What is Apostille Certificate?
- The Apostille Certificate is a consistently recognised certification of legitimacy admitted by nations members of the Hague Convention of 1961. Apostille is a French word meaning certification. The Ministry of External Affairs India must legalise the Indian document use in the Hague convention countries. It is a unique stamp called an Apostille. Apostille is simply the name for a specialised certificate issued by the MEA. The Apostille is attached to your original document to verify it is legitimate and authentic. Apostilles are recognised by more than 116 European nations and the United States of America, who are signatories to the convention.
- MEA is the sole jurisdiction to issue Apostille Stamp to the India issued Certificate. Apostille documents are valid only in The Hague Convention Countries. The Hague Convention 1961 ended the requirement of repeated Legalization of foreign public documents by the governments of HCCH member countries.
Why is Certificate Apostille required ?
- Certificate Apostille is required because A Hague convention policy demands a certificate with an Apostille stamp to use the document in HCCH Members Countries. It is a part of security. This process will certify the legitimacy of Certificate for Work, Education, Export your goods or establish a business in Hague Member Countries. With this Apostille stamp, the Document becomes right, genuine, and recognised by the MEA of HCCH Members Countries. Holding apostille on a Certificate means there is no requirement for further attestation from their Embassy.
When is Certificate Apostille required?
- Short-term stays and long-term travel abroad for objectives including job, education, residence, and immigration require an apostille. Simply put, an apostille is a legalisation procedure for documents that enables you to demonstrate the validity of the documents you need in the country of your choice.
Following are the points where can require a Certificate Apostille.
- Commercial document such as a certificate of incorporation, Registration, Board of Resolution, Power of attorney, and memorandum Apostille is required to establish a business overseas.
- Apostille is required on Exports document such as Invoice, Certificate of Origin, Packing list for export overseas
- Educational certificate such as Degree, Diploma, School Marksheet certificate is required with Apostille stamp to get overseas education or work visa.
- Personal document such as marriage certificate and birth certificate is required with Apostille stamp to get a Family visa.
- PCC (Police Clearance Certificate) is required with Apostille stamp to prove a non-criminal background abroad.
- The medical certificate is required with an Apostille stamp to prove fitness status abroad.
- Single status certificate ( Marriage ability certificate or Bachelorhood ) is required with an Apostille stamp for overseas marriage registration
HOW TO GET APOSTILLE STAMP IN INDIA
- For Certificate Apostille Services in India, As the Ministry of External Affairs does not accept documents directly from the individual/applicant, Certificates for Apostille or Attestation by MEA must be submitted and collected from the four designated outsourced agencies. W.e.f. January 01 2019, Apostille Attestation services have been decentralised to Branch Secretariats/RPOs in 15 cities. Apostille services are available in Mumbai, New Delhi, Pune, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Bhopal, Chennai, Kolkata, Chandigarh, Goa, Cochin, Guwahati, Lucknow, Raipur, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot, Indore, Patna and Thiruvananthapuram.
- The Indian apostille is a sticker stamp of square shape, which itself is a printed form consisting of 11 standard fields. On the top is the text APOSTILLE, under which the text Convention de La Haye du 5 October 1961 (English: Hague Convention of 5 October 1961) is placed. The fields contain the following important information, and the Apostille certificate will be affixed on the document's backside.
Details are included in Indian MEA Apostille Stamp
- Country: INDIA
- This public document of the Type: Registration Certificate
- Has been signed by: Name of the officer recognised by the MEA
- With the Seal/Stamp of: Acting in the capacity of
- Certified by: Acting in the capacity of
- On: Date of Apostille
- At: Location of Apostille
- Reference No: 4 Alpha and 10 Numeric numbers
- Is issued to: Name of the Document Holder
- Seal/stamp: of the authority giving the Apostille
- Signature: Signature of authority giving the Apostille
THE CERTIFICATES ARE DIVIDED INTO THREE TYPES
- The Ministry of External Affairs could Apostille all three kinds of Documents after the primary legalisation process at the regional and state level.
PERSONAL DOCUMENTS
- Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Death certificate, PCC, Affidavit, Medical Certificate, Power of attorney
EDUCATIONAL CERTIFICATES
- Engineering Degree, Medical Degree, Diploma, HSC, SSC Certificate, Mark Sheet, Transfer Certificate, Transcript, School Leaving Certificate and School Reports
COMMERCIAL DOCUMENTS
- Certificate of Incorporation, Registration certificates, Trade Certificate, Export Invoice, Commercial Invoice, Certificate of Origin, GMP, FSC, Memorandum Of Association, Article of Association, Power of Attorney, Authority Letter, Board Resolution, Bill of Lading
WHAT IS THE PROCESS FOR APOSTILLE IN INDIA
- First, the certificate must be verified by the Home Department or HRD or Chamber of Commerce officials. The MEA can finally Apostille the document in India.
HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE FOR APOSTILLE?
- Apostille has multiple steps involved, making it challenging for anybody to predict the exact timeframe the entire process will necessitate. In typical instances, the offline procedure tends to take around three to four weeks. However, our consultants at the EAS could get the job done for you in a much lesser time.
HOW MUCH DOES THE APOSTILLE PROCESS COST?
- There are multiple phases of Apostille that go into the legalisation. The fee of the apostille process will depend on the type of document & authentication needed, which is either from the MEA or all other levels. The urgency of the requirement will also factor into the final cost, including any additional services requested by the applicant. If you want to know the exact price, please get in touch with us.