HAGUE APOSTILLE LEGALISATION
Before certain corporate documents can be used overseas, document authentication may be necessary. It is usually required where overseas officials are not able to determine on sight the authenticity of Gibraltar or any other foreign documents. To check the requirements, contact the relevant authorities in the country concerned or their overseas representatives. When a document is to go to a foreign country, it is often necessary to have the notarization or official certification authenticated. Some countries call this an apostille. In 1961 many nations joined together to create a simplified method of "legalizing" documents for universal recognition. Members of the conference, referred to as the Hague Convention, adopted a document referred to as an Apostille that would be recognized by all member nations
If the country belongs to the 1961 Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, the apostille is used. The Convention provides for the simplified certification of notarized documents by use of a special form called an "apostille" in certifying the document. The apostille does not need to be ribboned onto the document being certified. With the certification by the Hague Convention apostille, the document is entitled to recognition in the country of intended use, and no additional authentication or legalization is required.
What is an "apostille"?
An apostille (French word meaning notation) is a standard certification provided under The Hague Conference on Private International Law: 1961 Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legislation for Foreign Public Documents for the purpose of authenticating documents for use in foreign countries. An apostille is a form of authentication accepted in countries, which have signed the 1961 Hague Convention. This Convention abolished the requirement of diplomatic and consular legalization for public documents originating in one Convention country and intended for use in another. An apostille is often needed in adoptions, extraditions, and certain business transactions. The apostille is formatted in numbered fields that allow data to be understood by the receiving country regardless of the official language of the issuing country. With the apostille, the document is entitled to recognition in the country of intended use, and no further authentication or legalization by the embassy or consulate of the foreign country where the document is to be used is required.
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