Legalization of documents for moving to the Netherlands

(For citizens of Russia / Republic of Belarus / Ukraine / Kazakhstan)

Legalization of a document from one country is needed to give this document legal force in another country. There are two options for legalizing documents:

1. Consular legalization - required for documents intended for countries that are not parties to the Hague Convention.
2. Apostille (apostille) - required for documents intended for use in the Netherlands and other member countries of the Hague Convention.

Certification of documents with an apostille is a confirmation of the authenticity of the signature of an official in the document, as well as the seal that affixes this document

The process of legalizing documents for the Netherlands can take place in different ways, depending on what is more valuable to you - time or money. In total, three options should be highlighted:

1. Independent execution of all documents.
2. Purchase of services from special firms.
3. Translation of legalized documents on the spot. In the Netherlands, you can only make a translation, because originals can be apostilled only in the country that issued the document.

Next, we will dwell on each of the methods in more detail.

1. Self-registration of all documents

Required documents for apostille

• Marriage (unmarriage) documentif you are not in a formal relationship with the partner you are moving with.
  • The document must be issued in the country of which you are a citizen.
  • Where and by whom this document should be drawn up depends on which country you live in (see below).
  • The document must be no older than 6 months.
• Marriage certificate, if you are in an official relationship.
• Divorce certificate, if any.
• Extract from the archive of the Civil Registry Office / Civil Registry Office or another similar organization on the change of name, in cases where you changed it in previous marriages and now it does not match the surname on the birth certificate, and you do not have a marriage certificate to prove it (for example: after a divorce). In addition to the "certificate of surname change", you may be given a "marriage certificate", which will also confirm the legal change of surname.
• Birth certificate. Citizens of the former republics of the USSR need to exchange it for a new type certificate. If it was issued before 1991 in the USSR, it is better to request a new certificate / duplicate at the registry office at the place of birth and request an apostille for it there. You can also send a request to the registry office at the place of birth by e-mail with a request for re-issue and affixing an apostille. Download the sample applications, fill them out, scan them and send them to the registry office's email address with a simple letter like “please reissue and apostille”. After that, you need to pay for both services at a local bank, and send the receipt of payment by registered mail to the registry office.

How and where should the original documents be prepared?

It depends on which country you are a citizen of, as well as who issued these originals and when (see the list of countries below).

What if the document was issued in another country?

The stamp "Apostille" is placed on a document only in the country of issue of the document. If you were born in another or no longer existing country, or in one of the former republics of the USSR, there are several ways to get around this problem:

1. Contact the consulate of this country with the original of your document with a request to put an apostille on it or with a request to send you a duplicate of your document with the Apostille stamp. This will take 3 to 6 months.
2. To legalize a document issued by one of the countries of the former USSR, you can contact the registry office at the place of registration with a request to request for you the necessary document with an apostille from the registry office of the required country. This also applies to documents on civil status (birth certificate, marriage certificate, divorce certificate, death certificate, etc.). This procedure takes 3 to 6 months.

Preparation of documents at home

1. Apostille for originals of documents in the bodies of Justice or in the registry office.
2. Make copies of all documents, including apostilles, and certify them with a notary.
3. Translate notarized copies of documents into the required language in a translation agency. Translations into English, Dutch, German or French are suitable for the Netherlands.
4. Certify the translations with a notary and put a second apostille on them.

Where is the best place to make translations?

Document translations can be done both at home and in Holland. Translations at home are usually cheaper, but they need to be additionally apostilled. And translations in Holland are a little more expensive, but they do not need to be apostilled.

An important point is that for the initial submission of documents, the originals of the translations are not required, scans are enough. And it is important to remember that if birth certificates of adults are needed only upon arrival in the Netherlands, then birth certificates of children (and, accordingly, their translations!) Are needed at the time of submission, i.e. children's certificates must be translated in advance.

