Moving overseas: tips for document Apostille, legalization and more

Doing research on document preparation

It may seem like a overwhelming task at times trying to establish the requirements for a visa, residency or even taking out a new citizenship in a foreign country. As someone who has lived abroad in more than a few countries for the better of 25 years, I can say that it never gets any easier. You need to make sure things are completed correctly the first time but do not know what information to trust or even what questions to pose and whom you can ask to answer the questions you might have. So much information on the internet is outdated by the time you find it. Even when you gather information from people by now living in the foreign country, it may not be true information.

Getting it right should be your main concern. Knowing where to go and whom to trust is the top priority. Double checking particulars with other sources certainly cannot be harmful. Even contacting attorneys or paralegals would seem like a good idea. But are you getting the proper information? Are those sources up to date and the knowledgeable enough? You would be taken aback at the answer. Many attorneys at law focus in other areas of the law. While they are happy to take on new clients, they may not be specializing in immigration paperwork and may not have practicing the immigration law frequently. They likely will not double check requirements with the immigration or government authorities until you have retained and paid them initial fee. By then serious errors may have already been made. You need a fresh and up to date standpoint.

The only way to get right information is to do the in-depth research on the subject and, preferably, at least 6 months in advance. The process of doing the study can take people days, weeks or even months. If you are not experienced in doing this type of research by surfing the internet, contacting the government department, official agencies, consulates and embassies, you might just find the task awe-inspiring.

Trusting the right resources

Today one may find on internet quite useful information, interesting forums where people share their opinions, knowledge and give each other valuable advises. However, the web also has a lot of outdated and misleading information. As someone who has done immigration work for years, I can tell you that people often times end up with vague information. Not because they did not try to get the best information possible but rather because they trusted the wrong source.
Believe it or not, the misleading source for information may be someone you might not expect. It may be your fellow emigrant that has been living in the foreign country for some time. Now and then they just make an honest mistake and provide you with erroneous information. Consider this information a simple story that gets twisted and changed just a little bit by each human being that reiterate it. By the time it gets to you, it may not be so accurate or sound like the original narration.
Accuracy is only obtained by verifying information with multiple sources and comparing the results. Even the employees of the official departments sometimes fail to give out correct information all of the time. They may not update their web sites promptly, their printed material may be out of date, or any other unpredictable scenarios can take place.

Developing a strategy

You understand that you have a few tasks you must accomplish. They comprise obtaining requirements for the legal transactions you need to get done, gathering necessary documents such as marriage certificates, birth certificates, divorce decrees, Police Clearance Certificate, Certificate of Naturalization, judgments or certificates of name change etc., getting them notarized when necessary, getting them authenticated (in some U.S. states), and legalized by getting them apostilled, obtaining an Authentication Certificate or consulate legalization (if the country you are moving to is a non – Apostille state), and, of course, getting these documents officially translated. You probably are not aware of how to bring all this together, because have never deal before with the documents intended for international use.

If you are a U.S. citizen, I recommend starting from finding out the destination country legal requirements for document preparation. You can do it by contacting a consulate or seek for an assistance of reputable Apostille Agency which also offers certified translation services. Then you may contact the Secretary of State for each document you have or let an apostille company do it on your behalf. You may even need to contact the embassy for your destination country to find out what they can do for you. Once you get the information, it is time to go to work obtaining and legalizing documents or letting expert process with your document legalization. Keep in mind that each document requires individual approach; because there are different types of legalization processes which are determined by the type of the document required the legalization.

Obtaining certified copies and legalizing documents will be one of the most time consuming moments of your entire overseas planning. If you are inexperienced at it, you can expect to spend weeks or months doing so. I have had foreign and American clients who simply threw up their hands and gave up on their dreams of moving overseas after trying to deal with a particular consulate on their own and without professional assistance. Despite being very patient and uncomplaining, they simply did not have what it takes to get the job accomplished.

Patience and due diligence is the key to this phase of your new life in a country of your dreams. If you are not task oriented, you may find this part of your move very frustrating. The consequences for not getting things done correctly can be very time consuming and cost your additional money and efforts.

Apostille: dealing with a Secretary of State

The employees of the local and the U.S. Secretary of State offices across the country are in general very patient and willing to help citizens. However, they will provide you with sufficient explanation and give your directive on where to go and what to do only once. They realize that you are spending a lot of time and money for a good reason; however, they have many customers just like you whom they have to give their hand as well. Thus, if you doubt that you’ve understood what was said to you, it is wise to check the information once again by making additional search. Otherwise, you risk processing the documents incorrectly.

