Skip to main content
Home
  • News
  • Services
    • Certification for Russia, Kazakhstan and EAEU
      • Technical Regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union
      • EAC Certificate of Conformity to Technical Regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union
      • EAC Declaration of Conformity to Technical Regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union
      • EAC Marking
      • EAC certification of machinery
      • EAC Certification of Pressure Equipment
      • EAC Certification of Explosion-proof equipment
      • EAC Certification of Electrical Equipment
      • EAC Certification of Vehicles
      • EAC Certification of switch and control cabinets and electrical distribution boards
      • EAC Certification of agricultural equipment
      • EAC Certification of Clothing and Shoes
      • EAC certification of children's clothing, toys and accessories
      • EAC certification of personal protective equipment
      • EAC Declaration for Cosmetics
      • EAC Certification of Food
      • EAC Certification of furniture
      • EAC Zertifikat für Eisenbahn
      • EAC Certification of Alcohol
      • EAC Certification of Cables
      • EAC Certification of multicomponent products
      • EAC Certification of engines
      • EAC certification of pumps
      • EAC Certification of the pipeline valves
      • EAC Certification for industrial plants
      • EAC Certification of Chemicals
      • EAC Certification of household appliances
      • EAC Certification of luminaires, bulbs and LED modules
      • EAC Certification of measuring instruments
      • EAC Zertifizierung von Verpackungen
      • State Hygienic Registration (SGR)
      • Conformity assessment of fire safety
      • GOST Certification for Russia
      • TR Certification for Russia
      • FAC Certification of communications equipment
      • FSB Notification - Admission of Electronic Devices
      • Licensing of radio and high frequency equipment
      • Import license for ozone depleting substances
      • Certification for medical devices and medicines for Russia and EAEU
      • Conformity assessment for construction material
      • Technical documentation for EAC conformity assessment
      • Consultancy on EAC conformity assessment
      • Exemption Letter for import to Russia
      • Authorized Representative for Russia and EAEU for EAC certification
      • Manufacturing audit for EAC certification
      • Surveillance of EAC conformity assessment
      • Product and packaging marking as a part of the Technical Regulation in the EAEU
      • Costs of EAC certification and EAC declaration
      • Selection and shipment of samples for EAC certification and EAC declaration
      • Technical Regulation in Kazakhstan
      • Technical Regulation in Belarus - Conformity assessment
      • EAC conformity assessment schemes
      • Frequently asked questions about EAC certificates and declarations
      • Period of validity of EAC certificates and declarations
      • Type examination for EAC conformity assessment
    • Apostille and consular Legalization of foreign documents
      • Apostille and consular legalization from Russia and Eurasian Economic Union
      • Apostille and consular legalization from Europe and European Union
      • Apostille and consular legalization from Asia
      • Apostille and consular legalization from the Americas
      • Apostille and consular legalization from Africa
      • Apostille and consular legalization from Oceania
      • Banks and financial institutions
      • Global mobility and visa support
      • Lawyers and notaries
      • Translation agencies
      • Frequently asked questions about apostille and consular legalization
    • Extracts from foreign commercial registers and accounting statements
      • Extracts from commercial registers of Russia and EAEU
      • Extracts from the commercial register and company information from Europe
      • Extracts from the commercial register and company information from Asia
      • Extracts from the commercial register and company information from the Americas
      • Extracts from the commercial register and company information from Africa
      • Extracts from the commercial register and company information from Oceania
      • Know Your Customer
    • Extracts from foreign land registers
      • Land register extracts from Europe
      • Land register extracts from Russia and EEU
      • Land register extracts from Asia
      • Land register extracts from the Americas
      • Land register extracts from Africa
      • Land register extracts from Australia and Oceania
    • Procurement of documents worldwide
      • Procurement of documents in Austria
      • Procurement of documents in Albania
      • Procurement of documents in Andorra
      • Procurement of documents in Armenia
      • Procurement of documents in Belize
      • Procurement of documents in Belarus
      • Procurement of documents in Belgium
      • Procurement of documents in Bulgaria
      • Procurement of documents in Bosnia and Herzegovina
      • Procurement of documents in the Vatican
      • Procurement of documents in the United Kingdom
      • Procurement of documents in Hungary
      • Procurement of documents in Haiti
      • Procurement of documents in Germany
      • Procurement of documents in Greece
      • Procurement of documents in Denmark
      • Procurement of documents in Iran
      • Procurement of documents in Ireland
      • Procurement of documents in Iceland
      • Procurement of documents in Spain
      • Procurement of documents in Italy
      • Procurement of documents in Kazakhstan
      • Procurement of documents in Canada
      • Procurement of documents in Kyrgyzstan
      • Procurement of documents in China
      • Procurement of documents in Latvia
      • Procurement of documents in Lithuania
      • Procurement of documents in Mexico
      • Procurement of documents in Moldova
      • Procurement of documents in Mongolia
      • Procurement of documents in the Netherlands
      • Procurement of documents in Norway
      • Procurement of documents in Poland
      • Procurement of documents in Portugal
      • Procurement of documents in Russia
      • Procurement of documents in Romania
      • Procurement of documents in the USA
      • Procurement of documents in Serbia
      • Procurement of documents in Slovakia
      • Procurement of documents in Slovenia
      • Procurement of documents in Tajikistan
      • Procurement of documents in Turkmenistan
      • Procurement of documents in Uzbekistan
      • Procurement of documents in Finland
      • Procurement of documents in France
      • Procurement of documents in Croatia
      • Procurement of documents in Montenegro
      • Procurement of documents in the Czech Republic
      • Procurement of documents in Switzerland
      • Procurement of documents in Sweden
      • Procurement of documents in Estonia
      • Procurement of documents in South Korea
      • Procurement of documents in Antigua and Barbuda
      • Procurement of documents in the Bahamas
      • Procurement of documents in Cyprus
      • Procurement of documents in Malta
      • Procurement of documents in Ukraine
      • Procurement of documents in Japan
      • FAQ replacement & retrieval of documents
    • Technical and legal translations
      • Legal translations
      • Technical translations
      • Certified translations
      • Marketing translations
      • Translation of contracts
      • Translations of trade register extracts
      • Proofreading
      • Editing
    Our Services
    Our Services

