How to Get UK Apostille in India
A UK apostille is a special stamp/sticker issued by MEA that confirms the legitimacy and legal validity of your documents in the United Kingdom. Obtaining an apostille on your documents is necessary if you are seeking to visit the UK for employment, higher education, permanent residency, or business expansion.
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Why Do You Need a UK Apostille?
Below are some common reasons why you might need an apostille certificate UK.
- If you want to pursue higher education or get employment in the UK then Student Visa and Work Visa are required.
Documents Needed – PCC (Police Clearance Certificate), Degree Certificate, and Experience Letter.
- If you want to marry in the United Kingdom, then you need an apostille on a Single Status Certificate
Documents Needed – Single Status Certificate with Apostille
- If you want to visit the UK with your partner and kids then a Dependent Visa is required.
Documents Needed – Birth and Marriage Certificate with Apostille
- If you want to register your marriage, then an apostille marriage certificate UK is mandatory.
Documents Needed – Marriage Certificate with Apostille
- A commercial visa is required if you want to open a bank account, register a company, terminate an LLC partnership, or export products to the UK.
Documents Needed – GST certificate, AOA (Article of Association), MOU (Memorandum of Understanding), Registration Certificate, Board Resolution, Power of Attorney, Packing list, Certificate of Origin, Commercial Invoice.
Understanding UK Apostille Stamp Specifications
An apostille is a certificate that makes your document valid and recognizable in the United Kingdom. Below are the details an Apostille contains:-
- Name of the Country
- Name of the person to whom the certificate is issued
- Name of the person signing the certificate
- Date and Place of Issue
- Type of document
- Seal/Stamp of the authority providing the apostille
- Signature of the authority providing the apostille
Getting Documents Apostilled in UK: Procedure for Personal Documents
The procedure for getting documents apostilled uk involves four steps:-
- Local verification
- Notary Attestation
- SDM/State Attestation
- MEA Attestation
Let’s discuss them all in detail.
1) Local Verification – In the first step the documents are verified locally. Local verification will be done depending on the type of documents you are submitting. For instance:
- Education Certificates: University/School Verification
- Divorce Certificate: Divorce certificates are verified by the court.
- Marriage Certificate: The Marriage Registrar will verify the marriage certificate.
- Birth certificate: For birth certificates, the Birth Registrar performs the verification.
- Death Certificate: Death certificates are verified by the registrar of births and deaths.
2) Notary Attestation – Once the certificate is verified locally, it is then sent to the Notary Public Offices or Lawyers. Authorized personnel at Notary Public Offices or Collector offices carefully examine the details of your document. After examination, they place a notary stamp/signature on the documents, making them prepared for further UK apostille attestation.
3) State/SDM attestation – Here your documents are either sent to State Attestation or Sub Divisional Magistrate (SDM) as per your requirements and country you are traveling.
- State Attestation – In state attestation, the state body that issued the document thoroughly checks the details of your document. If all the information is found right then the secretariat of the district places a stamp on your personal documents. The state attestation is a lengthy process. The whole process can take up to 30 working days or more to complete.
- SDM Attestation – Another way of getting an apostille is through SDM i.e. (Sub Divisional Magistrate). In SDM attestation, the documents are submitted to the SDM for verification. The SDM reviews every piece of information on the personal documents. Once all the information is verified, SDM places a signature/stamp on the documents. If you want to enter Hague Convention countries, then you can go for SDM attestation as it’s faster and cheaper than State attestation. It doesn’t take more than 3-5 days for the SDM attestation process to complete.
MEA attestation – MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) attestation is a central government authentication of your birth certificate and other personal documents issued in India or other Indian states. In this step, MEA verifies the genuineness of your documents for use in the United Kingdom by placing an apostille stamp UK on the back of your personal document.
It’s always better to talk to your Apostille helpline, they will guide you on which process you actually need.
Obtaining an Apostille for Commercial Documents in the United Kingdom: Step-by-Step Procedure
The process for getting documents apostilled UK for commercial or business purposes involves several steps:-
- Local verification
- Global Chamber of Commerce
- MEA Attestation
Local Verification:- In the initial stage, the commercial document you have submitted is verified locally. For instance – GST, Registration, AOA(Article of Association), and MOU(Memorandum of Understanding) are verified by the Registrar of Companies.
