Schmidt & Schmidt offers the legalization of public documents from Norfolk Island by apostille.
As the external territory of Australia Norfolk Island joined The Hague Convention of October 5, 1961 on the July 11, 1994. The convention for Australia entered into force on March 16, 1995. Laws and international legal instruments ratified by the Australian authorities extend to the Norfolk Islands unless their legal validity is explicitly limited by a separate document. During its accession to the Hague Convention, Australia issued a special declaration extending the legal force of the Convention to all its territories. Therefore, no diplomatic authentication or consular legalization of documents from Norfolk Island is needed for successful legal communication with other member states of the Convention. The documents only need to be attested by an apostille certificate with an "apostille" stamp on it by the issuing state's authorities in order to be valid in the state of destination.
Responsible for issuing an apostille on Norfolk Island is the Passport Office of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia as well as central and regional passport offices. On August 1, 2015, the right to certify documents with an apostille was delegated to the diplomatic missions of the Australian Union abroad. The authenticity of the apostilles issued from December 2015 on can be verified online on the webpage of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade by inserting the unique identification number.
Legalizing public documents on Norfolk Island implies authenticating the origin of the document and the authority of the officials who have affixed the signature, seal or stamp on the document. After such verification, a special stamp - the apostille - is affixed to the public document or its certified copy. The apostille is usually placed on the back of the underlying public document or on a separate attached page.
The apostille is a stamp of rectangular shape. It should be filled in in the official language of the issuing authority. The heading "Apostille (Convention de la Haye du 5 octobre 1961)" written in French is a necessary requirement for the apostille's validity.
The following documents can be authenticated by apostille:
- Certificates of civil status (certificates of birth, death, marriage and divorce)
- Education documents (school reports, certificates, diplomas)
- Trade register excerpts
- Court decisions
- Notarized copies of documents
- Notarized translations
- Further notarial documents (authorizations, last will, declarations)
- Commercial documents legalized by a state registration body (articles of incorporation, registration certificates, tax registrations etc.)
Requirements for the documents:
The apostille can be exclusively issued for the original document. Therefore, the underlying document must be presented in good condition, with all stamps and signatures clear and readable. Furthermore, it should not contain alien markings or labels.
Additional services
In addition to the legalization of your public documents, we can provide you with high-quality translations.
On average, processing the documents takes up to 14 days.
