Published by Travel Visa Pro on Thu Jun 3 2021
Traveling outside of the country is exciting, especially if it is your first time. People travel outside of the United States for many reasons. Some travelers may require an apostille upon arriving at their destination.
Before you decide to travel outside of the United States, especially for official reasons such as business and studies, you need to verify if your destination country requires an apostille. This simple verification could be the difference between having a successful trip abroad or a frustrating one.
When traveling abroad, some of the reasons you’ll need an apostille include:
You wish to adopt a child in a foreign country
You intend to study in a foreign country
You intend to conduct business in a foreign country
And more.
Your personal reasons aside, the country you wish to travel to may also require an apostille if all of the following apply.
The country where the document was issued (in this case, the United States) is part of the Hague Convention.
The country in which the document is to be used (in this case, your country of destination) is part of the Hague Convention.
The law of the country where the document was issued considers the document as a public document.
The law of the country where the document is to be used (in this case, your country of destination) requires an Apostille to recognize a document as a foreign public.
Hague Convention Explained
The Hague Convention, also known as the Apostille Convention or Apostille Treaty, is an international treaty that eliminates the need to double-certify certain public documents. Therefore, an apostille stamp certifies a document’s validity.
Countries That Require an Apostille
All countries that are part of the Hague Convention require an apostille. These countries include the United States, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Turkey, Sweden, Italy, Israel, Iceland, Brazil, Argentina, and more.
Here’s a full list of countries that require an apostille.
Do Countries That Are Not Part of The Hague Convention Require an Apostille?
Countries that are not part of the Hague Convention do not require an apostille. But this does not mean you will not have to prove the validity of your documents when you travel outside of the United States.
Instead, when you travel to countries that are not part of the Hague Convention, you will be required to provide what is usually known as authentication.
An authentication works almost like an apostille but requires a lengthy process to verify the validity of the documents presented. For a document to be considered valid through authentication, it must be notarized, reviewed by state or county officials, and then certificated by the State Department.
But that’s not all; the document must also be certified by the foreign country in a process called legalization. The legalization process takes place in the country’s consulate or embassy based in the United States.
Are you planning a trip outside of the United States, and you are unsure whether you need your document apostilled or authenticated? Talk to TravelVisaPro today for expert advice!