Degree Certificate Apostille is a process that involves authenticating educational documents such as Degree, Diploma, Matriculation, and High School -any educational record. An apostille is a recognized certification process acceptable in all the 113 member countries of the Hague convention Of 1961. The MEA in India is the authorised department by the central government that will affix the apostille stamp on your documents. But before the validation by the central government authority, there are several levels of legalization through which the document has to go through that make it fit to be produced before the concerned authority of the country the applicant has to visit.
The apostille stamp received after the Degree Certificate Apostille services will make the documents acceptable in all the member countries of the Hague Convention. It is a unique identification number that is affixed at the back of the document. The authorities maintain the record of the apostille, and the same can be verified easily by the country's government authorities where the applicant is planning to visit. After getting the Degree Certificate Apostille, the degree certificates will be considered authentic. The apostilled documents can be furnished as part of the visa application process to achieve different goals. If people want to travel abroad for higher studies or want to work in a foreign country, they must furnish apostilled degree certificates to the concerned authorities. Authenticating the educational credentials is necessary as a part of the visa application process that requires the applicants to prove that their educational documents are genuine and authentic.
There are different situations in which the degree certificates are primarily needed and other relevant documents that must be Apostilled and submitted to the concerned authorities. Higher Education: If you wish to apply for higher education in any universities in a foreign member country of the Hague Convention, you will need to get the degree certificate apostille services. Many students worldwide immigrate to developed nations to get a high-quality education and improve their career prospects in the long run. Work Purposes: If an individual needs to work in another country, then the degree certificate apostille services are required. The apostille stamp is needed to authenticate the genuineness of the document. Employment in the foreign country will be possible when the Apostilled Degree certificate and the other crucial documents are submitted to obtain the relevant visa.
Getting a Degree certificate apostille can be a daunting task for people unless a professional agency manages their Apostille services. Since Jan 1, 2019, the responsibility of the document authentication process has been assigned to branch secretariats and RPO. There are different levels at which the authentication process takes place. First, the degree certificate is carried out by the notary or the university from where the documents are issued. Then the three different government departments authenticate the degree certificate as per the requirement. The SHD- State Home Department, the HRD- Human Resource Development, and Sub-divisional Magistrate are the departments that carry out the Degree Certificate Apostille Services. Lastly, the MEA- Ministry of External Affairs provides the Apostille stamp, a stamp of authentication that makes the document eligible to be furnished as part of the visa application process.
But for an individual, going through every stage and following up can be a cumbersome task. People can simplify Degree Certificate Apostille with a professional agency such as SPS Global services, which offers hassle-free Degree Certificate Apostille Services at a nominal fee. The agency has assisted a large number of people in getting a Degree Certificate Apostille.
An Apostille is a French word that means Certification and it’s Pronounce as “ah-po-style”. An Apostille is simply the name for a specialized certificate, issued by the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi. The Apostille sticker is pasted on the backside of original document to verify it is legitimate and authentic, so it will be accepted in one of the other countries who are members of The Hague Apostille Convention.
The Apostille Convention is an international treaty that simplifies the legalization procedure for foreign public documents. It allows a Government body to certify a document issued in its own country as valid for other countries without further certification by the destination state. The Convention has 126 contracting states as of November 2023, including the United States and Canada.
The Apostille Convention provides the simplified certification of public (including notarized) documents to be used in countries that have joined the convention. Documents destined for use in participating countries and their territories should be certified by one of the officials in the jurisdiction in which the document has been executed.
The Hague Convention requires that all Apostille be numbered consecutively, with individual numbers applied to each Apostille issued. The recognized standard Apostille contains a seal and 10 mandatory references: name of country from which the document emanates, name of person signing the document, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted, in the case of unsigned documents, the name of the authority that has affixed the seal or stamp, place of certification date of certification, the authority issuing the certificate, number of certificate, seal or stamp of authority issuing certificate and signature of authority issuing certificate. Prior to the introduction of Apostille certificates the burden on international courts and authorities to judge foreign documents as authentic was quite considerable. On the October 5, 1961 the Hague Convention abolished the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents. The Convention reduces all of the formalities of legalization to the simple delivery of a certificate in a prescribed form, entitled “Apostille”, by the authorities of the Ministry where the document originates. This certificate, placed on the document, is dated, numbered and registered. The verification of its registration can be carried out without difficulty by means of a simple request for information addressed to the authority which delivered the certificate.
Apostille Process depends that if the documents are Educational, Non Educational or Commercial. Educational Certificate Apostille is required if you are going for Job or Study in any of The Hague Convention Countries. Non Educational documents like Marriage, Birth Certificate Apostille services are required for your dependents, if you want them to accompany you in that country. Commercial documents Apostille is required if you want to send shipment, open a branch in Hague country of have to do some business collaboration. We will try to explain process for you.
First step of the Process is getting the Notarization of document done. Notary can be done from anywhere in India. And it can be done from Delhi also. Doing Notary from Delhi will save some time, as documents has to come to Delhi only for Apostille.
After the Notary is done, next step in Sub Divisional Magistrate. SDM attestation is done in Delhi. It’s same for Educational and Non Educational documents. If you leave few countries, this SDM Stamping is valid in all the countries. Some countries Like, Italy, Switzerland and Austria might ask for State HRD for Educational Documents and State home Department/GAD for Non Educational documents. So, if you are planning for these countries please get complete knowledge from office HR or local bodies who are applying your case. SDM Stamping is done in 1 day and on the backside of the original Document.
Last and most important part is getting the document attested from Ministry of External affairs. After Notary and SDM Stampings are done Documents are submitted in Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi for Apostille. Just like Notary and SDM, Apostille Sticker is pasted on the back side of the document. Apostille sticker will have your name and current date. It also have unique number and contain name and designation of the person who have signed it. After Apostille sticker, the process is completed the documents are ready for use. When you receive the Apostille document, first please check that all the spellings and dates are fine. As sometimes there can be some mismatch in the spelling. If there is some spelling mistake then it has to submit in correction department. That will take another 1 day
If you are going through State Attestation Process then it might take more than a month. As for Educational documents, first stamp from University is required and then from State HRD Department. And for Non Educational Documents, First Stamp is required from Local DC office and then from State GAD/Home Department. If you go through SDM Apostille process then processing time is only 5 to 6 working. This Process takes less time and is less expensive as well.
Apostille process can be very hectic if not taken seriously. So its very important to get the right People for the right work. If proper process is not followed, then Ministry of External Affairs put small stamp on the Apostille sticker that ‘Ministry of External Affairs Except no responsibility for the content of the above document”. This can cause problem to your happy journey and even the visa can get rejected. So for Apostille process always look for someone who is professional in this field like SPS Global Services.
Apostille Sticker has a validity of Six Months. Means you have to use this Apostille within 6 months, after that whole life you can stay in that country. But if you want to change the country after 6 Months then Apostille needs to done again. Don’t worry if there is no space on the backside of the document. New Apostille Sticker can be applied on the expired Sticker.
Original Documents are very important part of our Life. Sometimes it takes several months to obtain new documents. So security of documents is most important for us. You can do live tracking of the process daily. Currently document is in which city and in which department, you can check with just one click. Whenever you handover your documents to any of our office, a link is shared to you on mail. With that you can track the whole process, till documents are delivered back to you.
If you are travelling outside India to any of The Hague convention Country for Study or Work, then Apostille is required on your Educational documents. And if you are applying dependent visa for your spouse or children, then their Marriage and Birth Certificate will be required to get Apostille. Still if you have any query, you can get in touch with SPS Team @9920111362
