What is Apostille Attestation and its Procedure

When the documents are legalised in a particular format that is accepted by all the nations belonging to Hague Convention. This is known as apostille attestation. It is a type of attestation required for documents such as power of attorney, affidavits, birth certificate, death certificate, etc. The process of attestation applies between two countries. Such an apostille is sufficient to certify the validity of a document in both the countries. You don’t have to bother for doblue-certification if you are visiting a foreign country. 

A document should be issued or certified by the officials of the recognised authority that issues the apostille. The attestation of apostille is affixed by the Competent Authority that is designated by the government of a state that is party to the convention. The list of authorities is maintained by the Hague Conference on private international law. The apostille itself is a stamp that consists of ten numbered standard fields in which at the top it is written apostille and under the text other information is being placed. As per the Hague Convention there are four eligible documents required for apostille that contain administrative documents, notarial acts, court documents and official certificates. The apostille convention only relies on the countries those who have signed the Hague Convention that includes 118 countries.  

Why is Apostille Attestation Important 

Nowadays, more people are relocating abroad, whether it be for employment, education, or internal company transfers. Numerous sectors, including tourism, healthcare, and information technology, offer employment opportunities. Therefore, you must have your academic, professional, and personal certificates attested by the appropriate governmental agencies, or occasionally by the embassy of the country from which you are moving, in order to receive a visa or work permit in the country of travel.

As the global door of chance is expanding, people from one country are drawn to travel to another in order to explore more possibilities for growth, whether for educational or commercial purposes, or even to advance their careers. Due to the rise in immigration, it is essential to rigorously and professionally verify each immigrant’s authenticity, necessitating procedures like apostille or attestation.

The apostille services in India procedure is essential because it streamlines the authenticity checks at various levels and ensures the validity of the immigrant and their reason for traveling to a foreign country. This is because both the native and foreign governments are involved in all exchanges of human resources.

Document Apostille Attestation 

There are three types of documents that need to be apostilled:

Personal records include birth and marriage certificates, divorce decrees, death certificates, adoption deeds, police clearance certificates (PCCs), experience certificates, immigration certificates, and more.

Educational records, which serve as proof of your educational background, are records of your academic performance and the classes you have taken over time. The most frequent scholarly papers are: 

Commercial paperwork

Commercial documents are those that authorise any entrepreneur’s ownership of firm capital. These include documents like wills, contracts, and memoranda of associations, among others.

Certificate Apostille Attestation

Examples of certificate attestation apostille include the verification of personal documents, business documents, and educational documents. We’ll discuss the attestation of birth certificates in this article because it’s a crucial personal record. For instance, A birth certificate, a legal document, attests to a person’s birth details, including the date, location, and identities of their parents. The attestation of such a document is usually required for family immigration applications. A birth certificate must also be attested if a person travels overseas for academic purposes or if they are bringing their child with them.

The attestation procedure for birth certificates in India is handled by the relevant Home department, MEA, and associated Embassy of the visiting nation. For the attestation of a birth certificate, you might have to provide a copy of your passport, a copy of your visa, recent photos, an authorization letter, the original certificate, etc.

Apostille Attestation Procedure

India has been a member of Hague Convention since 2005 that means that the country is providing apostille services in India attestation to its citizens since 2005. The MEA department provides a sticker on the document that contains details of the applicant including name of the document, name of the applicant, name of the officer issuing the stamp and date. 

The procedure of apostille attestation may differ depending upon the document type. There are three main types of documents that are apostille in three different ways. The following three categories of documents 

• Personal documents: includes birth certificate, marriage certificate, NABC, single status certificate etc..
• Educational documents: includes transcript, mark sheet, degrees, provisional and many other ones.
• Commercial documents: includes compliance, company agreements & business deals etc.

1. Personal Document Apostille

To get apostille services in India for your personal document you need to go through the following steps. The primary and basic process is notary attestation, it will be done at the regional level by a lawyer. After that you need to go for Home Department Attestation or SDM attestation that includes state level organisation used to certify the personal document and then the last procedure is apostille from MEA. The Ministry of External Affairs provides the attestation that is valid throughout the country as well as foreign countries. 

Some of the documents that need apostille services in India include birth certificate, marriage certificate, adoption deed, medical certificate, migration certificate, divorce certificate, etc.      

2. Commercial Document Apostille   

The procedure of getting your commercial document apostilled includes Chamber of Commerce Attestation that is the first step of verification for your document related to business. The authentication is done by a stamp applied at the backside of the document when you need to do business overseas. In this the attestation is independent from the state government but needs to be approved by the central government. The next step is to get an apostille from MEA that gives you validation to India and abroad. 

The commercial document includes board resolution, authority letter, memorandum of association, power of attorney, commercial invoice, bill of lading, etc.

3. Educational Certificate Apostille

To get your educational certificate attested you need to follow the following procedure. The first step is to get notary attestation. It is done by the local officials that can be a lawyer at the collector’s office. The next step includes Home Department Attestation, SDM attestation or, HRD attestation. Three of them can be chosen as per your board, class or previous document. Then the last step is to get it apostilled by a final stamp or signature. The procedure of attestation may vary, depending upon the type of document. 

The most common educational certificates are transfer certificate, degree certificate, marksheets, nursing certificate, engineering certificate, etc. 

Benefits of Apostille Attestation

Attestation services are provided by experts with years of training and expertise. From that company, you can obtain attestation for your academic and career certificates. They don’t need your attendance to complete the attestation processes. The validity of any document you send for attestation will be examined.

You need authenticated documents in order to start a business or enrol in a course overseas. You must attest the documents at the right time in order to travel internationally and complete the task on schedule. Document attestation is the process of authenticating papers with the help of some professional advice. The service providers deliver the papers to the proper government agencies to ensure that the attestation is finished properly. 

Getting the documents attested with stamps and signature provides you a legacy to work abroad, and more. Follow the procedure and get your documents attested for your studies and entrepreneurship within the country and outside the country.