We are a leading global document legalisation and translation company, and as such, we specialise in offering you a bespoke, forward-thinking, and convenient solution for document legalisation and consular needs throughout Europe. We have a team of in-house lawyers in our offices that allow us to handle all manner of private and corporate documentation, so whether you are a private or a corporate client, you can have full faith that we are able to handle every step of the legalisation process on your behalf, ensuring that your process runs smoothly and faultlessly.
We have offices in the UK, Ireland, Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, which means that we are uniquely placed to be able to provide fast and effective legalisation services, regardless of where they are needed on the continent. Over time, we have used these well-placed offices to build relationships within consulates across the globe, which allows us to work efficiently to move your process along.
The majority of our work has been carried out for clients based in Germany, Spain, France, Italy, and the Netherlands, but we are able to work across all European nations, including those not in the EU. For example, we regularly carry out work for clients in the UK, Switzerland, and Norway, among others. So, rest assured that it does not matter where your documents originate from or where they need to be recognised, we will be able to pinpoint exactly the service that you need and provide it to you.
What is Apostille?
In 1961, the “Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents” was drafted, in a bid to create a simpler method for authenticating documents to be used in other countries. This is otherwise known as Apostille.
Put simply, Apostille is a legal certification that makes a document from one country valid in another country, as long as both countries have signed up to the Hague Convention.
The list of European countries that have signed up to the Convention is long, as nearly every country in Europe is a party to the agreement. That makes things a little easier for your documentation, but by no means simple.
The one exception in Europe is if your documents originate in, or you’re planning to have them officially recognised in Macedonia. In this case, there is a longer, even more, intricate process of notarisation and legalisation which your documents must go through. But don’t let that worry you – that’s why we’re here.
What Legalisation services can we provide for EU Customers?
As we mentioned above, as a firm, we have been working on document legalisation processes for many, many years. There is nothing about Apostille, Notarisation, or Legalisation that we don’t already know and haven’t dealt with in the past.
All official documentation from a particular country requires either Apostille certification or a different Legalisation process to be followed in order for it to be recognised in a foreign state. The main documentation we deal with regularly includes:
- Vital documents – Birth, Marriage, and Death certificates
- Documents for the purchase and/or sale of property
- Education records – particularly the legalisation of domestic diplomas for use in further education abroad
- Immigration paperwork like visas and identification documents
- Business documentation – for example, documents needed for opening new branches in foreign countries, or completing business negotiations with other companies
- Personal and corporate financial documentation
- Documents for entry into legal proceedings, either for commencement or evidence
We also operate our own legalised translation service – certifiedtranslations.ie – which allows us to provide not only high-quality professional translations in a wide range of European languages but also to make sure those documents then go through the correct legalisation process so that they can be officially recognised. Having this team in our offices lets us get down to work at once, without having to worry about unforeseen delays from exterior translators, and we are also able to be precisely sure of the accuracy of your translation and its suitability for legalisation.
Apostille Legalisation from European Countries
The process, to the untrained eye, can appear to be quite complicated, which is why it’s important to use a specialist team of professionals to make sure your process reaches its conclusion without a hitch. We will work closely with you to meet your requirements, noting which documents you need to have legalised and in which countries they apply. This allows us to identify what sort of process your documents will require, and we will then be able to swing into action immediately. Our network of consular relationships allows us to swiftly move your documents through the chain of processes that they require, whether that is Apostille, or an alternative legalisation process involving the relevant Government ministries of the countries. Our experienced, professional oversight ensures that, at the end of your process, you can be positive that you will have documents that will fulfil everything that you need from them.
