Apostille

What is an apostille? It is a special stamp or a sheet of paper containing a set of information, attached to a document with a stapler, thread, or by another method, which, in accordance with the Hague Convention of 1961, is placed on official documents (attached to official documents) of the member states of the Convention in order to exempt such documents from the need for consular legalization.

An apostille is one of the ways to legalize documents.

Why is document legalization needed?

Document legalization is required for an official document issued in the territory of one state to have the same legal force in the territory of another state.

Depending on the territory where the document was issued and the territory where it is planned to be submitted, there are three different procedures for its оформление: оформление in accordance with the agreement on legal assistance, apostille, and consular legalization. Often, all three procedures are called different types of legalization, but from a legal point of view, only one type is meant by legalization — consular legalization. The other two procedures are not legalization, as they are carried out in accordance with international legal acts that cancel the requirement for legalization (i.e., it seems that there is no need to legalize the document, but other procedures for its оформление are prescribed). However, the essence does not change regardless of the procedure name: you need to run around the relevant state authorities and get stamps everywhere, and the difference is only in the number of these stamps and the timeframes for their application.

Thus, before starting the legalization procedure, it is necessary to determine which procedure is required in each specific case. Let's take the Republic of Belarus as an example, and the procedure for оформление of documents in each specific case depends on the choice of the second country.

So, first, we check:

1. whether there is a bilateral agreement (usually an agreement on legal assistance) between the Republic of Belarus and a foreign state. The Republic of Belarus has concluded agreements on legal assistance with Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, the CIS states, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Cuba. If the second state is one of the listed ones, you can read the section on оформление in accordance with the agreement on legal assistance right away, as this is the procedure you need in your case;
2. if there is no agreement, then we check whether the foreign state is a party to the Hague Convention abolishing the requirement for legalization of foreign official documents. If yes, then we proceed directly to the Apostille section;
3. if not, then your case is consular legalization.

1. Оформление in accordance with the agreement on legal assistance.

As noted above, the Republic of Belarus has entered into agreements on legal assistance with the following countries: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Bulgaria, the CIS states, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Cuba. According to these agreements, legalization of documents certified with an official seal is not required; it is sufficient to translate the document into the language of the destination country and have the translator's signature notarized.

It should be noted that when providing a document from one country to another, it must be fully executed in the official language of the destination country, i.e., the document itself and all certification inscriptions and seals. A notary in any country makes certification inscriptions only in the official languages of their own country. Therefore, it is better to have the translation and its certification done in the destination country itself.

Please note! For notarization of a translation, the document (original) itself must be official, i.e., issued or certified by the relevant state authorities with the signature of an authorized person and an official seal. If a document intended for Belarus is issued in the territory of Russia and certified with an official seal, then it is provided to Belarus in this form. For example, notarized copies of documents (certified with the notary's seal), extracts from the Unified State Register of the Russian Federation (certified with official seals of the relevant state authorities). However, a power of attorney issued by a legal entity in the Russian Federation must be notarized in order to act in accordance with this power of attorney in the Republic of Belarus.

2. Apostille.

With the development of foreign policy, foreign economic, and other relations between states, and the desire of each party to simplify various kinds of bureaucratic procedures, a number of international documents on the legalization of documents have been signed.

In particular, in 1961, the Hague Convention was signed, abolishing the requirement for legalization of foreign official documents (Hague Apostille Convention).

According to this Convention, documents issued by state authorities of one of the participating countries are valid in the territory of other participating countries, provided that they bear a special stamp — an apostille. Thus, it turns out that there is no requirement for document legalization, but there is still a procedure.

To date, more than 100 countries have joined the Hague Convention, including the Republic of Belarus.

Example 1. A document is issued in Belarus and will be provided in Germany.

For this, it is necessary to affix an apostille on this document (or its notarized copy) in Belarus. This procedure is carried out by specially authorized state bodies:

It remains only to translate the official document with the apostille on it into German. It is better to carry out this part of the procedure in Germany, since the notary's certification mark must be in German. Alternatively, you can contact the German consulate in Belarus and clarify which translators' signatures they certify, then the entire procedure for preparing the document can be completed in Belarus, since authorized employees of the German consulate will certify the signature of a translator known to them in German with the emblematic seal of the embassy.

Example 2. The document was issued in Germany and will be submitted to the Republic of Belarus.

The procedure is similar: the authorized body in Germany puts an apostille on the official document (or its notarized copy), and then the translation into Russian/Belarusian is carried out with appropriate certification of the translator's signature by a notary. Of course, this certification signature must be in the state language of Belarus.

Consular legalization.

Let's note right away that in practice this procedure is rare. In our opinion, it is the most labor-intensive.

Example 1. The document was issued in the territory of the Republic of Belarus and will be submitted to the UAE.

A copy of the document is certified by a notary, whose signature must be certified by the Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Belarus, after which the document is legalized by the Main Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus. But the procedure does not end there.

The authenticity of the signature of the official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is confirmed by the UAE consulate in the Republic of Belarus.

If the document was forgotten to be certified at the UAE Embassy and it has already been sent to the destination country, then it is possible to complete the registration procedure at the Belarusian consulate in the UAE. At this stage, the document is considered legalized BUT! It is entirely in Russian, which is not understood in the UAE... Now the only thing left is to translate the document into Arabic and have the translator's signature certified by a notary; naturally, it is better to do this in the UAE, since the notary's certification mark must be in Arabic.

Example 2. The document was issued in the territory of the UAE and will be submitted to the Republic of Belarus.

The reverse procedure is as follows: first, a copy of the document in Arabic is notarized in the UAE, the signature of which may need to be certified by the relevant government authority (this issue can be clarified with the notary abroad, specifying that you are certifying a copy for legalization), then by the foreign ministry of the UAE. After that, the document must be certified at the Belarusian consulate in the UAE. If the last stage was missed for some reason and the document is already in Belarus, you can contact the UAE consulate in Belarus. After that, the document can be translated into Russian/Belarusian and the translator's signature certified by a notary. It is better to carry out the translation on the territory of the Republic of Belarus, since the notary's signature must be in the state language of the Republic of Belarus.

Information about countries with which international agreements have been concluded or which are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention of 1961 is provided from the official website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Belarus.