The Step-by-Step Guide to Apostille Certification: What You Need to Know!

Today, the Indian dispersion is continuing growing and Indian professionals frequently move abroad to seek better career opportunities. Hence, the Indian Government has made efforts to streamline and improve the Documentation process. The need for efficient and accessible certificate attestation processes has become increasingly important in today’s increasingly more globalized world as document authentication and legalization have become more common than before. Regardless of, whether or not you are planning to get a job, admission to an international educational institution, conduct business worldwide, or embark on a new journey, knowing the Apostille Certificate attestation and its significance is essential.

What is an Apostille attestation?

An Apostille attestation is a procedure in which any certificate/document Apostilled in one member country is acceptable in all of the other member countries belonging to The Hague Convention Treaty. It has 122 member countries and is useful for a candidate seeking to study or employment in a Hague member country. Apostille attestation is a type of authentication/legalization wherein documents get validation in a particular format to prove their authenticity and lawfulness overseas. It refers to a certificate issued in one Hague country to verify its authenticity for use in another member country of The Hague Apostille Convention Agreement. The Hague Convention Agreement of October 5, 1961, simplifies the legalization procedure, making it more efficient and internationally valid.

Apostille attestation is necessary for Academic and Non-Academic documents that belong to one Hague country and are going to be used in another Hague country for any personal or professional motive. The Hague Apostille Agreement simplifies the requirement of the legalization of foreign public documents to use those documents for obtaining a visa for employment, admission to a University/School, residency, work allowance, or establishing business in a member country of the Hague agreement.

In India, an Apostille attestation is basically a legalization procedure for documents by legal and authorized Government Departments in the Home country of the documents. The main authority that legalizes public documents with Apostille attestation is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India, which is a Central Government Authority and looks after international matters of the country. The Apostille attestation procedure requires getting some prior validations before the MEA Apostille Attestation in the Home country such as the Regional Notary verification and Issuing State validation from the appropriate departments according to the type of documents.

Whether you need the Apostille services in Bangalore or Delhi, the External Ministry (MEA) does not accept documents directly from the candidates, all documents need to be submitted from outsourced and authorized Apostille services agencies/companies. Hiring the Apostille agencies is highly beneficial to complete an Apostille requirement for any type of Academic and Non-Academic document within India. These agencies provide the best services for Apostille requirements making this complex procedure simple and convenient as their expertise in navigating the complexities of the Apostille procedure guarantees a smooth experience for people and businesses/companies alike.

How to get an Apostille attestation in Delhi? 

You can get the Apostille Documents in Delhi, from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), India which provides the Apostille attestation stamp for Indian documents. However, to get the MEA Apostille you need to get verification from the state of origin first. Only then, the MEA will attest the documents with their authentic Apostille stamp and seal, to prove the authenticity and genuineness for those documents to use in an overseas country, which is a part of the Convention and accepts the Apostille on foreign documents as a valid procedure. It is a document-oriented procedure and relies upon the type of documents, their issuing state, and the reason for the travel.

Documents Requiring Apostille Attestation

Global Perspective- Type of documents that require Apostille Attestation:

  • Academic Documents:
  • Degree Certificates
  • Diploma Certificates
  • Transcripts
  • Academic Credentials

 

  • Personal Documents
  • Marriage Certificates
  • Birth Certificate
  • Divorce Decrees
  • Medical
  • PCC
  • Adoption Certificate

 

  • Legal Documents:
  • Power of Attorney
  • Affidavits
  • Other Legal Documents

 

  • Commercial/Business Documents:
  • Articles of Incorporation
  • MOA
  • Bank Statements
  • Produce List
  • Patents
  • Invoices
  • Trademarks

 

You need to start the procedure for Apostille documents in Delhi with Regional Notary verification locally. Then, you need to get validation for the documents according to their type from the Issuing State Ministry’s concerned department that is authorized to validate the documents for authentication. For Academic documents, the Human Resource Development (HRD) & Educational Department (school/college/board/council), and for Personal documents the Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM)/ General Administrative Department (GAD)/ Regional Authentication Center (RAC)/ Home Department of the issuing state are the authorities for document legalization. For Commercial documents, getting the Chamber of Commerce is mandatory to start the Apostille procedure in Delhi.

After successfully getting the State validation from the relevant authority, the MEA, India will provide the Apostille attestation stamp to the documents proving their validity and lawfulness in another country so that those can be used rightfully for any legal, personal, or professional matters overseas.

Requirements for Apostille Attestation

You may require the Apostille attestation for visa purposes, to get a job, higher studies, work allowance, migration, trading, or for expanding your business abroad.

Documents for Apostille Attestation

You need to submit copies of your original certificates/documents, passport, visa, 2 Photographs, authorization Letter, and Govt. ID proofs for the Apostille attestation procedure. Avoid using fake or duplicate documents as it is not valid and accepted for the procedure.

What is the Apostille Attestation fee and duration?

The Apostille Attestation fee chargeable by the Apostille attestation services per document can be high or low according to the issuing state of the document, the Destination country, the urgency of the visa, and additional requirements of the applicants.

The duration of the Apostille attestation procedure is generally 5-7 working days in India, but, since it’s a lengthy procedure and requires multiple pre-validations, sometimes it can take a longer time.

Whether you need Apostille services in Delhi or any other place in India, you can find genuine and reliable services providing many services according to your requirements, from standard document authentication to urgent documentation. Their knowledgeable attestation staff can assist you through the complete procedure, making it trouble-free without any error or delay. These services are certified by the MEA and can complete an Apostille procedure on the candidate’s behalf making the documentation easy for all of the attestation candidates.

Whether you require Apostille services in Hyderabad, Delhi, or Mumbai, the Apostille agencies can effectively complete the procedure for every personal and professional document throughout India.

About the Author

Santosh Nair
Santosh Nair is the Founder & CEO of Talent attestation a leading Certificate Attestation Company in India. Santosh can often be reviewing attestation & apostille for candidate certificates with the team and is actively involved in the embassy attestation for talentattesation.com. He regularly consults, trains and speaks on attestation, apostille, visa stamping and hrd attestation to the team.