Consular legalization of documents: features
Legalization is the certification of documents, during which their compliance with all current requirements of Ukraine is checked and the authenticity of the specified signatures and seals is confirmed. Consular legalization of documents is a series of procedures that have their own complexities and are closely related to current legal acts. If the applicant behaves correctly, the ultimate goal of legalization is the possibility of submitting documents from another state to official bodies. An employee of the consular institution accepts the documents and notifies them.
Legalization at the consulate: list of accepted documents
Currently, in accordance with European norms and legislation, the following documents are subject to this procedure:
● Attestations, certificates and diplomas confirming the completion of foreign educational institutions, as well as all their appendices.
● Originals and copies of documents of foreign citizens certifying their identity. They are necessary for staying in Ukraine and carrying out activities on the territory of our country.
● Contracts, agreements, powers of attorney, etc. are subject to review and certification at the consulate.
When consular legalization of foreign documents is carried out and their notarization is required, this procedure can also be organized within the consulate. Papers for sending to foreign countries can be certified here.
What is consular legalization of documents in Ukraine for?
The essence of the procedure is to confirm the authenticity and legality of seals, documents, stamps, and the powers of individuals and legal entities. However, we note that in some countries legalization of documents is not required, the list of such includes most of the CIS countries, for example: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Moldova and Tajikistan, as well as some others - such a point is clarified with a lawyer who works for this profile.
Certification of documents at the consulate is mandatory for the following countries: Canada, Iraq, Palestine, Saudi Arabia and China, with the exception of Hong Kong and Macau, etc. There is another type of legalization of foreign documents, which is affixing an Apostille stamp.
Consular legalization: nuances
In order to approve documents for legalization from a certain customer, you need to have the appropriate power of attorney. It must be completed by a notary, otherwise the application will not be approved. When the owner is in the territory of another state, the power of attorney is also drawn up in the Ukrainian consulate of the country where he is located. Consular legalization in Ukraine has other nuances, for example:
● Certification of documents on education and seals is carried out on the condition of providing notarized copies of documents. In addition, diplomas, certificates and certificates must be accompanied by a certificate from the educational institution from the archive.
● Legalization of documents at the consulate for legal entities requires the mandatory availability of accompanying confirmation of the company, which is printed on company letterhead with a seal, this signature of the director or other authorized management person of the organization. The letter must include the data of the person who submits the documents for certification at the consulate.
Legalization at the consulate: why there are difficulties
Assurance is not always a simple and quick procedure. As a rule, the difficulties faced by the applicants are related to not knowing all the procedures for notarizing documents at the embassy or consulate. As the practice of experienced lawyers shows, individuals and representatives of legal entities may face the following problems:
● Incorrect drafting of documents. The power of attorney and other papers submitted with the master list may be filled out incorrectly, with legal errors.
● Insufficient number of documents to organize the legalization procedure.
That is why the procedure is often entrusted to experienced lawyers who constantly work with similar issues. Competent help of a specialized specialist will allow you to properly organize work with legalization and eliminate delays with certainty, which means saving time.
Legalization of documents at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kyiv: how lawyers work
To start cooperation with the client, the lawyer first visually checks the authenticity of all documents that need to be legalized. It also clarifies their origin — it makes sure that the country from which the documents are submitted is not a member of the Hague Convention. In addition, if all the documents are in order, so that the legalization of documents at the consulate can go smoothly, the lawyer provides the client with a power of attorney template. It is necessary to represent interests in state bodies. After that, the application is filled out, the entire received package is sent by mail to the division of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
To implement the whole process, nothing is needed, only a document that requires assurance.
After solving all organizational issues, the lawyer controls the legalization process, constantly monitors information from the authorities.
Then he independently receives the prepared documents and hands them over to the client.
Legalization of documents at the embassy or consulate may take a certain amount of time. As a rule, the maximum period of the certificate takes up to 10 working days, the exact period depends on the country.
Consular legalization of foreign documents: how to find an experienced lawyer
If you are interested in the legalization of documents, contact our service. We suggest that you download a convenient program on your smartphone and get contacts of experienced lawyers who are constantly working on assurance issues. Clear navigation and system prompts significantly facilitate the process of obtaining information about specialists. If you have any questions, write to us using the contacts indicated on the site
