What is Apostille?
Apostille is a French word, and it means certification. This is a process where the documents are legalized. The higher authorities do the legalization process. A sticker is placed on the document by the officials. The sticker implies that the information is accurate in the document. There is a different apostille for every country. The apostille is necessary for all the Hague countries
Explain birth certificate apostille
A birth certificate apostille is a legal document that is stamped by higher authorities. The birth certificate apostille tells the foreign country that the person has been born in this country. All the details regarding the birth of the child are mentioned in the certificate. All the details that are printed in the certificate are checked.
A person requires an apostille birth certificate in a foreign country. The MEA attests the document with a stamp and sign. After the apostille stamp, the foreign country feels safe to call the person to their country. The document that has an apostille sticker helps the foreign country to know that all the certificate is real. Moreover, all the information that the documents have is accurate and trustworthy.
Different categories of documents for apostille
There are basically three categories under which documents are segregated. Let’s see birth certificate for apostille falls under which category
- Personal Documents Educational Documents Commercial Documents
- Marriage Certificate 1. Degree Certificates 1. Contract Papers
- Divorce Certificate 2. Migration Certificate 2. Invoice
- Birth Certificate 3. School Leaving Certificate 3. Patents
- Police Clearance Certificate 4. Diploma Certificate 4. Power of attorney
- Adoption Papers 5. Marksheets 5. Incorporation Papers
Documents that are needed for a birth certificate apostille India
There are a few documents that a person may need to get an apostille on a birth certificate.
- Major Documents
- Original birth certificate
- Supporting Documents
- Passport photocopy having front and last page
- Driving license photocopy
- Aadhar card photocopy
Details that are mentioned in the birth certificate apostille India.
A Birth degreecertificate apostille contains all the essential information that is needed by the officials. Here is the sample and information:
- Certificate No: A special number is written
- Certificate issued Date: 21/21/2211(date and time)
- Account Reference: AN ALPHA CODE FOR REFERENCE
- Unique Doc. Reference: ALPHANUMERIC CODE
- Purchased by: APPLICANT NAME
- Description of Document: ARTICLE 4 AFFIDAVIT
- Description: AFFIDAVIT
- Consideration Price (Rs.): ZERO
- First Party: NAME OF PERSON
- Second Party: N/A
- Stamp Duty Paid By: NAME OF PERSON
- Stamp Duty Amount (Rs.): AMOUNT
What is the best process to get the birth certificate for apostille done?
- Notary Attestation: This is the step where the attestation process starts. For attestation, the certificate is sent to the notary. A person checks and verifies all the details that are mentioned in the certificate. When the details are found true then the notary attests to the certificate.
- SDM/State Attestation: After the notary, a person has two choices. The first one is to present a certificate to Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM). Here the documents are attested fast. The second option is State attestation. In this option, the Secretariat of the district attests to the certificate. There is generally heavy rush at the state level. The documents take more time for attestation at the state level.
Once a person has finalized the authority. The certificate is shown to either Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) or State. Both the authorities will verify the information. Once the details are checked then a stamp and sign are done on the certificate.
- Ministry of External Affairs: This is the most important level for the birth certificate apostille. Here original birth certificate with other essential documents is shown. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) investigate the documents with extreme caution. When the information is found to be 100% true and authentic. Then only the MEA attestation is done.
A sticker and a stamp are placed on the document. This sticker has a unique number that helps in checking information online. This system has made the document checking process fast and reliable.
- Embassy Attestation: This step is meant for all the countries that are not a member of the Hague nations. The documents are deposited with fees for attestation here. The embassy very carefully examines the information. When the information is found correct then only attestation is done. The documents are sealed and stamped to complete the attestation process.
Which is better state attestation or SDM attestation?
Both departments do the attestation of documents in the same way. So, a person can choose any there are no issues. The time that is taken by the State Department for attestation is quite high. The approximate time that is taken for state attestation is three to four weeks. The time is more due to the number of applications submitted there.
However, on the other side, the SDM attestation is done in around 7 to 10 days. So, it is better to select SDM attestation over State attestation. But in case the country has demanded a state attestation. Then a person has to wait for 3 to 4 weeks to get the attestation done.
The time that is needed to complete the birth certificate for the apostille process
The time that is taken to complete the apostille birthdegree process depends on various aspects such as:
- The number of applications
- Rush at the attestation authority
- Type of documents
- Place where documents were issued
- Apostille service provider
Generally, the time taken is 10 to 15 days. However, all the above-given points may increase the time. In addition to this, any uncertainty or mishap may also lead to more time in the attestation.
The validity of a birth certificate apostille
Maximum documents that are attested have validity for a period of 6 months. But you may find some countries that will accept an apostille which is one year old. The validity of an apostille document varies with country. An apostille service provider can tell the exact validity. For that, a person has to check the country as well as the document. Then a person can know the accurate validity.