Apostille & Embassy attestation

It comes as no surprise in today’s globalised world that sometimes you may need to present your official documents in countries other than the Czech Republic. Whether you need documents for a wedding, work purposes and studies in a foreign country, or exporting goods abroad, you will always be required to prove that your documents are genuine.

To verify the authenticity of a document, a higher authenticity certificate must be attached to the document which can either be an apostille or a Legalisation / Embassy attestation. The legalisation process includes not only the verification of the stamp of the authority that has issued the document, but also the signature of the officer who has signed it. It is also verified that the document is recognised as authentic in the country of its origin and can therefore be used abroad as well.

The authentication process is different for each country – different countries have different requirements for translations or the degree of verification of a given document. Generally, the process consists of individual authorities verifying the authenticity of signatures, stamps and seals of preceding authorities. The authentication process begins at a local authority, then continues at the relevant regional authority and ministry. It is subsequently legalised at the diplomatic mission of the country in which the document will be used. It is evident from the above that the process is time consuming. The length of time can be affected not only by the authentication requirements of the respective countries, but also by the type and number of documents to be legalised.

Thanks to our experience with legalising documents for a range of countries, which include Egypt, China, Argentina, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, we are able to take care of the whole process and return your documents finished, translated and super legalised, so you can put your mind at ease when using them abroad. Furthermore, you can be sure that all supporting documents will be prepared correctly and there will be no need to go through the whole process again due to any mistakes or shortcomings.

First, you need to prepare the relevant documents.
For Legalisation / Embassy attestation, you need to submit original documents, with the exception of diplomas and school reports, which can be replaced by their notarised copies. An apostille can be attached to either the original document or its notarised copy depending on the preference of the party that will receive the document. Different types of documents have different requirements and procedures for obtaining an apostille or Legalisation / Embassy attestation. The process of the higher authentication of documents always consists of three steps:

1. an apostille attached to the original documents, or the legalisation of the original documents,
2. a sworn translation of the apostilled or super-legalised document (if required),
3. an apostille attached to the sworn translation or its legalisation (if required).

The authentication process involves a number of trips to various authorities (depending on the type of documents and on whether an apostille or Legalisation / Embassy attestation is needed for its sworn translation as well). The total number of offices to be attended may come up to seven. Which offices will need to be attended in order to obtain authentication depends on the country in which the documents are to be used, as well as the type of the documents that are to be legalised.

When obtaining an apostille, the original document or its notarised copy must be legalised with an apostille certificate first and then the apostilled document is provided with a sworn translation. The Legalisation / Embassy attestation process starts with similar steps – first, the document is authenticated by the authorities in this country and then provided with its sworn translation. However, the translation must be subsequently verified at the diplomatic mission of the country in which the document is intended to be used. As both the apostille and Legalisation / Embassy attestation need not necessarily be applied for by the owner of the documents, we can take care of the whole process, saving you time and making sure that all the paperwork will be in perfect order. Some embassies, such as the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, require the person acting on your behalf to have a certified power of attorney – if this applies to you, we will notify you in advance and send you a power of attorney template.