You can find the addresses of sworn translators from native languages ​​into Dutch here - www.bureauwbtv.nl

2. Purchase of services from special firms

If all the previous steps are frightening and depressed, then you can use the second option - contact specialized companies that will perform all the procedures for you. At cost, of course, it will be significantly more expensive, and such companies often do not give guarantees that all procedures are performed correctly.

I would like to note that at the moment there are few outright “scammers” in this market, but you should not relax - you may just come across incompetent people. It is best to rely in this matter on the reviews of other customers and your personal impression. A clear plus of delegating the preparation of documents to specialists is your peace of mind. But the terms will be almost the same as with self-registration, since the main loss of time here falls on government agencies and their processing time.

By the way, in many legal companies it is possible to perform both the legalization of originals and a full range of services, which will include legalized translations. You should act at your discretion, assessing the situation, time and money that you are willing to spend on everything.

3. On-site translation

The third option for preparing documents is somewhat similar to the first. You will have to legalize the originals in the country of residence (you can't do without it!), And make the translation on the spot.

It should be noted that this method is only partially applicable if you are moving with the whole family at the same time, since when applying for an MVV visa to family members, the consulate has the right to request part of the legalized documents and their translations (for example, certificates of (not) marital status ).

But if one of the family members is the first to move, then this option will be much easier than the first two. Having legalized original documents in hand, you can perform translations already in the Netherlands, having paid only once for the services of a sworn translator. Its seal will be enough to legalize the translation, which saves you from having to visit a notary several times and affix a second apostille on the translation. In terms of time, it is very fast. The cost will be quite a bit more expensive than self-registration of documents, but cheaper than receiving a full package of legalized documents from an intermediary firm.

In addition, it will be possible to send scanned copies of documents to a translator in the Netherlands in advance, and the originals can be left to the family for later presentation at the consulate, which will save you from the cost of sending documents between countries. An exception is your own birth certificate - its original will most likely be required by the municipality at the first registration.

Further, we have prepared a small instruction for citizens of various CIS countries, which will significantly simplify the process of preparing the required documents. The information provided is current as of July 2018.

Russian Federation

Documents issued by the registry office:

1. Birth certificate. Duplicates (repeated certificates) are drawn up in the same department of the registry office where you were registered and received a certificate earlier. You need to fill out an application, pay the fee according to the receipt at the Sberbank branch (there is not far from each registry office), or in the terminal, which is installed directly in the registry office (the commission is about 10%, the machine does not issue change). On the same day, you receive repeated testimonies.
2. Marriage certificate / Form No. 28. The certificate indicates information about the previous marriage, about changing the last name, if there was one, and about the fact that the marriage was dissolved. Certificates must be taken exactly as much as there were previous marriages. The procedure is the same: an application is written and a fee of 100 rubles is paid. Issued on the same day.

For residents of Moscow:

Documents issued by Moscow registry offices (birth certificates, divorce certificates, etc.) are apostilled by the United Archives of the Moscow Civil Registry Office.

Address: m. Chistye Prudy, per. Small Kharitonevsky, 10 (entrance from the courtyard).
Phone: (499) 623-70-89
Schedule: Пн.-чт. 9:00-18:00, пт. 9:00-16:45

The issuance procedure may take 3-5 working days, it costs 1500 rubles. If you pay through the terminal, it will cost 1650 rubles. There are practically no queues, it takes all 10-15 minutes.

For residents of other regions:

The apostille on the original birth certificate is placed at the place of your registration, in the regional and regional offices of the registry office. The state duty is 1500 rubles.

For example, if you are from the city of Gagarin, Smolensk region, call the Gagarin registry office, specify phone numbers, addresses, preferably bank details (they know for sure) of the central registry office in Smolensk. If you have not received the details, call the Smolensk registry office, check with them. You pay the state fee, attach the receipt to the birth certificate and send everything by mail.

