What is consular legalization?
This procedure of multi-stage preparation of documents includes affixing special stamps of the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, embassy. Legalization is necessary to give papers legal force outside Russia and is suitable for those states that have not acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention of October 5, 1961.
When is consular legalization needed?
It will be required when moving for permanent residence, study, work, treatment in a foreign clinic, obtaining a residence permit or citizenship, founding a company, doing business. Legalization is often done for the following:
- Educational papers: school certificates, diplomas, academic transcripts;
- Personal documents: divorce, birth, name change, marriage certificates;
- Certificate of no criminal record;
- Constitutive documents of an organization: charter, license, etc.
Legalization will be required for all states that are not members of the Hague Convention and have not signed additional agreements with Russia on simplification of document circulation: countries of the Arab world, Asia and Africa. A full list of countries for which consular legalization is required in 2024 can be viewed here.
How do I do consular legalization?
It involves several steps and consists of the following steps:
- Preparation of notarized copies;
- Notarial translation into the official language of the required state;
- Certification of signature, seals of the notary at the Ministry of Justice;
- MFA certification;
- Visiting the country's mission (embassy or consulate).
If you do it yourself, you'll waste a lot of time, effort and nerves. At each step, you may encounter difficulties – filling out the forms correctly in another language, paying state fees, taking lines at five in the morning, having a foreign bank card to pay the fee.
Why it's better to entrust it to BetterLetter
- We take care of all the work from notarized copies and certified translations, to paying the consular fee and going to the embassy, you will receive ready-made documents;
- We accept orders and payment online, even if it is not possible to come to the office in person our couriers will pick up the documents themselves and then deliver the completed ones;
- We take your order to work, even if the originals are not in Moscow;
- We can deliver papers across Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and other countries.
Examples of our work
Example of consular legalization of documents for China
