When you are preparing to study abroad, get a job, or immigrate, you will often hear: “Please get an Apostille.” If it’s your first time, it can feel unfamiliar and confusing, so today we will see what an Apostille is and why it is needed in a way that is easy to understand.
An Apostille is an international certification system that proves that a public document issued in a foreign country is genuine. Simply put, it is an internationally recognized procedure that allows documents you received in your own country to be officially recognized as valid documents in other countries as well.
Before the Apostille system existed, if you wanted to use documents issued in your own country abroad, you had to go through several stages of authentication at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the embassy of the country where you wanted to use the documents. However, thanks to the Apostille system, a single certification allows you to use the documents in any of the convention member countries.
The Apostille system started based on the Hague Convention concluded in 1961 in the Netherlands, in order to simplify inter-state document authentication procedures.
Among the convention member countries, the effectiveness of a document can be recognized only with an Apostille.
Currently, about 120 countries around the world have joined, and Korea became a member in July 2007.
An Apostille is required when submission of reliable public documents is requested abroad.
• When preparing for study abroad
Submission of graduation certificates and academic transcripts for university or graduate school admission
• When getting a job overseas
Submission of academic certificates and career certificates when getting a job at foreign companies or government agencies
• When applying for a visa
Submission of criminal record certificates and medical check-up reports during the visa application process
• Other major cases
International marriage, overseas real-estate purchase, establishment of overseas corporations, contract signing, etc.
1. Prepare the documents
Obtain the original documents from schools, police stations, hospitals, etc.
2. Translation and notarization (if necessary)
If a Korean translation is required, the translation must be notarized.
3. Apply to the Apostille authorities of each country
Submit the original documents to the designated authorities of each country and receive Apostille certification.
4. Submit the certified documents
Submit them to the requesting institution (such as schools, immigration offices, companies, etc.).
• The Apostille system is only applicable in countries that are parties to the Hague Convention. If your country is not a member of the Convention, you must go through consular legalization instead of Apostille.
• An Apostille does not guarantee that the contents of the document are factually correct. It is a procedure that acknowledges that the document is a “genuine document” issued by an official authority.
In other words, it guarantees the authenticity of the issuing authority of the document, but does not determine whether the contents themselves are true.