Documents that are drawn up or certified by a notary:

• Declaration of failure in marriage. The cost is 600 rubles. The text is as follows: "I, full name, with this statement I inform you that I am not currently married." The application is certified by a notary on the basis of an internal passport and is valid for 6 months from the date of issue.

The cost of notarized copies is 50 rubles.

Legalization of documents:

In Moscow, documents certified by a notary are apostilled at the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Justice of the Russian Federation.

Address: m. Profsoyuznaya, st. Krzhizhanovsky, 13, bldg. 1.
Detailed information about the time of acceptance of documents and days of work can be found at tel .: (499) 124-12-46
Information about documents by number: (499) 124-13-64.
Documents are handed over before 13:00, collected after 14: 0

They pay for documents at Sberbank, which is also located nearby. DO NOT TAKE the payment form on the website of the Ministry of Justice! There are slightly different data and such payments will not be accepted. Documents are issued in 5 working days. The cost of affixing an apostille for 2018 is 2500 rubles for each document.

Important points:

• Before going to the Ministry of Justice, make an extract of the data for each submitted document. For example: No. 1 - "Statement of ... (for example, about the failure of such and such (full name) in marriage, certified by such and such a city of Moscow (indicate the full name of the notary or the acting notary), register No. 12345 (here is the number of your document in the register) No. 2 - A copy of such and such a document, certified ..., register ... "etc. In the Ministry of Justice you will need to fill out an application for submission of documents for Apostille, which lists information on all documents you submit in the above sequence. by organizing, you will save time.
• Immediately upon arrival, take the queue and feel free to approach the window where the documents are accepted, take there the application form (a couple of copies) and several receipts for payment of the state duty for the apostille. While you are sitting in line, there will be time to fill out the application and bills. At the first approach to the window in which your documents are checked, you also show the completed application and ask if you need to fix something and if you can already go to pay.
• Don't forget to photocopy all your documents! They do not accept apostille without copies! Make sure that the stamp on the notarized copy is readable, otherwise you will be denied an apostille, the money will not be returned! If the stamp cannot be read, have a notary transcribed it, then the notary will rewrite the entire text on a regular sheet, which he will certify. You will put an apostille on this sheet.

The Republic of Belarus

Documents issued by the registry office:

• -Birth certificate.  If you want to "renew" your birth certificate, you can request a duplicate from the registry office. Cost - 1 base unit. As of 01.07.2016 it is (after the denomination) 21 rubles. If you applied in the morning, then they do it on the same day. You need to take a receipt, pay for it, fill out a form, present your passport and old birth certificate. You will receive a duplicate and an old birth certificate in your hands.
• Certificate of marital failure. The official name is "Certificate of the absence of a record of the marriage certificate." It contains information about the previous marriage (everyone): with whom the marriage was, on the basis of what and when it was terminated, and information about the absence of a record from the moment of divorce until the moment of requesting this certificate. At the bottom of the certificate there is a text: “The check was carried out at the place of permanent residence of the applicant (s). The certificate is valid for six months from the date of issue. " This certificate is free, it is done right in front of you. You must have your passport and birth certificate with you.
• Certificate of surname change. The official name is "Certificate from the record of the marriage certificate." It indicates who and when to whom he married / got married, what surname was and became in marriage. If you changed your surname to a maiden name by a court decision upon divorce, then this is recorded in the decision itself. At the bottom of the certificate there is a text: "The certificate is valid for six months from the date of issue." This certificate is free, it is done right in front of you. You must have a passport and birth certificate with you

Apostilles on birth certificates (originals, duplicates, etc.), as well as on any certificates from the registry office are placed only in Minsk in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at Marksa, 37a (entrance from the courtyard through the arch). All information is available on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. On Wednesdays, a long queue is possible when accepting documents, since it is the middle of the day, and not early in the morning.

You can also contact a translation agency in your city, they can send documents to Minsk and request an apostille.

Documents that are drawn up or certified by a notary:

• All documents translated into English or Dutch in Belarus.

