Apostilles and consular legalization (authentification) in Russia

In this article we will discuss how to make documents issued in Russia usable abroad.

Suppose you pursued higher education in Russia. And now, to get employed, you should have the authenticity of your diploma verified because the foreign employer has no idea how a Russian diploma must look like. This procedure is called legalization, also known as authentication in English. Most often, documents from the Registry Office (such as a marriage or birth certificate), certificates of no criminal record, powers of attorney and education documents are legalized.

There are two paths to accomplish this:
• consular legalization
• apostille
Its choice depends on the target country.

Note that a document can only be legalized in the country where it was issued!

1) CONSULAR LEGALIZATION

It gets done as follows:
1) Get a certified copy of the required document from a notary.
2) The document must be translated by a professional translator into the language of the country where it will subsequently be presented, and then the translation must be notarized.
3) Have the notary's seal and signature certified by the Ministry of Justice.
4) Have the seal of the Ministry of Justice and the signature of its official certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
5) Have the seal and signature from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs certified by the consulate of the destination country.

This procedure is more time-consuming and expensive than an apostille. It is mainly required for African and some Asian countries - check the list on the Internet.

2) APOSTILLE

Apostille is a simplified legalization of documents. This can be said to be a sticker or stamp on the back of a document or a notarized copy confirming that the document was issued by a relevant authority. However, it can be accepted, and, accordingly, issued only in countries in the 1961 Hague Convention (this is almost all of Europe, North and South America, Australia, India, etc. - the list can be found in open sources). Russia is also a contracting country, i. e., in Russia you can obtain an apostille for your diploma and use it in any contracting country of the convention, for example, Spain; or vice versa, get a diploma in Spain, have an apostille affixed on it and use it in Russia. But in order for your diploma to be acceptable in a country that is not related to the Hague Convention, for example, Jordan, you will need to have the document legalized through consular legalization.

As of January 2025, the state fee for an apostille is 2500 rubles; it takes up to 5 working days to obtain it.

Russia does not issue electronic apostilles. You can only apostille the original or a notarized copy of the original - scans cannot be apostilled.

WHERE TO BRING A DOCUMENT TO ADD AN APOSTILLE ON IT?

The competent authority depends on the document; e. g., the Directorate of the Civil Registry Office affixes apostilles to documents issued by the Civil Registry Office, such as birth, marriage or death certificates. The Ministry of Internal Affairs apostilles documents issued, respectively, by the bodies of this Ministry, e. g., certificates of no criminal record. The Ministry of Education apostilles documents on education, qualifications, academic degrees and titles, etc. To know where to have your document apostilled, you can reach out to us.

DO I NEED TO GET TWO APOSTILLES ON A DOCUMENT FOR DIFFERENT COUNTRIES?

No, if you had your document apostilled in Russia for France, and then you needed to move to the UK (these all are parties to the 1961 Convention), then you do not need to obtain an apostille again for Britain. Although when issuing an apostille they ask for which country it is being prepared, they will look the same, the «sticker» will not say for which country it is intended, and can subsequently be presented in any contracting state. Basically it does not matter which country you indicate when preparing the apostille.

WHEN IS LEGALIZATION NOT REQUIRED?

There are states with which Russia has concluded mutual recognition agreements. Then neither an apostille nor consular legalization is required. These are usually countries with which Russia has long-standing close relations, such as Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine, China, some South Slavic countries, most CIS countries, etc.

IS LEGALIZATION ENOUGH TO PROVIDE A DOCUMENT ABROAD?

If in the destination country, Russian is not considered the official language, you will need to have it translated by a certified translator into the language of that country. Ideally (if we are not talking about consular legalization, of course), it is better to have your certificate translated in the country where it will be used, at least because each country has its own translation certification standards.



Need legal help? Feel free to contact us:
Tel: +7 909 961-19-09
Email: legalsolutions@inbox.ru
Visit us: Moscow, Zubovskiy bulvar, building 4/1, office 308

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