Tunisia / تونس

Consular legalization

In order for the documents of one country to have legal force in another, they need to be legalized - additionally certified. In the general case, complex, long and expensive consular legalization is used for this. The document is certified sequentially: at the notary, at the Ministry of Justice, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then at the consulate of the country of destination. However, in 1961, many countries simplified the procedure and came up with an apostille - a square stamp 10 by 10 centimeters. An Apostille is possible if both countries (the country of the document and the country of destination) recognize Apostilles. But not all countries signed the apostille agreement, so for some, consular legalization is still applied.

If, according to the official registry of the Hague Convention, the country of the document and the country of destination (where you plan to submit the document) recognize apostilles, then an apostille is needed for your document. Remember that an apostille is always placed in the country whose state authorities issued it. If, however, at least one of the two countries does not recognize the apostille, then the apostille is not needed, but consular legalization is needed. There are exceptions when a separate agreement on the mutual recognition of public documents is concluded between countries. In such cases, neither an apostille nor consular legalization is needed, a notary's certification is sufficient.

Which countries require consular legalization?

Azad Kashmir, Akrotiri and Dhekelia, Aland Islands, Anguilla, Angola, Antarctica, Afghanistan, Ashmore and Cartier, Bangladesh, Benin, Bouvet, Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Vatican City, Minor Outlying Islands (USA), East Timor, Gabon, Haiti, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea Equatorial, Guinea-Bissau, Greenland, Djibouti, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Indonesia, Jordan, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Qatar, Kenya, Kiribati, China, Clipperton, Cocos Islands, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo , Congo Republic, Coral Sea Islands, Côte d'Ivoire, Kuwait, Curacao, Laos, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Madagascar, Malaysia, Mali, Maldives, Order of Malta, Martinique, Micronesia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, Niger , Nigeria, Caribbean Netherlands, Norfolk, UAE, Pakistan, Palau, Palestine, Papua, Paracel Islands, Pitcairn, Christmas Island, Rwanda, SADR, Saudi Arabia, Northern Cyprus, Saint Barthelemy, Saint Martin, Senegal, Singapore, Sint Marten, Syria, Solomon Islands, Somalia, Somaliland, Spratly, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Thailand, Taiwan, Tanzania, Togo, Tokelau, Tuvalu, Uganda, Faroe Islands, French Southern and Antarctic Territories, Heard & McDonald, CAR, Chagos, Chad, Svalbard, Sri Lanka, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Georgia , South Sudan, Jamaica.

Legalization of official documents

Distinguish between official and commercial documents. The procedure for their legalization is different. Official documents issued by state bodies or notaries are certificates of registry offices, certificates, diplomas, powers of attorney and others. Check whose seal is on your document - a government agency or a commercial organization?

Order for official documents (10-20 days):

Legalization of commercial documents

Commercial documents are issued by commercial organizations - these are charters, contracts, invoices, acts, invoices and others. Commercial documents are never apostilled, even if the country recognizes the apostille.

Order for commercial documents (from 20 days):