Document Legalisation Service in Singapore is the formal attestation of a document’s origin to legalize it, which is the act of authenticating or certifying a legal document so that a foreign country’s legal system would recognize it as having full legal effect. Consequently, the other country’s Embassy in Singapore would legalize a document signed in Singapore for use in that country, and the Singaporean Embassy in that country would do the same for a document signed in that country for use in Singapore. For usage outside of Singapore, you need legalization services for papers issued there.
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The three stages you must follow to get papers legalized in Singapore are listed below.
Step 1:
To issue a notarized certificate for the original document, see a lawyer or notary public in Singapore.
Step 2:
It is to have the Singapore Academy of Law authenticate the notarized document.
Step 3:
Has the paper legalized at the appropriate Embassy as the last step (e.g., the Embassy of Italy in Singapore).
How long does it take to become legal?
It takes the procedure around 5-7 working days. However, the lead time is liable to alter depending on how quickly each Embassy endorses the paperwork.
What kinds of papers are eligible for legalization?
You can legalize the majority of Singaporean papers. The list that follows is not exhaustive. You can choose the most popular papers you have handled in the past. Some of them are listed below.
- Awards, diplomas, degrees & transcripts are issued by Educational Institutions located in Singapore.
- Personal Documents
- Birth certificate.
- Bank statements.
- Death certificate.
- Marriage certificate.
- Passport, IC.
- Clearance certificate issued by Singapore Police Force.
- Deed Polls signed by a solicitor.
- Employment confirmation letter.
- Share certificates.
- Financial statements.
- Legal opinion
- Power of Attorney & letters of authorization (witnessed by a solicitor or notary).
- Residential address proof documents such as utility, electricity, or mobile phone bills.
- Company Documents.
- Director/shareholder resolutions.
- Price list.
- Business profile.
- Business profile with a certificate of production.
- Certificate of incorporation.
- Constitution.
Can you certify the legality of papers that must use in a nation whose Embassy is not in Singapore?
No. Only papers intended for use in a foreign nation with an embassy in Singapore may be legalized. It is not necessary for you to manually legalize the document. It could be done for you by someone else. It’s not required to give that individual permission to do it.
Document legalization.
Singapore’s authorized competent authority for the legalization/apostillation of papers in Singapore for use abroad is the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL). You can visit the SAL website for further information on the steps and processes.
What is the legalization of documents?
Legalization renders papers acceptable for use overseas. However, there are frequently numerous phases in the procedure. In addition, legalized documents include court orders, diplomas, and certificates of achievement.
Legalization indicates:
A legitimate authority created it.
The document’s signature, seal, or stamp is genuine.
The format of the document is proper.
Legalization does not guarantee the accuracy of a document’s content. The authority requesting the document is responsible for verifying this.
Legalization by apostillation
You may get your paper apostille-legalized in a lot of nations. This legalization process has been streamlined. A legalizing stamp or sticker, known as an “apostille,” is applied to the document by a government representative in nation A. There are no additional actions required after this. The document is acceptable for use in all nations that have ratified the Apostille Convention.
Legalization without an apostille
Legalization typically entails two phases if neither of the two nations involved in your legalization is signatories to the Apostille Convention:
Step 1:
An authority in Country A verifies the signature of the pertinent official Authority in Country A. It is often done by Country A’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A stamp or sticker is applied to the document after approval. It demonstrates to Country B that a legitimate authority in Country A issued the paper.
Step 2:
Using a stamp or sticker, Country B verifies and legalizes the document. An embassy, consulate general, or honorary consulate of Country B in Country A performs this. You could use the document in Country B after it has been legalized.
Legalization is not always essential.
Legalization is not required if Country A and Country B have an agreement exempting your kind of document. If so, you might use your document without having it legalized in Country B. Additionally, some nations have reciprocal arrangements. For instance, public papers published in one EU member state and used in another do not require legalization under the EU Regulation on Public Documents.
Legalization is not always possible.
Sometimes, legalization is not possible in a given country. For instance, because of war or conflict in Country A. Or because no authorities can check the document. If so, the authorities in Country B will check and assess the document.