The Secretary of State issues Apostilles and Authentication Certificates. What are an Apostille and Authentication Certificate you wonder? They are attached to your original documents in order to make your documents legally acceptable in the country of your destination. They are in fact an extra piece of paper with official seals and signatures that is stapled, glued or otherwise affixed to your document. In order to verify if a document requires an Apostille or Certificate, all of the Secretary of State offices require that you name them the country the document is intended to be used in. That is an overall pretty simple requirement and it should take 3-5 business days on average to get your documents processed (excluding mailing time).

Other requirements and procedures vary depending on the state. Do the original documents need to be notarized first? What types of documents are accepted for Apostille? Do you need to include a prepaid return envelope with your documents and which courier companies do they work with? All of the questions mentioned above should be answered.
Once you get all of the answers, obtain and prepare the documents for the Secretary of State, you are ready to get the Apostille or Certificate. You will repeat this procedure for each state necessary. In other words, if your marriage certificate comes from California but birth certificates come from Nevada, you will need to contact both states and meet each state’s requirements.

Document legalization in the U.S. Department of State

In some cases, you will need to get documents such as FBI Background check Certificate, educational documents, Social Security letters, government pensions, etc. legalized or Apostilled in the U.S. Department of State (not to be mistaken with the Secretary of State office!) for use abroad. These documents cannot be processed by a Secretary of State office as these documents are federal, not state. Individual states can only process documents issued by competent authorities or officials in their state. As it was mentioned previously, if your document is federal, you will need to contact the Office of Authentications in the U.S. Department of State. The procedure and requirements should be pretty close to that of the states but you need to contact them to double check.

Consulates and Embassies

Most of consulates and embassies’ employees are friendly and supportive. However, every once in a while you will find one that is difficult to get a hold of by phone, email or both. It’s real important to make sure you ask for the right services and explain your inquiry clearly. The consulates should not be relied upon solely to be up to date on requirements for visas, residency and nationality. I understand this sounds unbelievable but they are often times the last to hear about changes within immigration law. Also, I have known consulates to not even be aware of all of the services they are required to perform. For example, a consulate was not aware that they provide certified letters summarizing Social Security benefits. They had to be provided with a sample letter by another consulate just to prove that they were supposed to do this job.

The services that consulates perform consist of legalization of documents, issuing visas for tourists, residency, etc. They also can legalize affidavits, consents and powers of attorney (yet, for their citizens only). They work as a hybrid of a notary and a law firm at times. Depending on the country and even the particular consulate, they will perform a wide variety of tasks.
Like understanding a legalization of documents by a Secretary of State, in order to get your tasks completed in a foreign consulate, you need to know how their procedures work and what requirements they have established. Processing times for the consulates can vary widely but generally should be a few business days for most of service provided.

Since procedures and processing times can vary, patience and understanding will take you a long way. Remain calm and professional with the staff. Also try to be respectful of their time as they work with your documents and try to assist you the best they can. Make sure you verify how much are the official fee that you need to pay and what are methods of payment.
When speaking to a consulate employee, make sure to find out if Medical Exam is needed for a visa, and if it should be legalized and translated 9in most cases, the answer will be “yes.”). You may also ask if things such as visas can be processed in the destination country after you arrive and if the requirements and processing times may be easier and faster after you arrive. This is sometimes the case. Do not assume that the same requirements exist for both the consulates and the government offices inside the country for things even as simple as a tourist visa. Do your homework.

When you do your homework, you may be worried about an issue that has become more common: criminal history. Will the country deny a visa, residency or citizenship because you were arrested for some crime back 5, 10 or more years ago? The only way to find out is to do your research. Even then, it may come down to the chief of the consular body having to consider your circumstances and make a decision on your case. I have seen some of people with criminal histories be approved for visas and even residency.

When things go right

When you have done your homework, effectively completed the legalization of documents and moved into a foreign country, you’ll benefit from the efforts invested. Moving overseas is probably one of the most stimulating, exciting, and thrilling events you have ever experienced. Learning a new language perhaps is intriguing. The difference in culture can be shocking and exciting at the same time. Assimilating can be advantageous and gainful. What should you expect? The unexpected!