Apostille Authentication of Documents Before Moving Abroad

Get the information about the definition, procedure, importance and advantages about apostille authentication of documents before moving abroad

Many people from India go overseas for various purposes like education, family visit, employment etc. Unfortunately, Indian certificates in their present state are invalid abroad. For example, if you have done a degree from an Indian university, then you can’t use it to get a visa for any overseas country. The reason is that foreign certificates have no credibility in their destination countries. Realizing this problem, The Hague Convention of 1961 enacted a new system of legalization of certificates emerging from the member nations known as Apostille. Apostille authentication is applicable for all your certificates be it educational, commercial and personal. In the following sections, you will get a clear idea about the exact definition, procedure, importance and advantages about apostille authentication of documents before moving abroad.

Definition and procedure of apostille authentication

Apostille is a French word which means certification in the literal sense.  It is a process by which your certificates acquire legal status after being authenticated by the concerned authorities. Different countries have different authorities pertaining to apostille authentication. In India, the Government of India has appointed the Ministry of External Affairs, Delhi to head the apostille authentication process. The process of apostille is very simple. Your original certificates like birth is placed before the MEA authorities along with a Xerox copy and the copy of your passport and your passport size photos and the apostille fees for the document. The MEA authorities will verify the information from the required sources and after confirmation, they will put their signature and seal and an apostille stamp on the document. Congratulations, your birth certificate is ready to be used abroad.

Importance of apostille authentication

Apostille authentication importance cannot be emphasized only on paper. Without it, you will never obtain your dream visa be it study, work or family visa for all Hague Convention Countries. The reason is that overseas authorities want to establish the genuinity of all incoming nationals from abroad. For example, IBM Canada requires that all foreign workers have to get their education and experience certificates apostilled before IBM can sponsor their work visa. The reason is that IBM Canada has to demonstrate to the Canadian authorities, that they are recruiting only bonafide overseas workers and that there are no qualified Canadian citizens who can perform this role.  Similar, is the case for other kinds of visas like family union and study.

Advantages of apostille authentication

Prior to apostille, applicants had to go to different departments for getting their certificates authenticated. This resulted in a lot of inconvenience and wastage of time and money since they had to seek appointments with authorities and bureaucratic procedures are very complicated and time consuming. So apostille has solved all these difficulties by proposing a uniform system of authentication for all types of documents. If your marriage certificate is apostilled in Oman which is apostille member country, then it becomes automatically valid in Canada which also accepts apostille without repeating the apostille process.  Apostille authentication also leads to elimination of fraud and dubious information which can lead to visa rejection and blacklisting of the applicants passport. For a smooth apostille authentication process, you are advised to avail the services of MEA registered companies providing trustworthy and accurate certificate apostille services. For a small service charge, they will undertake the entire process for you and make you reassured. Majority of them also provide a provision for you to check your documents status online .The best way to approach them is by contacting their customer care service.


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