the document or on the back of it. However, it may happen that the apostille will be placed on a separate sheet from the document. In this case, you need to make sure that the official who puts the apostille down has sealed the apostille sheet and the document itself to prevent any cases of separation. The number of closed pages is confirmed by the signature of the official who affixed the apostille. - Translation errors.
To solve this problem, we advise you not to translate documents abroad, but to translate directly in Ukraine. It will not take much time, but it will greatly facilitate the use of documents in Ukraine and reduce the risk of errors being detected at the information processing stage. - Using a document in Ukraine that has been legalized by consular legalization for another country.
Please note that even if the document has been legalized through consular legalization and used in the country of destination, it cannot be used in Ukraine, because the order of the document’s consular legalization clearly specifies the country in which the document will be used.
Frequently asked questions from foreigners
- Is it possible to legalize a document of a foreign country on the territory of Ukraine?
Yes, it can be done at the diplomatic mission of a foreign state on the territory of Ukraine with further legalization at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine. However, it should be noted that not all countries have diplomatic representations in Ukraine. Also, not all diplomatic missions can perform such a function on the territory of Ukraine. For more information on each country, contact the embassy or consulate of the relevant foreign country. - Can I certify several documents at the same time with one stamp “Apostille”?
No, you can’t . The “Apostille” stamp is placed on one document only. The point is that two or more documents cannot be stamped with one ‘Apostille’ stamp, even if they are issued by the same authorized body or official. As our experience shows, even if a foreign state authority or its official apostillates several documents with one stamp, these documents will in no case be valid on the territory of Ukraine. - What documents are legalized?
Official documents, namely: certificates; documents issued by public authorities and their officials, local government bodies and their officials; court documents; Documents on education and other documents are subject to legalization after their notarial certification.
However, commercial or customs documents; originals / copies of passports, work books, driving licenses; Legal acts are not subject to legalization , as well as documents contrary to the legislation of Ukraine or issued with excessive powers of officials or bodies. - What is best to legalize: originals or notarized copies of documents?
Legalization can be performed both for the originals and, in some cases, for notarized copies of official documents. However, Ukrainian legislation often requires the submission of original documents. Therefore, we recommend legalizing only the original document. - Where can I apply for the legalization of documents for use in Ukraine? Can it be done by the Ukrainian Consulate?
No, Ukrainian diplomatic missions do not legalize documents issued by foreign authorities for use in Ukraine. Moreover, as far as the stamp “Apostille” is concerned, as already mentioned, it is placed by the competent authorities of the foreign country in which such a document was issued. If we are talking about consular legalization, Ukrainian diplomatic missions abroad only carry out the final stage of such legalization, but are not authorized to legalize the document on their own.
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