Consular legalization is the process of giving documents legal effect outside of Russia. If the country you need has not joined the Hague Convention and does not accept a simplified type of legalization in the form of Apostille, as well as does not have special relations with Russia as additional agreements on mutual recognition of documents, you will need consular legalization. Below is a full list of countries for which it is definitely required.
Full list of countries where consular legalization is required in 2026
Afghanistan - Kuwait
- Afghanistan
- AlgeriaStarting July 9, 2026, apostilles will be accepted, and consular legalization will no longer be required.
- Angola
- Bangladesh
- Benin
- Bhutan
- Burkina Faso
- Cambodia
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Central African Republic
- Chad
- People's Republic of ChinaConsular legalization was previously required for all of the PRC except Hong Kong and Macau, but as of November 2023, all regions of the country began accepting Apostille. In this regard, there is no need for consular legalization anymore, but please check this information with the receiving party. Also, Russia and China have signed a number of documents, thanks to which educational documents are recognized without additional legalization.
- Comoros
- Congo
- CubaThanks to the legal assistance treaty, it is only necessary to submit Russian documents with a notarized translation.
- Djibouti
- East Timor
- Egypt
- Equatorial Guinea
- Eritrea
- Ethiopia
- Gabon
- The Gambia
- Ghana
- Guinea
- Guinea-Bissau
- Haiti
- Iran
- Iraq
- Ivory Coast
- Jordan
- Kenya
- KiribatiKiribati's interests are represented through the British Embassy in Moscow. When preparing Russian documents for use in Kiribati, it is recommended to check with the embassy in advance which legalization method should be chosen.
- Kuwait
Laos - Zimbabwe
- Laos
- Lebanon
- Libya
- Madagascar
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Mali
- Mauritania
- Micronesia
- Mozambique
- Myanmar
- Nauru
- Nepal
- Niger
- Nigeria
- UAE
- PakistanThe country acceded to the Hague Convention in July 2022 and the apostille should be valid from March 2023. Nevertheless, we recommend to specify the necessary method of legalization of documents at the embassy.
- Palestine
- Papua New Guinea
- Qatar
- Rwanda
- SenegalThe Republic of Senegal only signed the Convention on July 13, 2022 and accepts apostille as of March 23, 2023, consular legalization is no longer required.
- Sierra Leone
- Solomon Islands
- Somalia
- South Sudan
- Sri Lanka
- Sudan
- Syria
- Taiwan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Togo
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- Vatican
- VietnamRussia and Vietnam have an agreement that simplifies the procedure for preparing documents. Instead of consular legalization, simply make a translation into Vietnamese and have it certified by the embassy.
- Yemen
- Zambia
- Zimbabwe
