Apostille is a method of certifying a document for use in another country. For countries that are signatories to the Hague Convention, it is sufficient to legalize the documents with the corresponding Apostille. All countries that are part of the Hague Convention require an apostille. These countries include the United States, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Turkey, Sweden, Italy, Israel, Iceland, Brazil, Argentina, and more.

Additional Requirements:

The apostille replaces the legalization requirement, but the destination state may have additional requirements for the document to be used there. For example, it may require that the document be translated into a certain language, although it must not require a translation of the apostille itself.

What is the difference between Apostille and Attestation?

Apostille and Attestation are two different terms which is completely different meaning. People usually get confused to understand the exact meaning of it. Let us Identify you with the difference of it.

Apostille: In order for a document from one country to be legally recognised in another country, the document will usually need to be legalised in some way. This will usually involve some form of certification from the country the document originates that is recognisable in the country the document will be used in. Quite simply, the apostille is a form of certification issued in one country that is recognised in any other country that is also part of the Apostille Convention.

Attestation: The term attestation refers to a document being issued with the correct stamps or certificates in order to be recognised in another country. As above, this will refer to a document being issued with an apostille when the document is being used in a country party to the apostille convention.

However, when documents are being used in countries that are not part of the apostille convention, further legalisation steps may be required. In this instance, documents would also require legalisation from the respective embassy. As an example, a UK birth certificate for use in the UAE would need to be legalised via the apostille and also by being stamped by the embassy. The stamps that embassies issue to documents are commonly referred to as attestation.

Are apostille and Attestation interchangeable?

Apostille and attestation are not interchangeable, and the correct process must be followed. Making the wrong choice could result in a document being rejected by the foreign country.

To get a better picture let us look at an example:

Canada, a huge U.S. trading partner, is not a member of The Hague Convention, so the apostille process does not apply. If an apostille is mistakenly submitted for authentication for use in Canada, it will be rejected and rendered unusable.