Apostilling document is a necessary process, especially for the countries that are members of the Apostille Convention. This Convention took place on the 5th of October, 1961. When the Convention took place, the process of a 2-step-verification of documents became just a one-step process.
Since the process of legalising a document requires various certifications, it would be an unnecessarily long and complicated procedure. Instead of having to certify a document more than once, a document, when apostilled by a member country, the host country (where you’re shifting to) does not require an attestation process again. When you have Apostille a document, you don’t have to re-attest or revalidate a document while applying for a visa.
When we come to defining terms, Apostille is a french word for “certification of documents”, which means attestation of your documents. Attestation means ‘evidence’ or ‘proof’. Thus, the attestation of documents is a way of determining the authenticity of your certificates or documents.
When you apostille a document, the originality of the sign and seal on the certificate is validated. In India, the attestation process is carried out by the state’s Human Resources Department (HRD) and then by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). Apostilling of documents could take around a week to a month in India, depending on the document type and the departments of the state government.
> you are joining a job in a foreign company (after you get the offer letter)
> you want to pursue higher education overseas
> Want to start your own business in a foreign nation
> you want to expand your business outside India
> you want citizenship of a foreign nation
> you are already in a foreign nation and wish to change your profession.
If you doubt what certificates or documents can be attested, here’s a list:
Secondary School Certificate (SSC), Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC), University Degree, Diploma, Marksheets, School reports, marriage certificates, court orders, birth certificates, affidavits, and so on! Apostille stamp on the documents lets the foreign organisations know that the documents are not fake or manipulated and are verified by the Indian Government.
An apostille document will be valid for only 6 months in India. It is generally different for different countries, but in India, Sub-Divisional Magistrate(SDM), or State apostille only have a 6-month validity. When your document is valid in India, it is also valid in other countries, especially ones that are members of the Apostille Convention.
Is Apostille Mandatory?
The rules for apostille being a compulsory process are different in different countries. Only documents from countries that are members of the Apostille Convention are required in India. For example, if you bring a document from the USA for use in India, you will have to apostille it from where you obtained it in the USA.
Documents You Will Need for the Process of Apostilling
All you have to do is send the following documents to the HRD. The documents needed are your documents that need to be apostilled, a copy of your passport, the offer letter/authorization letter of the company in the foreign country or university acceptance letter or any applicable documents.
Once you send the required or applicable documents to the Human Resources Department, they contact the institutes and verify them. After this verification, the HRD attests the copy of the certificate and sends that along with the original to the Ministry of External Affairs. The MEA further verifies the certificate. Upon this attestation, the degree certificate is sent to the host country’s embassy, the country you’ll be moving to, for further attestation.
How to Apostille a Document in India?
There are two ways to do this. The first way is to go through all steps on your own, and another way is the easiest and hassle-free way: Let an organization do the work for you! We at EAS know how tiresome these processes can be, so we can apostille your documents for you while you focus on what matters most.
Excellent Apostille Services (EAS) is an established organization in India that provides apostille and embassy legalization and attestation services all over the country.
Contact Us to get your document apostille now! If you have any queries, you can
Email Us: info@mea-india.in
Call Us: 9925872444
