Most people in India hear the term “apostille” when they are planning or applying to go abroad for higher education, employment, temporary stay, permanent residency, or business expansions and setups. All these scenarios require the legalization of documents and that is unavoidable. Certificate Apostille and Document Apostille are commonly used terms and they simply mean legalization of your documents and certificates. 

Since there are several levels of verification and validation before final legalization by the central government, most people choose to hire apostille services in India to take the burden off of visiting government bodies and understanding their requirements in detail. When you can have a professional to avoid making mistakes that could delay your departure in exchange for a small fee, it makes more sense to not indulge in this complicated process all alone.                                  

However, it always pays off to have knowledge about what you are supposed to do. So, let’s discuss apostille services in detail. 

What is Apostille?

An apostille is a process of proving the authenticity and credibility of a document and it involves obtaining an apostille stamp on your documents and certificates from the concerned authority. It is computer-generated with a unique identification number which is applied to the back of the document. Doing this helps in maintaining the record online and thus, allows the concerned authorities of a foreign country to check the authenticity of documents in a more convenient manner. 

With Document and Certificate Apostille, your documents are made admissible in any country that is a part of the Hague Convention. In India, a sticker from the Ministry of External Affairs is put on the back of the document and then a stamp is added on the sticker in a way that it is partially on the sticker and partially on the paper. 

Once you complete the apostille process of your documents and certificates, there is usually no need for any added certification in the Embassy. 

Apostille is a mandatory requirement for all countries that are members of the Hague Convention. 

What is the Hague Convention?

Also called the Apostille Hague Convention or Apostille Convention, the Hague Convention was signed on 5th October 1961 in Luxembourg. However, it came into effect from 14th January 1965. This convention was signed to abolish the necessity of the legalization of documents and certificates so that people can move from one country to another freely. When you obtain an apostille on documents, you don’t need to get the same for another signatory country. This convention has brought various trade barriers down and increased accessibility through nations. 

The Hague Convention includes about 116 countries and you need an apostille for only these countries. Some of these countries are France, Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Thailand, Turkey, the USA, and the UK. 

Thus, it’s important to check whether the country you are planning to go to is a member of the Hague Convention or not. If not, you should hire attestation services. Otherwise, you should seek reliable apostille services in India.