Apostille for Indian Citizens Seeking Naturalization Abroad
- UPDATED A MONTH AGO
For Indian citizens planning to settle abroad permanently through the naturalization process, document legalization is an essential step. Most of the countries require Indian issued documents to be legalized before submitting it for citizenship applications. Thus, the MEA India apostille for naturalization is important to legally accept your personal documents as valid ones in a Hague apostille country.
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 Apostille for Naturalization?
Apostille for naturalization refers to the legalization of Indian issued documents to apply for another country’s citizenship. Many countries including US, European countries, Canada and Australia require you to get an apostille on your documents from the ministry of external affairs, India before submitting it for the naturalization process.
Why Do You Need an Apostille for Naturalization?
When you apply for citizenship through the naturalization process in another country you may need to submit your personal certificate such as a birth certificate. However, for those countries your documents are foreign public documents. Thus, to authenticate those documents in a Hague country, you need to get an apostille from the ministry of external affairs located in Delhi. This is required because India joined the Hague apostille convention in 2004.
However, if you are applying for citizenship in a non Hague country, you need to get embassy attestation on your documents to legalize them.
Documents that Require Apostille for Naturalization
If you are an Indian citizen applying for citizenship abroad through the naturalization process, you need to get document apostille for the following documents:
- Birth Certificate Apostille as proof of age and Indian nationality. If you do not possess a birth certificate, we can produce an affidavit and get it apostilled.
- Marriage Certificate Apostille if you were married in India and applying for spousal naturalization.
- Certificate of No Impediment Apostille if you are applying for spousal naturalization, some countries may require you to submit CNI with an apostille to prove that you were single before entering into the marriage.
- Divorce Decree Apostille if you were previously married and divorced.
- Police Clearance Certificate Apostille is required for some countries to check whether you have any criminal background in India.
- An Apostille degree certificate is required in rare cases. If you are applying for citizenship through investment, you may need to submit your extensive CV along with educational documents.
- Name Change certificate if the applicant has changed their name in India.
- Adoption deed if applying for naturalization with an adopted child.
- Power of attorney apostille if a representative is handling the process on your behalf.
Process to Get an Apostille for Naturalization in India
The apostille process for Indian issued documents to apply for another country’s citizenship can be done in two different methods. Though, an apostille is obtained from MEA India located in Delhi, with the help of an apostille service provider you can get document apostille from anywhere in India or from abroad. Two different methods of authentication to obtain an apostille in India are:
Apostille received after following SDM authentication and State authentication are equally valid in a Hague nation. However, countries such as Italy may mandate obtaining an attestation from the state department before apostille attestation. Unless specified by the country where you submit the document, people generally choose the SDM authentication method. It is a cheaper and faster method of receiving an apostille.
Given below are the steps to get an apostille for naturalization process from India:
- Notarization
- SDM/ State Attestation
- MEA Verification and MEA Apostille
Let us explore each step in detail.
1..Notarization
Firstly, your apostille service provider will submit your documents to a public notary in India. A notary is an authorized official who checks the authenticity of documents. The notary attests your documents with a sign and seal after verification.
2.SDM/State Attestation
This step is the only difference in both types of authentication methods.
SDM Attestation: SDM means sub divisional magistrate. SDM also verifies the document and attest it with a seal and stamp.
State Attestation: This happens in the state where the document was issued. Two departments of the respective state involved in the process are the state home department and HRD department.
If your documents are personal such as birth and marriage certificates, the state home department will attest the document. The secretary of the district where the document was issued will conduct verification at the source. Then, the home department will attest on the document with a sign and seal.
If it is an educational document such as a degree certificate, the state HRD department will attest it. The department will verify the originality of the sign and seal on the document with the university. Then, the HRD department will attest your document.
3. MEA Verification and Apostille
After state/SDM authentication, your apostille service agency will submit your document to the ministry of external affairs. The Ministry also conducts a verification of the originality of the document and signs it. Then, the ministry will paste an apostille stamp on the backside of your document.
Now, your document with an apostille is a valid legal document in any Hague apostille country.
Cost of Apostille for Naturalization in India
The apostille fee in India vary depending on the following factors:
- Number of documents
- Type of documents
- Speed of delivery
- Authentication Method -(State/SDM)
Getting an apostille for your documents as part of your naturalization process in a foreign country is a hectic and time consuming process. However, with the help of an apostille service provider in India, you can get MEA apostille from anywhere in the world.
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Frequently asked questions
Yes. With the help of an MEA approved apostille service provider in India, you can get your document apostilled anywhere in the world.
No. For non Hague countries’ naturalization process you need to get an embassy attestation on your documents to legalize them
For the naturalization process most countries require an apostille on the original document. Apostille on photocopy may be accepted for other purposes such as work visa. However, naturalization requires apostilled original documents.
Apostille for naturalization may take from 4 days to 14 days depending on various factors. However, if you want to get an attestation from the state department, it may take up to 30 days.