The international express delivery company DHL has temporarily suspended its services in several Middle Eastern countries. The company has issued a corresponding notice to its clients.
On March 30, 2025, the Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (commonly known as the Apostille Convention) entered into force for Bangladesh. This was reported by the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
Please be aware that the upcoming month of Ramadan will begin on the evening of March 1 and will last until the evening of March 29, 2025. During this period, the working hours of government offices, postal and courier services, as well as commercial organizations, may change in many Muslim countries.
Schmidt & Schmidt is excited to announce the opening of our new office in Ankara, Turkey, further extending our global reach and providing essential document legalization and business services to the region. This new office is a key step in bringing our specialized offerings closer to Turkish businesses and international clients with operations in Turkey.
From 2025, Singapore will be able to issue electronic apostilles for documents online, THE EDGE reports. The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL) is working on the implementation of the new technology in collaboration with the Infocommunications Media Development Authority.
A conference entitled “Addressing International Private Law through the Lens of the Apostille Convention” was held in Thailand as part of the 62nd annual session of the Asian-African Legal Consultative Organization (AALCO). This was reported on the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand.
On 11 January 2024, the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, also known as the Apostille Convention, entered into force for Canada.
In this New Year and Christmas, we want to express our gratitude to every member of our team, our clients, and partners. Your support, trust, and efforts are the foundation of our success. We look forward to the future with optimism and are ready to meet 2024 with new ideas and solutions.
On May 12, 2023, Canadian authorities officially deposited with the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) the instruments of accession to the Convention of October 5, 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, also known as the Apostille Convention.
Degrees, certificates and other educational documents issued in Spain have no legal force abroad. Therefore, an apostille may be required in a number of cases, most notably when enrolling in graduate or post-graduate studies.
Degrees, certificates and other educational documents issued in Switzerland have no legal force abroad. Therefore, an apostille may be required in a number of cases, most notably when enrolling in graduate or post-graduate studies.
On March 23, 2023, the Convention of October 5, 1961, abolishing the requirement for legalization of foreign official documents, entered into force for the Republic of Senegal. The corresponding statement is posted on the website of the Hague Conference on Private International Law.
Degrees, certificates and other educational documents issued in Germany have no legal force abroad. Therefore, an apostille may be required in a number of cases, most notably when enrolling in graduate or post-graduate studies.
Degrees, certificates and other educational documents issued in France have no legal force abroad. Therefore, an apostille may be required in a number of cases, most notably when enrolling in graduate or post-graduate studies.
Certificates, degree and other educational documents issued in the USA have no official legal validity outside the country. Therefore, an apostille may be required in a number of cases, especially when enrolling in undergraduate or postgraduate studies.
Translation of official documents for use abroad may at first seem like a simple and uncomplicated procedure. After all, there are many translation agencies in almost every country. But it is not that simple, and therefore we are often contacted by people who have already tried to translate documents on their own, lost time and money, and eventually have to do everything in a proper way.
Nowadays, the need to legalise medical documents is becoming more and more frequent. This may be required in various situations: for example, when arranging treatment in a foreign clinic or explaining the reasons for absence at your workplace, also when confirming satisfactory state of health for admission to higher education institution or signing an employment contract.
Question about enrolling children in a foreign school is very relevant nowadays. The reasons for sending a child to study abroad may vary. In some cases, this is due to the parents moving to another country, in other cases – to broaden the children’s horizons and give them the opportunity to study certain subjects deeper. In addition, many parents consider studying abroad as a good way to give their children language practice.
The Department of Land and Cadastre of Cyprus is going to upgrade its registers and "tie" each object to the owner by an identification number. The updates are scheduled for 2023.
Ireland is developing a strategy to implement the decision of the European Court of Justice on access to the register of beneficial owners of companies.
Getting a baby is always a wonderful joyful moment, and it’s very important not to overshadow it with any legal problems. Moreover, in many countries the registration of a newborn is a rather complicated bureaucratic procedure.
So what should you start with?
Private companies registered under the Ontario Business Corporations Act will be required to maintain a Register of Transparency of Persons with Significant Control.
As every year, on New Year's Eve and Christmas Eve, we summarize the results of the past year and set plans for the future.
This year has been interesting and busy for all of us. It has presented our team with many new challenges, but it has also offered many new opportunities for development. There have been many achievements as well as challenges to overcome.
Today the world is getting smaller and opening up new possibilities for us. Every year, more and more people are getting college degrees away from home. What should be considered when studying abroad?
Those who are just starting out in foreign trade are often faced with an unexpected problem - the impossibility of legalization of commercial documents for use abroad through the apostille or consular legalization. What can be done if the business partners expect the submission of officially certified documents?
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?
Nowadays, many people want something out of the ordinary, and that is why couples often prefer to get married abroad. Incidentally, this does not only apply to couples in which one of the partners is a citizen of another country. Many people want to break out of everyday life and swear an oath of eternal love to the sound of the waves on one of the Mediterranean islands or the sound of the north wind on a glacier in Greenland.