Global Chamber Of Commerce – Here every aspect of your commercial documents is reviewed carefully. If the details reviewed are found to be correct then Global Chamber of Commerce places a UK apostille on the back of your commercial documents.
MEA – The Ministry of External Affairs legalizes your commercial documents with a UK apostille, helping you legally carry out any business transactions in the UK.
Please note that your documents must be original and free of any marks, and stains.
Apostille United Kingdom: Understanding the Validity Period for UK Apostilles
Once issued from MEA, a UK Apostille is normally regarded as being valid for a period of 6 months. There are countries that certify your documents to be legally valid for more than a year. However, the apostille service provider can help you know the accurate validity of the documents by checking the country and the type of document.
Understanding Hague Apostille UK: Is the United Kingdom a Member of the Hague Convention?
Yes, the United Kingdom is part of the Hague nations. As a result, it abolishes the need for embassy attestation from the United Kingdom’s embassy/consulate. Hague apostille UK issued by MEA is enough to apply for a work, student, or commercial visa to enter the UK.
Charges for Obtaining an Apostille Birth Certificate UK
The charges you have to pay for getting an apostille birth certificate UK depend on various factors including –
Urgency: If you want fast apostille service UK processing, then you might have to pay a higher fee than the standard processing time.
Number of Documents: The number of documents you have submitted can affect the cost associated with the birth certificate apostille.
Type of Documents: The type of document submitted can also affect the fees associated with the birth certificate apostille.
Extra Service: Additional services such as document notarization, translation, and shipment can increase your overall cost.
How to Choose an Apostille Service Provider for Yourself?
While selecting the right apostille service provider you must ensure that the agency processes documents efficiently and accurately. You must also check if the service provider understands every process in detail. Below are some more factors that can help you choose the best apostille service provider.
- The service provider should be well-equipped with the overall requirements of the apostille procedures.
- Apostille service provider must have strict data security measures
- The agency should have the ability to clearly provide all important information to you
- They must have years of experience in providing apostille services.
- Most importantly, they should have transparency in processes and procedures
By considering all these factors and conducting deep research, you can select a professional and experienced apostille service provider for yourself. Register for apostille to get complete information on UK Apostille.
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Frequently asked questions
Apostille or Attestation on Educational Documents by Ministry of External Affairs in India Can be done by Submitting the original Documents or True Copies of Original Documents Issued from the relevant School Boards / Universities.
Steps to get Apostille on your Educational Documents:
- Register for Apostille
- Submit the documents with us.
- Pay for the Apostille
- Receive documents after Apostille to your Address.
Apostille Attestation is Legalization of your documents from Ministry of External Affairs in India. Apostille can be given for the documents issued in India by any authority or issued by any Indian authorities outside the country like Embassy / Consulate. Apostille from MEA can be used in any particular country apart from India.
Check out this article more details on what is apostille .
Apostille and Attestation are similar words. But Apostille will be given from the Ministry of External Affairs in India. Attestation has a broader meaning. Attestation from MEA is called Apostille. Attestation can be given by State Government or Embassy.
For Educational documents attestation from state government is called HRD attestation.
For Non Educational documents such as Birth Certificate, Marriage Certificate, Affidavits state attestation is called home department attestation.
Attestation for any documents from Indian Embassy is called Embassy Attestation.
Read here for further details on how to get apostille.
Ministry of External Affairs Attestation ( Apostille ) can be done in 2 ways.
- State Authentication / Attestation,
- Sub Divisional Magistrate ( SDM ) Attestation / Authentication.
State Attestation Process takes longer time compared to SDM attestation. It’s better to do SDM Apostille since it is fast.
If you are travelling to Italy or Austria, then state attestation is required. For all the other Hague nations SDM Apostille is enough, legal, valid and accepted.
Procedure to get Apostille on your Documents:
- Register for Apostille
- Submit the documents with us.
- Pay for the Apostille
- Receive documents after Apostille to your Address.