People who executed any documents abroad, for certain, came across such a concept as "apostille". Without certain knowledge from the field of international law, it is quite difficult to understand what it is and how it is used. But to understand the meaning of this term is necessary if you want your Russian documents to be valid in other countries.
So what is an apostille? This is a special seal that is needed to certify the validity of a document.
While you are in Russia, your documents are considered valid if they are executed on official banks and contain the necessary seals and signatures. But when you travel abroad, the situation changes. In order for the document to have legal force in the eyes of local authorities, it must be legalized. This is a rather lengthy procedure and is usually carried out through the consulate of the Russian Federation in the host country.
To reduce bureaucratic formalities, the countries that have entered the Hague Convention, including Russia, have decided to abandon legalization in favor of a simpler process - apostille on official documents of non-commercial content.
In addition to Russia, the apostille is also recognized in most European countries, Australia, the United States, many countries in Asia and Latin America, and in some African states.
But not in all cases you need to rush to get the apostille issued. On some documents, for example, on a foreign passport, it is not needed. In addition, this seal is not required in all situations. It may be needed, for example, on a birth certificate when registering citizenship or marriage. Therefore, before leaving abroad for the execution of any papers, it is better to check with the officials whether an apostille is required.
Apostille is issued by various institutions, depending on which document you need to legalize. Apostilles on diplomas and certificates are put by employees of the Ministry of Education, on certificates of birth, death and marriage - by registry offices, and Rosarkhiv - on documents received from this department.
In any case, you need to keep in mind that the legalization of papers takes additional time, and it is better to start preparing documents for any activity abroad in advance.