    We develop professional solutions for each customer individually to master successfully the challenges in the new markets.

  • Company
    • Team
    • Our references
    • Our story
    • Customer reviews
    • Affiliate program
    Our Company
    Our Company

    We are a globally operating consulting company based in Passau. Our broad spectrum of corporate services aims to cross borders and overcome boundaries together with our clients.

  • Career
  • Contact
News Schmidt & Schmidt

Apostille and consular authentication: differences and features of the application

  1. Home
  2. News

Monthly archive

  • 2025 (39)
  • 2024 (53)
  • 2023 (39)
  • 2022 (88)
  • 2021 (187)
  • 2020 (89)
  • 2019 (42)
  • 2018 (34)
  • 2017 (21)
  • 2016 (14)
  • 2015 (4)
Apostille and consular authentication: differences and features of the application

What do we need – an apostille or consular legalization? What is the difference between apostille and consular legalization? Why can't I just apostille my documents when traveling to China? And above all: Why do I need all this anyway?

Such questions very often arise among people who for the first time face the need to legalize documents for their use abroad. Why don't foreign officials accept our documents as they are?

But, alas, not everything is so simple. For example, put yourself in the shoes of a civil servant from the Argentinian city of Ushuaia who needs to hire a doctor who was born in Khabarovsk, earned his doctorate in Oslo and trained in Honiara, Solomon Islands. How can he verify the authenticity of a birth certificate, diploma, or other certificates? Can he be asked to know what the original documents of all the countries in the world, of which there are about two hundred on the map today, look like?

Initially, this problem was solved with the help of double authentication of documents, on the basis of which there was a procedure called "consular legalisation" was known.

Depending on the particular state, this procedure has certain characteristics, which we will discuss a little below, but in general it looks like this:

  • all required signatures and seals are placed on the document;
  • the document is authenticated by the consular section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country where it was issued;
  • the document is legalized in the consulate (consular section of the embassy) of the state where it is intended to be used;
  • the document will be translated into the language of the state where it is used.

The procedure of consular legalization is quite reliable, but it has two major drawbacks. First, it's long and complicated. Secondly, you have to go through the procedure again for each country.

