Enclosed by towering mountains, majestic rivers, and lush green forests, Belgaum is a magical place to explore. Featuring enticing scenic views, aesthetic waterfalls, and amazing trekking trails, Belgaum is indeed a nature lover’s paradise. Preserving its ancient roots, this old city in Karnataka is slowly being directed towards the path of development.
Besides being an important commercial hub, Belgaum is also the export center of Karnataka. Multiple sectors of the city are undergoing massive transformations as industries bloom in the city. Better opportunities in the city have prompted residents to travel abroad for a variety of reasons. All of this has resulted in a surge in demand for Apostille services in recent years. SPS Global Belgaum provides its clients with the most innovative and practical solutions.
At SPS Belgaum, we have a team of talented professionals who work round-the-clock to provide seamless services to our clients. The coordinated efforts of the SPS team have helped us develop the most innovative and customer-friendly solutions for the client. At SPS Belgaum, we work tirelessly to provide the most efficient and hassle-free services to our clients.
We are all somewhere bound by a legal system of endless formalities. Legal formalities, whether in one's home country or in another country, are something that must not be overlooked at any cost.
Have you got plans to travel abroad? Have you figured out all the legal formalities you need to fulfill? Do you know that you must get an Apostille before traveling to a Hague Convention country?
In the following section, we’ll figure out everything you need to know about an Apostille.
An Apostille is a pivotal legal formality mandated by the member countries of the Hague Convention. It is a kind of authentication that helps establish the credibility of documents.
An Apostille can be issued in the form of a sticker, stamp, or seal. This sticker or stamp has a unique identification number on it. This identification number helps the foreign authorities verify a person’s necessary details.
For whatever reason one is traveling, the one thing everybody needs is their documents. It is imperative to first get your documents verified by a credible authority before using them abroad. Getting your documents attested with an Apostille is a way to earn the legal status of your documents. When your documents are Apostilled, it helps the foreign authorities know about their authenticity. It assures them that you are a legal citizen and are traveling for legitimate reasons.
Any country that is a member of the 1961 Hague Convention is popularly known as a Hague Convention country. This convention was formed as an initiative to facilitate the use of public documents in other countries. With the aim of facilitating the legalization process, this convention adopted a document called the Apostille. An Apostille from then onwards, was considered a legal document. These documents, once issued by a country, will be recognised as valid in all other member countries of the convention.
Yes, India is also a member of the Hague Convention. Since 2005, India has also been a part of this convention. As a result, all Indian residents need to follow the rules outlined by the convention. All Indian residents have to get an Apostille whenever they travel to a country that is also a part of the convention. Upon receiving an Apostille, there is no need to further get the documents attested by the embassy.
An Apostille issued by a country does not have an expiration date. However, the country where the Apostille is to be issued may request documents that have recently been attested with an Apostille. Usually, there is no expiry date for an Apostille, but there can be a time limit on how old the Apostille can be.
In India, the Ministry of External Affairs is the sole entity that has the authority to issue an Apostille. In order to get an Apostille from the MEA, a person’s documents are first authenticated by the authorities where they were issued. The state/UT authorities authenticate various educational, commercial, and personal documents of a person. Once the documents are authenticated, they go for the final legalization. The MEA, on the basis of the signature of state/UT authorities, issues an Apostille on the documents. An Apostille is issued by the MEA only on the original documents of a person.
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An Apostille is a French word that means Certification and it’s Pronounce as “ah-po-style”. An Apostille is simply the name for a specialized certificate, issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. The Apostille sticker is pasted on the backside of original document to verify it is legitimate and authentic, so it will be accepted in one of the other countries who are members of The Hague Apostille Convention.
The Apostille Convention is an international treaty that simplifies the legalization procedure for foreign public documents. It allows a Government body to certify a document issued in its own country as valid for other countries without further certification by the destination state. The Convention has 126 contracting states as of November 2023, including the United States and Canada.
