Schmidt & Schmidt offers the legalization of documents from Taiwan.
Partially recognized Republic of China (Taiwan) is officially recognized by only 18 United Nations member states. However, Taiwan maintains relations with most countries globally through its representative offices that have the status of non-governmental organizations.
Due to the non-recognition by most states, Taiwan has not joined the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents.
Consular legalization is the process of authenticating or certifying a legal document so a foreign country's legal system will recognize it as with full legal effect that is carried out by the diplomatic or consular mission of the country in which the document is to be used.
Consular legalization is more complex, time-consuming and costly than the simpler apostille procedure. Consular legalization requires several pre-certifications before a public document can be certified at the embassy or consulate of the destination country.
It is a common requirement that the document has to be translated into the official language of the destination country before submission to the embassy. It is up to the diplomatic mission to decide about the authentication procedure.
Consular legalization includes confirmation of a document by the authorized bodies of the Ministry of Justice, divisions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then by the consulate (or consular section of the embassy) of the destination country. It must be remembered that the document will have legal force only in the territory of the country whose consulate stamp is on it.
Not only documents issued in Taiwan are subject to consular legalization for their use in other countries, but also documents from other countries for their use in Taiwan.
The following documents can be legalized:
- Extracts from the commercial register
- Certificates of civil status (certificates of birth, death, marriage and divorce)
- Education documents (school reports, certificates, diplomas)
- Court decisions
- Notarized copies of documents
- Notarized translations
- Further notarial documents (authorizations, last will, declarations)
Legalization of Taiwan educational documents for use abroad
For educational documents issued in Taiwan, such as school reports, university degree certificates, transcripts of records, enrollment certificates, and other school or university certificates, to be recognized and valid abroad, they must undergo an authentication process through legalization.
Educational certificates from Taiwan must bear the attestation from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is sometimes referred to as attestation, a process that ensures document's genuineness to the receiving institution or nation. For Taiwanian documents, this typically means undergoing multiple attestations from various governmental departments, both within Taiwan and in the foreign nation where the document will be used.
Such an approach ensures that educational documents possess the necessary legal authority, allowing them to be recognized and used across various countries. While these are general procedures, the exact requirements may vary, so it is advisable to confirm the specific steps with the relevant authorities.
Consular legalization of foreign documents for use in Taiwan
Foreign documents must be legalized before they can be used in Taiwan. The representations and embassies of Taiwan all over the world are in charge of this process.
Consular legalization of documents from Taiwan for use abroad
The exact legalization process of documents from Taiwan depends on the country you wish to use them in. Feel free to contact us with your request and we will do our best to assist you!