In 1961, a significant number of states decided to eliminate this problem by signing the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents.

According to this convention, in order to use a document on the territory of all countries that have signed it, it is sufficient to authenticate it once with a special stamp (“apostille”) in the country where it was issued. This greatly simplifies the task of the conditional official from Ushuaia, with whom we began our story. Even if he has doubts about the authenticity of one of the documents, he does not need to check with the Khabarovsk registry office or the university office in Oslo. It is sufficient to verify the authenticity of the apostille by the body specifically authorized to certify documents under the Hague Convention.

Above all, the Hague Convention made life easier not for officials but for people. If your country has ratified the 1961 Convention, you no longer have to go through three to five instances to legalize each document and then repeat everything from scratch if the document is needed in another country. It is enough to put a stamp once.

Is it really that simple and does the apostille procedure have any disadvantages?

Unfortunately, there are pitfalls. First, not all countries in the world have signed the Hague Convention. Even big countries like Canada and China use the process of consular legalization. Second, different authorities are responsible for Apostilles in different countries (there are also two or three per country, depending on the type of document). Third, in some countries, the volume of document acceptance can be limited and the queue for apostille certification can be months. Fourth, the apostille process in some states is actually multi-stage – before a document is accepted, the official responsible for certification can request that it be certified in further intermediate instances. This applies, for example, to the United States of America. Fifth, some states do not want to accept documents issued by a particular country. For example Germany, Austria and Greece does not recognize the Uzbek apostille. Germany and Austria, as well as Finland refuse to accept the apostille from the Philippines.

Therefore, before getting an apostille, it is better to carefully study the procedure on special sites or by contacting professionals. This also applies to consular legalization. The situation with it in different countries can be quite confusing. For example, London only legalizes documents with an apostille - even if you want to use them in countries that have not ratified the Hague Convention. In general, taking into account all these subtleties, so as not to waste time and money, it is better to seek advice.

Please login or register to leave a comment. Please note that we release all comments manually, so that they are only published with a certain time delay. You can find more information about the comment function here.

About this article

Andrej Schmidt
Andrej Schmidt
Managing partner and head of marketing and distribution department
ApostilleConsular Legalization of foreign documentsHighlightedCanada
09 November 2022

Subscribe to our newsletter.

Stay informed on our latest news.

Subscribe

Related Posts

The apostille in Hawaii becomes multilingual
The apostille in Hawaii becomes multilingual
Apostille in Hawaii has become available in twelve languages besides English. This is reported by the official website of the Office of the Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii Sylvia Luke.
19 May 2025
Polina Kalacheva
Indonesia called on Malaysia to join the Apostille Convention
Indonesia called on Malaysia to join the Apostille Convention
Indonesia’s Minister of Justice, Supatman Andi Agtas, has called on Malaysia to consider acceding to the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents, also known as the Apostille Convention. This was reported by Indonesia’s news agency Antara
13 May 2025
Polina Kalacheva
The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice officially confirmed the increase in fees for apostilization
The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice officially confirmed the increase in fees for apostilization
The Ukrainian Ministry of Justice has officially confirmed the increase in the fee for certification of documents by apostille and justified this decision.
30 April 2025
Polina Kalacheva
Andorra updates list of officials authorized to issue apostilles
Andorra updates list of officials authorized to issue apostilles
The Andorran authorities have given the right to apostille documents to the General Director of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Director of International Legal Affairs and Human Resources. The corresponding changes are posted on the official portal of the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
29 April 2025
Polina Kalacheva

Pagination

  • Next page ››
Schmidt & Schmidt OHG
+1 332 208 131 7
office_hours
offline
contact@schmidt-export.com

Bahnhofstrasse 22a
94032Passau
Germany
Visa
Mastercard
SEPA Bank Transfer
PayPal

Footer menu

  • Contact
  • Guarantee
  • Imprint
  • Privacy policy
  • Legal agreements
  • Withdrawal policy
  • Site map
  • Payment terms
  • Cookie policy
  • TEST

Search

  • Deutsch
  • English
  • Español
  • Français
  • Italiano
  • Қазақ тілі
  • Русский
  • Türkçe
  • 中文
+1 332 208 131 7
office_hours
offline
contact@schmidt-export.com