Purpose of Document legalisation
Legalising documents for overseas use is crucial to ensure their authenticity and validity in foreign jurisdictions. The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) is instrumental in this process, particularly for UK-originating documents. Let's explore how the FCDO facilitates document legalisation and how we can expedite your apostille certificates securely and quickly.
The FCDO operates the Legalisation Office, verifying the authenticity of UK documents for international use. Legalisation confirms the genuineness of signatures, seals, or stamps on documents. Foreign authorities often require this process to acknowledge and accept UK documents as valid and reliable.
The Apostille certificate is recognized by countries under the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. It simplifies the legalisation process by providing a standardized certificate to authenticate the document. Once the Apostille certificate is affixed, the document is generally accepted in participating countries without further verification.
For non-Hague Convention countries, you need consular legalisation. This involves a traditional process where you need to legalise your document and certify it through the foreign embassy or consulate, enabling you to use it abroad. Consular legalisation is more time-consuming and may entail additional fees.