The legalization of documents, as well as notarization of their copies and translations, is a very specific field of activity that most people rarely come across. Therefore, it is quite natural that those who urgently need to prepare documents for use abroad have many questions.
Applications for affixing an electronic apostille can be sent in accordance with the legislation of the competent authorities, including through the Gosuslugi website.
On July 22, 2022, the Hague Conference on Private International Law issued a press release stating that Senegal deposited an instrument of accession to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents.
According to the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation, applications for affixing an electronic apostille can be sent in accordance with the legislation of the competent authorities, including through the website gosuslugi.ru. The application form is determined by the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.
Pakistani President Arif Alvi approved Islamabad's accession to the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents.
The National Council of Justice and the Notarial College of Brazil have started providing the service of electronic apostille of documents. It will allow online (via e-mail or instant messengers on a smartphone) to receive copies of official documents in PDF format, which will be marked with a QR code confirming their authenticity.
The Apostille Convention will officially enter into force in Indonesia on June 4, 2022. From this date, the parties to the Convention are obliged to waive the requirement of legalization of public documents issued by the Indonesian authorities and accept Apostilles issued by the authorized competent authority of Indonesia.
We are currently receiving regular reports from individuals and companies who have fallen victim to scammers using schemes related to document legalization services.
Schmidt & Schmidt has launched the Turkish version of the website to thereby consult customers from Turkey in their native language and to participate in the Turkish business life.
Turkey, with its geopolitical position and dynamic demographic structure, is one of the countries that has been the heart of trade for years. Turkey's fertile lands, constantly developing industry and location in both Asia and Europe have always made it a magnet for people all around the globe.
The Hague Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents regulates the use of an apostille between member states or contracting states of the Convention. The E-Apostille process was initiated by the 2006 Hague Conference and the United States National Notaries Association in line with the needs of technological development.
Our company has always paid close attention to the economic development of Central Asia and offers professional services to many companies in this region.
Given the growing volume of orders from Asia and established business contacts with many companies in the region, we decided to get closer to our customers and partners and open another office in the capital of Kazakhstan, Nur-Sultan, for which we created a new legal entity - Schmidt & Schmidt TOO.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Philippines has changed the building in which the processing and issuance of documents subject to apostille is carried out .
Logistics companies DHL, FedEx and United Parcel Service (UPS) have suspended the delivery of documents to and from Russia, Belarus and Ukraine due to the military operation in Ukraine. The companies announced this on their websites.
The European Union also imposed a ban on flights of Russian aircraft over its entire territory. In response to this, the Russian Federation also closed the skies to EU aircraft.
Already sent documents transported by FedEx will be stored on the company's network. We are working on returning your documents to our office and building alternative routes for delivering documents to you. In this connection, we should expect an increase in delivery times.
We are trying to restore work in full and as soon as possible, but as long as political unrest and hostilities continue, our capabilities are limited.
We ask you to treat the current situation with understanding.
As soon as the work of courier services is restored in full, we will inform you of the status of your orders.
As you probably already know, the situation in Ukraine has sharply escalated due to the military invasion of the Russian military forces. At the moment, the situation is developing very quickly and unpredictably.
A curfew has been introduced on the territory of a number of settlements, the work of state bodies, delivery services and other services has been suspended. Internet access has also been temporarily disabled and some state Internet portals have been shut down. Airports have been closed and all flights have been suspended.
In this connection, at the moment it is impossible or very difficult to process orders in Ukraine.
It would be insincere to say that all these 10 years passed unnoticed. It has been a long and difficult journey. I remember me and Alexey, my brother and regular business partner, registering the company in September 2011. We had just finished our studies at the University of Passau. I only had 300 euros in my account. This money became our first capital, from which the fees for the registration of the GbR Schmidt & Schmidt were paid.
The Register of Beneficial Ownership is a database which contains information about the ultimate beneficial owner of a company (a natural person) or a complex corporate structure.
There is no doubt that the past year has been difficult for everyone. The global changes affected all of us, and we had to adjust and adapt quickly to the evolving conditions. Nevertheless, the past year's outcomes show that we have chosen the right strategy.
On the 24th of December a festive season begins. And it will be last until the beginning of January 2020. It is worth emphasizing that the post also has certain difficulties in shipping. In fact, many government agencies stop working on the 20th December. Before you have taken any steps, be sure that the relevant office is still open.
During the meeting of the Eurasian Economic Commission on November 30, 2016, the technical regulation "On requirements for mineral fertilizer" has been passed.
On December 22, 2016, a new form of EAC Certificates and EAC Declarations for the attestation of conformity with the TR CU regulations will be introduced in the Eurasian Economic Union.
On October 18, a series of important rules in the field of technical and non-tariff regulation has been passed in Moscow, among them three new technical regulations of the Eurasian Economic Union.
The EAEU's member states and the Eurasian Economic Commission have prepared a convention on the harmonization of the legislature in the field of governmental control about the compliance of require
