Apostille for Temporary Residence Permit Abroad: A Guide for Indian Citizens
- UPDATED A MONTH AGO
Apostille for temporary residence permit is a service usually required for Indian citizens applying for a temporary residence permit(TRP) in a foreign country. As part of your TRP application you may need to submit your personal documents issued in India with an apostille to legalize them in a Hague country. Let us explore in detail about the document attestation process for temporary residence permit application.
4 Simple steps to get MEA Apostille on your Documents
- Register on Apostille Portal
- Collect all Documents you want to Apostille
- Submit the Original / Photocopies of documents
- Receive Documents with Apostille Directly to your home
What is a Temporary Residence Permit?
A temporary residence permit allows a foreign national to stay in a country for a specific time period. Following are the purposes for which a country usually provides a temporary residence permit to foreign nationals:
- Work
- Study
- Family Reunification
- Business
Why Do You Need an Apostille for a Temporary Residence Permit?
An apostille is a certificate issued by the ministry of external affairs India as per the conditions of Hague Convention on Apostille. This is required because for countries where your documents are submitted for TRP application, your documents are foreign public documents. There is no guarantee for them about the authenticity of your documents. Earlier, you need to get an attestation from the destination country’s embassy situated in India to legalize your documents abroad. However, since Hague convention member countries only need an apostille on your documents to legalize foreign documents.
Documents that Require an Apostille for Temporary Residence Permit
Documents that require an apostille for TRP may vary from country to country. However, following are the documents that usually need to be apostille for TRP:
Personal Documents
- Birth certificate apostille as a proof of age
- Marriage certificate Apostille if applying as a dependent spouse
- Police clearance certificate
- Medical certificate Apostille to confirm health and fitness
Educational Documents
For study or work related TRP applications, you may need to submit some of the educational documents. They are:
Financial and Employment Documents
- Bank statements Apostille to prove financial stability
- Work contracts or Appointment letters with apostille for work related TRP applications
Country Specific Requirements
- For work or study visa related TRP applications in Canada, PCC and medical examination reports are mandatory.
- Germany mandates obtaining educational certificates apostille for work and study related TRP.
- UAE requires notarized and apostilled employment contracts for work TRP.
- Australia often requires proof of funds such as bank account statements for TRP.
How to Get an Apostille from MEA India for TRP?
Apostille stamps for Indian issued documents are obtained from the ministry of external affairs located in Delhi. However,there are certain verification and attestation procedures to follow before submitting documents to the ministry of external affairs. Mainly, there are two methods of verification to get an apostille for personal documents including education. They are:
The SDM method is a court verification procedure. On the other hand, the state attestation method is the verification of documents at their origin. Apostille received after obtaining state attestation and SDM attestation are equally valid. However, some countries such as Italy mandates obtaining attestation from state departments. Unless specified by your destination country, following the SDM method is the best option because it is cheaper and faster.
Given below are the steps involved in the apostille for temporary residence permit:
- Notarization
- SDM/State Attestation
- MEA Verification and Apostille
Let us explore each step in detail:
1.Notarization
Notarization is a step common to both methods of verification. Your apostille service provider will do this step. They will submit your documents to a public notary who is an authorized person to check document authenticity. Notary verifies and attests your documents.
2.SDM/State Department Attestation
SDM Attestation: If you are following SDM method, your apostille service provider will submit your documents to the sub divisional magistrate. SDM also conducts a verification of its originality and authenticity. Then, SDM will attest your documents with seal and signature.
State Attestation: State attestation will happen at the state where documents were issued. The departments of state involved in the attestation process are state home department and state HRD department.
The state home department will verify and attest personal documents such as birth and marriage certificates. The secretary of the district will conduct verification on behalf of the home department. They will verify whether the signature and seal on the document are original.
The State HRD department will conduct verification of the educational certificates such as degree certificates. They will check with the concerned university to verify the authenticity of the sign and signed authority. Then, the ministry will attest on the backside of the document.
3. MEA Verification and Apostille.
In this final stage your apostille service provider will submit your documents to the ministry of external affairs. The Ministry will also conduct a verification. In rare cases ministerial verification may take more time. After verification the MEA pastes an apostille stamp on the backside of your document. Now your documents are legally valid documents in any Hague country.
Obtaining an apostille for Temporary Residence Permit on the documents are essential steps for Indian citizens planning to live abroad. Proper authentication makes sure that your application for TRP is processed smoothly without any possible rejections. Consulting a ministry approved apostille service provider will streamline the process and make sure your documents are ready as per the conditions of a foreign country.
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Frequently asked questions
No. If you are applying for a temporary residence permit in a non Hague country such as UAE, you need to get embassy attestation instead of apostille.
An apostille in India will take from 4 days to 14 days depending on various factors. However, if you want to get state attestation it may take up to 30 days.
The cost of an apostille may vary depending on the following factors:
- Type of documents
- Number of documents
- Method of authentication
- Choice of service (Normal, fast and Premium tatkal)
The immigration authority from the Hague country will reject your application, if you have not obtained an apostille on your documents. This may cause delay in your temporary residence permit application.