Birth certificate is the first document you get from the government. First your birth will be registered in hospital and later the birth certificate will be issued from municipal corporation. In some cases for the older birth certificate name will not be there traditionally babies were name after 1 month of birth, So for older birth certificates you need to get the birth certificate reissued.
Birth certificates without name will also be processed but the name on the apostille will be blank.
Birth certificate issued in india needs to get apostille to use it in Foreign country.
Apostille is only given by Ministry of external affairs (MEA).Basically there are 2 kinds of apostille. Choosing the right one, will save you time and money. A correct apostille will prevent rejection from the embassy of the country you are travelling.
What is apostille?
It is a way to legalize your documents. If you are travelling or doing business in abroad the rule is that all the relevant documents needs to be processed through MEA for verification purpose, MEA will provide a sticker which is called apostille. This sticker (Apostille ) will contain a tracking number for the country you are travelling through which authenticity of the documents can be verified.
It is always better to get all the relevant documents apostilled before leaving the country.
Below are the situations where you need MEA attestation for birth certificate .
- Travelling on work VISA
- Travelling on dependent Visa(wife or husband)
- For kids schooling in foreign country (Schools need birth certificate of your kids to get them admitted in school).
- Student visa (Universities & consulate need this to verify your age)
How to get birth certificate apostille?
There are two ways of getting apostille to any certificate.
- State authentication + MEA apostille
- SDM authentication + MEA apostille
When to get state authentication and MEA Birth certificate apostille?
Every document in India belongs to one of the 29 states or union territory, You need to get state authentication first.
First check whether your destination country belongs to Hague nation list or not.
If it’s not in the list or your travelling country is Austria or Italy you must get state attestation.
Or if your document belongs to Punjab, Haryana, and Goa you have to get state attestation regardless whether your destination country belongs to hague nation or not.
Getting state authentication is a highly time consuming and complex process, generally It will take 3-4 working weeks to complete.
When to get SDM authentication and MEA Birth certificate apostille?
If your travelling destination belongs to hague nation then you can go for SDM Authentication.
But if your documents belong to Punjab, Haryana, and Goa then the cost of SDM Authentication increases.
Which one is better?
Since there are 2 ways of doing an apostille choosing which kind of MEA attestation becomes important.
Choosing the kind of apostille depends on the destination country you are travelling.
If you are travelling destination is in Hague nation list then SDM is good for you. It takes less time and money.
But there are exception countries such Austria and Italy even though they are in hague nation list, they require state attestation.
If the travel destination is not a hague nation, then you must get state attestation. MEA and Embassy attetstations are mandatory for countries which doesnt belong to hague nation.
Validity of apostille?
All the MEA attestation state or SDM has a validity of 6 months. If you have already got apostille 6 months back then you should get a new apostille.
What all documents are required to get apostille birth certificate?
Ministry of external affairs (MEA) only accepts original document to put apostille.
We need Your original or online verified document.
Additional to that we need Passport photocopy of the person, On whose name the document was issued.
How do we help you with apostille ?
From 2012 number of documents submitted to MEA for apostille increase, It was difficult for MEA to collect and distribute all the documents.
In 2012 MEA outsourced that job to us, It no longer accepts documents directly from citizen.
How do I apply for MEA Apostille Marriage certificate or any certificate?
You can register here and get your doubts cleared, SInce apostille can be a little bit tricky it’s always good to talk to people with knowledge. Chat with us on onsite chat –>
Get all the information regarding the process.
You can also read following articles for clearer picture.
Steps involved in Apostille
- Registering online for apostille
- Sending the documents for office/or visitting our office to deposit the document
- Online payment for apostille
- Receiving the tracking number for the documents
- Check updates online
- Get emails regarding the apostille status
- Receive / collect the documents after apostille
Following are the details an Apostille contains:
- Name of country from which the document was issued.
- Name of the Person to whom document is issued.
- Name of person signing the document.
- Designation of the singed person.
- Place of certification date of certification.
- Number of certificate.
- Seal or stamp of authority issuing certificate.
- Signature of authority issuing certificate.
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