Apostille (Apostyle) services and Document Legalizations

Apostille

      Documents issued in one country and intended for use in another country must be "authenticated" or "legalized" in order to be recognized as valid in the foreign country. Many documents intended for Ukraine require legalization or Apostille.

      If your document is intended for use in a country which is a party to a treaty called the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Hague Convention ), obtaining a special "apostille" certificate is generally all that is required.

      APOSTILLE: If the document is intended for use in a foreign country it has to be legalized (another word is “authenticated”) for foreign use. This is a process in which various seals are placed on the document. The legalization procedure basically depends on one factor: whether the target country has joined the The Hague Convention. In this case the only legalization required is an Apostille certificate. /Apostille is a French word which means a certification/. A document bearing an Apostille is valid in all of the Hague countries.

      In accordance with the Convention, in order for foreign documents to be valid in Ukraine , they must bear an Apostille - certificate confirming the capacity of the government official signing the document, authenticity of the signature and, where appropriate, of the seal or stamp on the document. Documents with Apostille do not require any further legalization.
      The following documents are considered official documents in accordance with the Hague Convention (documents for public use), and an Apostille may be placed in them:

• Documents issued by organizations or officials associated; with courts or state tribunals, including documents issued by a public prosecutor, court secretary, or bailiff;
• Documents certified by a notary public;
• Documents of administrative (executive) authorities;
• Official validating endorsements, placed on documents signed by individuals acting in a personal capacity, such as official certificates of the registration of a document or of its existence on the date indicated, as well as official and notarial verifications of signatures.

      Since December 22, 2003, the Ukraine has been part of the 1961 Hague Convention abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. The Convention provides for the simplified certification of public (including notarized) documents to be used in countries that have joined the convention. Under the Hague Convention, signatory countries have agreed to recognize public documents issued by other signatory countries if those public documents are authenticated by the attachment of an internationally recognized form of authentication known as an " apostille ". The Apostille ensures that public documents issued in one signatory country will be recognized as valid in another signatory country.
      The sole function of the Apostille is to certify the authenticity of the signature on the document; the capacity in which the person signing the document acted; and the identity of any stamp or seal affixed to the document.
      An Apostille issued by the Secretary of State is a one page document embossed with the Great Seal of a State. The Apostille includes the facsimile signature of the individual issuing the certificate.
There are currently over 60 member states of the Hague convention and in addition to those countries many other countries will also recognise an Apostille certificate (follow the link to a list of these countries ).

      The Convention applies only to public documents. These are documents emanating from an authority or official connected with a court or tribunal of the State (including documents issued by an administrative, constitutional or ecclesiastical court or tribunal, a public prosecutor, a clerk or a process-server); administrative documents; notarial acts; and official certificates which are placed on documents signed by persons in their private capacity, such as official certificates recording the registration of a document or the fact that it was in existence on a certain date and official and notarial authentications of signatures. The main examples of public documents for which Apostille are issued in practice include marriage, birth, death certificates; extracts from commercial registers and other registers; patents; court rulings; notarial acts and notarial attestations of signatures; academic diplomas issued by public institutions. Diplomas issued by private institutions may not be apostillised directly; a "private" diploma may, however, bear an official certificate issued by a notary, Solicitor, Agency or any other person or authority competent under the law of the State of origin of the diploma to authenticate the signature on the diploma. This official certificate is a public document under the Convention and thus may be apostillised. In such a case the Apostille does not relate to the diploma itself; instead it certifies the authenticity of the certificate on or accompanying the diploma.

List of the countries-participants of Hague Agreement - the 'Apostille' regime:

Embassy Legalization of the foreign documents for Ukraine

      Documents issued in one country and intended for use in another country must be "authenticated" or "legalized" in order to be recognized as valid in the foreign country.
      The number and type of authentication certificates you will need depend on the nature of the document and whether or not the foreign country is a party to the multilateral treaty on "legalization" of documents.
      If the country where the document will be used is not a party to the Convention (non-HLC-Countries), you will need "Embassy (Consular) Legalization" ( "Chain Authentication"). "Embassy (Consular) Legalization" of official documents is a procedure of confirmation of the validity of originals of official documents or certification of authenticity of signatures of the officials, authorized to certify the signatures on documents, and also the validity of prints of stamps, seals by which the document is fastened.

1. The Representative office of MFA in Kiev legalizes the following documents:
   • originals of official documents of the latest Ukrainian pattern handed by civilian state registry offices and authenticated by regional Justice Department in the region they were handed, by the Justice Department of the AR of Crimea, by municipal Justice Department for Kiev and Sevastopol;
   • copies, translations and other documents authenticated or handed by state notaries and authenticated by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine;
   • originals of documents handed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs concerning convict/non-convict status;
   • copies of diplomas handed to Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian citizens authenticated notarially and by the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine;
   • originals of diplomas of higher education handed to foreign students with covering the letter-statement authenticated by the Ministry of Education of Ukraine;
   • originals of documents handed by Diplomatic the Consular offices of foreign countries in Ukraine;
   • originals of documents handed to Ukrainian citizens by Diplomatic the Consular offices of Ukraine in foreign countries to be used in other countries.

   After legalization in the Representative office of MFA in Kiev the documents have to be authenticated by Diplomatic or Consular offices of the foreign country where these documents are supposed to be used.

2. The Representative office of MFA in Ukraine does not legalize documents handed on the territory of other countries. If there is no a Consular Office of Ukraine on the territory of the document's origin such document have to be authenticated in the Representative office of MFA in Kiev provided that this document was authenticated in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of the document's origin and in the country's Consular office in Ukraine.
3. Documents from a natural person can be legalized provided that the passport or another identifying document is shown; to legalize a family status certificate civil passport is required. If the document to be legalized belongs to a third person the owner's notary's certificate have to be shown. A foreign notary's certificate have to be authenticated by a Consular office of Ukraine in the country of its issue.
4. Documents from a legal person can be legalized provided that an application letter (stamped letterhead with Essential Elements) with the list of documents to be legalized, the purpose of legalization and the information of the person applying is shown. The Representative office may demand confirmation of the data mentioned in the document if necessary.

List of the countries without legalization:

Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bulgaria, Cuba, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Russian Federation, Romania, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, countries of former Yugoslavia (except Slovenia and Croatia).

Translation company APRIL | Kyiv | Ukraine | Tel.: +38 044 451-75-07, 501-25-37, 228-34-46. email: april@april.com.ua
Translation company "April".  #8, 61, Khmelnitskogo Str., Kyiv, Ukraine, 01054. Tel.: +38 044 451-75-07, 501-25-37, 228-34-46. email: april@april.com.ua