The Apostille Convention provides the simplified certification of public (including notarized) documents to be used in countries that have joined the convention. Documents destined for use in participating countries and their territories should be certified by one of the officials in the jurisdiction in which the document has been executed.
The Hague Convention requires that all Apostille be numbered consecutively, with individual numbers applied to each Apostille issued. The recognized standard Apostille contains a seal and 10 mandatory references: name of country from which the document emanates, name of person signing the document, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted, in the case of unsigned documents, the name of the authority that has affixed the seal or stamp, place of certification date of certification, the authority issuing the certificate, number of certificate, seal or stamp of authority issuing certificate and signature of authority issuing certificate. Prior to the introduction of Apostille certificates the burden on international courts and authorities to judge foreign documents as authentic was quite considerable. On the October 5, 1961 the Hague Convention abolished the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents. The Convention reduces all of the formalities of legalization to the simple delivery of a certificate in a prescribed form, entitled “Apostille”, by the authorities of the Ministry where the document originates. This certificate, placed on the document, is dated, numbered and registered. The verification of its registration can be carried out without difficulty by means of a simple request for information addressed to the authority which delivered the certificate.
Apostille Process depends that if the documents are Educational, Non Educational or Commercial. Educational Certificate Apostille is required if you are going for Job or Study in any of The Hague Convention Countries. Non Educational documents like Marriage, Birth Certificate Apostille services are required for your dependents, if you want them to accompany you in that country. Commercial documents Apostille is required if you want to send shipment, open a branch in Hague country of have to do some business collaboration. We will try to explain process for you.
First step of the Process is getting the Notarization of document done. Notary can be done from anywhere in India. And it can be done from Delhi also. Doing Notary from Delhi will save some time, as documents has to come to Delhi only for Apostille.
After the Notary is done, next step in Sub Divisional Magistrate. SDM attestation is done in Delhi. It’s same for Educational and Non Educational documents. If you leave few countries, this SDM Stamping is valid in all the countries. Some countries Like, Italy, Switzerland and Austria might ask for State HRD for Educational Documents and State home Department/GAD for Non Educational documents. So, if you are planning for these countries please get complete knowledge from office HR or local bodies who are applying your case. SDM Stamping is done in 1 day and on the backside of the original Document.
Last and most important part is getting the document attested from Ministry of External affairs. After Notary and SDM Stampings are done Documents are submitted in Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi for Apostille. Just like Notary and SDM, Apostille Sticker is pasted on the back side of the document. Apostille sticker will have your name and current date. It also have unique number and contain name and designation of the person who have signed it. After Apostille sticker, the process is completed the documents are ready for use. When you receive the Apostille document, first please check that all the spellings and dates are fine. As sometimes there can be some mismatch in the spelling. If there is some spelling mistake then it has to submit in correction department. That will take another 1 day
If you are going through State Attestation Process then it might take more than a month. As for Educational documents, first stamp from University is required and then from State HRD Department. And for Non Educational Documents, First Stamp is required from Local DC office and then from State GAD/Home Department. If you go through SDM Apostille process then processing time is only 5 to 6 working. This Process takes less time and is less expensive as well.
Apostille Sticker has a validity of Six Months. Means you have to use this Apostille within 6 months, after that whole life you can stay in that country. But if you want to change the country after 6 Months then Apostille needs to done again. Don’t worry if there is no space on the backside of the document. New Apostille Sticker can be applied on the expired Sticker.
Original Documents are very important part of our Life. Sometimes it takes several months to obtain new documents. So security of documents is most important for us. You can do live tracking of the process daily. Currently document is in which city and in which department, you can check with just one click. Whenever you handover your documents to any of our office, a link is shared to you on mail. With that you can track the whole process, till documents are delivered back to you.
If you are travelling outside India to any of The Hague convention Country for Study or Work, then Apostille is required on your Educational documents. And if you are applying dependent visa for your spouse or children, then their Marriage and Birth Certificate will be required to get Apostille. Still if you have any query, you can get in touch with SPS Team @9920111362
