Legalization Services
There are the countries that are not included in the Hague Convention signatory list, therefore, no simplified apostille-affixing legalization procedure can be used for them. If you are going to use your documents in such countries, you need to visit the consulate.
Consular legalization of official documents is a procedure of certification of authenticity originals of official documents or authenticity of signatures of officials authorized to certify signatures on documents and seals and stamps affixed to a document. Note that consular officer bears no responsibility for the content of the document.
Procedure of consular legalization of official documents issued by or executed with participation of government agencies and local authorities, both in Ukraine and abroad, is governed by the Instruction on the Procedure of Consular Legalization of Official Documents in Ukraine and Abroad.
Consular Service Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine legalizes documents issued by Ukrainian government agencies and organizations and intended for use abroad.
After legalization by the Consular Service Department, documents must be certified by diplomatic mission of the country where these documents will be used.
Foreign documents may be legalized by Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, if these documents were certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country of their origin and a consular service of this country in Ukraine.
Consular legalization is required for:
- UAE, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Kuwait, China (except for Macau and Hong Kong), Costa Rica, Canada, Sri Lanka, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine, Uruguay, Venezuela, and Qatar.
What You Should Know About Consular Legalization:
- if we file document for legalization on behalf of our customer, we need to obtain from the customer the notarized power of attorney for one of our employees. Otherwise, the documents will not be accepted in the agencies listed above. If the owner of the document is in the other country, the power of attorney can be obtained directly from the Ukrainian consulate in that country;
- diplomas are legalized by affixing stamps to the notarized copies of the documents. The basic requirement is to provide the archive transcript from the educational institution;
- if the legalization stamp is placed on the document issued by a civil registry office, you need to provide a new-type document. If the issuing country accepts old-type documents, the legalization stamp is affixed to the notarized copy;
- if you need to have a corporate document legalized, you have to provide a cover letter on the company’s letterhead sealed and signed by the CEO. The letter must include the information of the person who is expected to apply for legalization.