MEA Apostille and attestation are formal authentication processes that validate the authenticity or genuineness of documents by corroborating the details mentioned in the concerned documents. Although the two procedures bear similarities, they are significantly different and here’s how.
India is a member country of The Hague Convention, 5 October 1961, which abolished the need for the traditional, laborious procedure of legalizing public documents for its 114 member countries. And replaced it with the efficient operation of an apostille. All 114 member countries of The Hague Convention accept Apostille. Countries other than those included in The Hague Convention necessitate attestation of documents for those visiting for business, education, or employment. Some countries can even call for both.
While Apostille can take anywhere between 3 to 5 business days, attestation can take 7 to 12 business days. With our strong network in place, we ensure to conduct the procedure as swiftly as possible while getting the documents attested/apostilled rightfully.
Apostille Procedure: Apostille is a faster procedure that includes the following steps –
- Step 1
Documents of the applicant are sent to a specific Regional Authentication Centre (RACs) depending on the type of the document.
- Step 2
Once the document gets verified by the RAC, it’s sent to the government-authorized Outsourced Service Provider. The outsourced agency submits the documents to the branch secretariat or the RPOs having jurisdiction over it.
- Step 3
The branch secretariat/RPO gets the document Apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs. And hand the stamped document back to the respective outsourced agency.
Attestation Procedure: Attestation, as mentioned earlier, is a more staggered, gradual procedure involving the following steps –
- Step 1
Documents are sent to the notary office, where a notary appointed and authorized by the Central Government verifies the document and puts his seal & signature of approval on the document.
- Step 2
The verified documents are sent to the Human Resource Department of the State where the document was issued. In some cases, the document can also be sent to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate instead. Commercial documents are, however, not sent to the HRD or SDM. Instead, it is sent to the Chamber of Commerce.
- Step 3
The document is then sent to the Ministry of Affairs for MEA Attestation.
- Step 4
Finally, the document is sent to the concerned Embassy for the final step of Embassy Attestation.
Wrap Up
Thankfully, with MEA India by your side, you don’t have to worry about any of this. You can get your document attested or apostilled just by uploading your documents online and paying the required fees. And, we’ll take care of the rest of the work.
Email Us: info@mea-india.in
