Consular legalization

For countries outside the Apostille Convention: authentication by China's foreign affairs authorities, then legalization by the destination country's embassy or consulate.

Countries outside the convention, such as the UAE, Qatar, Egypt and Thailand (where the convention is not yet in force), still require traditional consular legalization: notarisation, authentication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or a local foreign affairs office, then legalization by the destination country's embassy or consulate in China.

Each mission has its own rules on supporting documents, translations, consular districts and payment, and they change often. We track current requirements to avoid rejections and repeat trips.

For foreign documents coming to China from a non-member country, the document is authenticated locally and then legalized by the Chinese embassy or consulate there. Our offices abroad can help with that leg.

Documents we often handle

• Commercial invoices, certificates of origin, customs papers
• Articles, business licences, authorisations
• Education certificates
• Marriage and birth certificates
• No-criminal-record certificates