Legalization of documents:

Apostilles on documents emanating from notaries, as well as those emanating from courts, are affixed only in Minsk at the Ministry of Justice at 10 Kollekornaya street.

If the notary is from another city, the apostille is issued without problems. Bring the documents at the specified time and on the same day (except Wednesday), pick them up with an apostille. There the documents are examined (checked), and they give a receipt with the details and the amount for payment. You go to the nearest savings bank (they will tell you which one) and immediately bring it back after payment. All information is available on the website of the Ministry of Justice.

Apostille on education documents is placed only in Minsk at the Ministry of Education.

Keep in mind that there are usually no queues at notaries, as well as in the above ministries. Therefore, you can find the time to enter and pick up the documents yourself.

Translation of documents in Belarus

If you nevertheless decide to translate documents and notarize translations in Belarus, then this is done through commercial firms.

If you want to translate and certify documents cheaper, then ask any notary office for a list of registered translators, as well as the coordinates of the companies with which they work. You can choose by language and company.

When choosing a translation company, it is better to trust those with extensive experience. Email a few of them with specific questions about prices and deadlines, then wait for answers. If the answer contains specific answers to your questions, then you need to choose these firms.

Ukraine

Documents issued by the Civil Registry Office (Registration of Civil Status Acts, former Civil Registry Office):

• Birth certificate. A new certificate for persons who were born after 1991 is issued at the Civil Registry Office at the place of registration every Tuesday, Thursday. The cost of the certificate is 40 UAH. + state duty 0,51 UAH If your birth certificate is an old-style green book, that is, it was not issued in Ukraine or issued in the republics of the USSR, then you can certify a photocopy of the birth certificate with a notary, then put an apostille on this certified photocopy in Kiev at the Ministry of Justice. After that, the apostilled copy is translated.
• Certificate of surname change. It is called "Vityag from the Sovereign Register of Acts of the Civilian Camp of Huge Dwellers" - issued at the place of marriage registration. The cost is 120 UAH.

Documents that are drawn up or certified by a notary:

• Declaration of failure in marriage. It is done by any notary. Estimated cost is 150 UAH. The application is valid for 6 months from the date of issue.

Legalization of documents:

The Ministry of Justice of Ukraine puts an Apostille on documents issued by the justice authorities and courts, as well as on documents that are drawn up by notaries of Ukraine. In particular, for certificates and certificates issued by the Civil Registry Office, documents or copies issued or certified by notaries, court decisions and certificates. The term is about 7 working days.

Documents issued by the Civil Registry Office before 1991 must be changed to a new type of documents. They must have the seal of the Regional Department of the Ministry of Justice. Without this seal, the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine will not accept documents.

Translation of documents in Ukraine

If you decide to translate documents in Ukraine, then it is done as follows: after affixing an apostille on the originals or photocopies of documents (see above), they are translated to a translation agency, the translations are certified by a notary and after that they are affixed with a second apostille.

Kazakhstan

Document issued by the Ministry of Justice:

The certificate of marital failure is officially called the Certificate of Marital Legal Capacity. It is done at the Ministry of Justice in Almaty (Zenkova st., 47) within three days.

To obtain this help, you need the following documents:

• address reference (taken from the public service center);
• copy of identity card;
• a receipt for payment for the service (the form is taken from the 4th table, it is paid at the bank, there are many banks nearby where you can pay for the service), the cost is about 1000 tenge;
• original and a copy of the document that needs to be apostilled, a form filled in for affixing an apostille.

For those who were married, additional documents may be required. When receiving a certificate, carefully check the spelling of the name and date.

Documents issued by the registry office:

• Certificate of change of surname, name, patronymic. Issued at the regional registry office at the place of registration.
• Cdivorce certificate. Issued at the regional registry office at the place of registration

Documents issued by the Population Service Center:

• Birth certificate. You can exchange your old birth certificate for a new one. The term of execution is 3 days.