On November 2, 2020, Jamaica decided to accede to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, “The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (the Apostille Convention)”. The provisions of the convention will come into force in Jamaica on July 3, 2021.
Foreign documents that are certified with an apostille are recognized in all member states of the Hague Convention, so no other form of certification such as consular legalization is required. This significantly reduces the cost and time required to certify documents. After Jamaica joins the Hague Convention, it will contain 119 member countries, including the Russian Federation.
Apostille is a stamp in the shape of a square, size of which reaches 9x9 cm. This stamp contains the heading "Apostille" and the name of the Hague Convention in French (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961).
On July 28, Jamaica Justice Minister Delroy Chuck introduced a bill in parliament proposing a simplified procedure for the legalization of public documents issued in Jamaica for use abroad and foreign public documents for use in Jamaica.
The Ministry of Justice of Jamaica noted that currently some documents required for use abroad for business or personal purposes demand certification procedure to be held by authorized agencies before being accepted for use. This process makes it difficult to carry out cross-border activities.
Schmidt & Schmidt offers services such as consular legalization or the apostille for the certification of nationally recognized documents in accordance with the Hague Convention in more than 100 countries around the world.
