Everything you need to know about MEA Apostille Services

When you need Apostille Attestation?

When you are relocating or migrating overseas, you need to have an apostille for various documents. This is an attestation from MEA or the Ministry of External Affairs on your documents. This legalizes your documents so that they are accepted abroad. Understandably, such terms and requirements can get intimidating. But, these are all standard procedures that you need to go through to go overseas.

MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) MEA Apostille services include attestation of public documents for use abroad that are parties to the Apostille Convention. This process involves verifying the authenticity of the document and attaching the Apostille Certificate to it. The Apostille certificate verifies the origin and authenticity of the document and ensures that it is recognized as a legal document in the country where it is being used.

Therefore, in this article, we will be quickly going through everything related to MEA attestation services to have a good idea about what it is, what you need to do to get it done, and how it is done. If you are ready, let us start!

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA):

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is the top and the only Government Agency to issue all kinds of MEA apostille and Attestation in India. Most countries demand MEA document apostille or attestation. The Ministry of External Affairs is responsible for representing the Government of India through its embassies in different countries and at the United Nations. The document apostille and document attestation are done in India by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Government of India, New Delhi which validates the documents and further use of the document in India and abroad. MEA Attests the documents or MEA approves the document by issuing an apostille sticker as per the requirement of the country the applicant is migrating too.

Types of Attestation:

Before we begin, we first need to understand that various types of attestations are available. The Ministry of External Affairs offers you two types of attestation. You may choose the one that suits your needs the best(1).

MEA Apostille of documents:

Since 2005, India was awarded member of the Hague convention nations which do not require foreign public document legalization. However, an apostille is required on documents issued in India such as birth, marriage, or death certificates—the power of Attorneys, Affidavits, educational documents, etc. An apostille certificate which is done by the Ministry of External Affairs MEA is a certification used to confirm the authenticity of documents issued by the Government of any State, Union territory or Central Government to be legally used in countries that are part of the Hague Convention.

MEA Apostille Procedure:

The MEA Apostille procedure includes Document Authentification, verification by attestation from the concerned authority such as a notary public, State Govt. or HRD depending on the type of document. As soon as the document is verified and attested documents are submitted to the Authorised Representatives appointed by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) who provide MEA Apostille services. Going further the MEA checks for the authenticity of the attestation done by the concerned departments and officials. Post authenticity check and verification MEA issues the Apostille which is a sticker attached to the document indicating that it has been verified and can be accepted by Hague convention nations.

Attestation of documents:

The countries which are not part of the Hague convention(2) apostille is not accepted and requires formal verification of all documents. In the countries wherein the document, an apostille is not accepted the MEA provides an attestation service for the same and MEA attested document serves the purpose of verifying the authenticity of the issued document. MEA Attestation is required in any document of Indian origin so that the same can be utilised abroad. The document attestation process is possible on any document of Indian origin.

MEA Attestation procedure:

Mentioning, in brief, the MEA Attestation Procedure. Firstly all the original documents that are to be attested by MEA are first to be verified by the Authority of the Issuing State Government. Going further Ministry of External Affairs attests to the documents on the basis of the requirement of the country and document verification done by the authorities of the State Government, Union Territory or Trade chamber.

You can either use the online service of e-sanad or do it offline so that the current status can be tracked. The original documents are to be submitted straight to the MEA Approved Apostille(3) and Attestation Agencies for MEA Attestation services along with a copy of the document and a photocopy of the Passport of the candidate. The MEA will not verify and legalise the documents if it is not submitted as per the requirements as informed. There are third-party outsourced agencies for apostille and attestation as the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will not accept the documents from the candidate directly.

Important note:

WEF July 2012, no document will be directly accepted at the Ministry of External Affairs, New Delhi from the clients. The original document/true copy is to be submitted to any of the outsourced agencies for MEA apostille services along with a photocopy of the document to be apostilled and a photocopy of the Passport of the applicant. Please note that Ministry does not legalize photocopies of documents. 

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How Can Worldwide Transcripts Help In Obtaining MEA Apostille or MEA Certificate Attestation?

Worldwide Transcripts is an organisation accompanied by a group of professionals who works in a way that helps individuals obtain various documents as and when needed. A team of experts deals with the Government Department to obtain the necessary attestation or apostille from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). We are a premier document verification agency in India offering proficient assistance in the service area of Attestation, Apostille, and Embassy Legalization on your Personal, Educational, and Commercial documents through our committed team members while providing transparent, fast, and excellent client support.

Worldwide Transcripts being a client-centric organisation, and our endeavour is to offer the best possible service and assistance to our clients.

If you are planning to go abroad and need your Apostille documents, then do not worry about how to get them done or where to get them done. Simply contact Worldwide Transcripts at +919340899870 and leave everything to us. Fill in the form with the required information and submit your requirement. Once we get your request, our service experts will guide you on how to process your Apostille and Attestation application.

Conclusion

Unlike earlier times, when the MEA Apostille or MEA Attestation of documents was complicated, time-consuming and required the help of agents, the MEA Apostille procedure or MEA Certificate Attestation in India has become much easier now. There are MEA Approved Apostille and Attestation service providers who are third-party service providers  that can deliver your Apostille or attestation of documents on time and with minimum effort. The process is cost-effective and application status can be easily tracked via them. The cost and duration of Apostille and Attestation vary as it depends on the type of documents to be Apostilled or Attested, public holidays in between and other internal factors.

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What is an Apostille Certificate?
An apostille certificate is a legal certification that is used to confirm the authenticity of public documents for use in foreign countries. Apostille is accepted in nations listed under the Hague convention.

What is document Attestation?
Document attestation is to certify the authenticity of the document issues is true and genuine. Document attestation applied to countries, not in the Hague Convention nations list.

What documents can be apostilled?
Documents that can be apostilled include birth certificates, marriage certificates, educational documents, commercial documents, and other public documents issued by a government authority.

How to get an Apostille Certificate?
To get an apostille certificate, you need to submit the document to the authorized authority in the country where it was issued, which in India is the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) or its designated authorities.

What is the procedure for MEA Apostille Services in India?
The process for MEA Apostille Services in India involves attestation verification of the document issued by the state government and post that it is checked and verified by MEA and then ht eMEA issues apostille for the required document.

1. “Ministry of External Affairs” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ministry_of_External_Affairs_(India)
2. “Hague Convention” – https://www.hcch.net/en/instruments/conventions/full-text/?cid=41
3. “Apostille” – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostille_Convention