Even a week-long vacation abroad requires certain troublesю One must apply for a passport, get a visa, pay the necessary duties and so on. Of course, when moving to a permanent place of residence, applying for study at a foreign university or when buying property in the territory of another state, the paperwork will significantly increase.

How not to get confused in the documentary formalities and when would you need to think about preparing official documents?

It is important to understand that official documents are valid only in the territory of the state where they are received. This means that a birth certificate issued by any registry office of X will be valid upon presentation to X authorities and organizations, while within the territory of, for example, Y, it would not have legal force.

The confirmation of the fact of birth or death, the fact of marriage or divorce, the fact of the presence of education and other legally significant events is possible if the necessary documents are certified (via apostille or consular legalization).

The apostille itself represents a stamp of the established form. If  it is correctly done, it would confirm the legality of the document in the territory of a foreign state. The list of states that accept apostille documents is determined by the Hague Convention of 1961, which was adopted with the aim of simplifying the workflow between countries. All countries that have acceded to this Convention accept each other’s documents bearing the apostille stamp. The number of countries joining is increasing every year.

Apostille is often referred to as simplified legalization. Compared with consular legalization, this procedure is indeed much simpler. However, you need to be prepared for the particular requirements of the host country and even of various organizations within the same country. We can give only one piece of advice: specify all requirements in advance.


When it is required:

- travelling abroad to study at a foreign university;

- working abroad;

- marrying a foreigner;

- buying abroad property;

- moving abroad for permanent residence.

Depending on the relationship between countries, one of the following types of certification of documents might be required:

- stamp of consular legalization;

- assure with an apostille;

- notarized translation.

It’s also quite important to remember that the more friendly the relations between states, the more loyal the requirements for paperwork. The most difficult procedure is the consular legalization of the document, the simplest is the notarized translation, or the complete absence of any certification. In practice, this means that any document of X can be presented without any additional marks within the territory of Y. Documentary interaction with such countries will not cause you much trouble. However, you should be prepared for the consequences of a volatile political situation. It is also worth knowing that, since Y is still a foreign country, although the document will be accepted without special marks, it may be required to translate it, including via a notary.

The most formalized document certification procedure is consular legalization, which applies only when there are no special agreements between the countries on the issue of the presentation and acceptance of documents, or if one of the countries is not a party to the 1961 Hague Convention.

The procedure of consular legalization is as follows:

  • certification of  documents by a notary (with the translation and verification of the signature of the translator);
  • notary signature certificate by the Ministry of Justice;
  • certificate of the press of the Ministry of Justice and the signature of an authorized official in the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
  • subsequent certification at the consulate of the state receiving the outgoing document.


Such a procedure confirms the document’s authenticity and ensures the status of legality in the territory of such a foreign state.

An important nuance: consular legalization for one country will not be valid for another. That is, for each country requiring consular legalization, this procedure will have to be repeated.