Legalisation of documents

What is legalisation?

Foreign documents must be legalised to determine whether they can be used by the Dutch authorities. Legalising a foreign document means checking that it was issued by the competent authorities. Legalisation says nothing about the document’s contents.

Legalisation takes place at a Dutch mission in the document’s country of origin. Before a document can be legalised, any stamps and signatures it bears must be checked. Checks are also carried out to make sure that the document is not forged or falsified. If there are any doubts about the authenticity of the document, the signature or the stamps, the document cannot be legalised and further checks will be made, which can take several weeks. If it is established that the document is forged or falsified or has been fraudulently obtained, it will be confiscated and sent to the competent authorities. It is not possible to lodge an objection against this.

Legalising a document does not mean that it will automatically be accepted by Dutch decision-making bodies (e.g. municipalities and the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND)). They may wish to obtain further information about the document from the Dutch mission. The decision-making body can use this information to decide whether the legal facts stated in the document are genuine. Decisions on whether, for example, you are eligible for a residence permit or whether your details will be entered in the municipal personal records database (Gemeentelijke Basisadministratie) will be made in the Netherlands and will be based, in part, on the legalised document and any further investigation. You may lodge an objection against a negative decision. The decision-making body will inform you about the objection procedure.

Foreign documents must be legalised by:

• the authorities in the country of origin of the document
  
• a Dutch Embassy or consulate in the country of origin of the document
  

Dutch documents to be used in a foreign procedure must be legalised by

• the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  
• the Embassy or consulate of the destination country in the Netherlands
  

Foreign documents of Dutch nationals to be used in a third country, must be legalised by:

• the authorities of the country of origin of the document
  
• the Embassy of the third country in the country of origin of the document
  

Conditions

1. The document must be meant for use in the Netherlands
   Chinese or Mongolian documents from Dutch nationals to be used in third countries, must be legalised by the Embassy of that third country in China or Mongolia respectively.
   Documents originating in third countries, of Dutch nationals, and meant for use in China or Mongolia, must be legalised by the Chinese or Mongolian Embassy respectively in that third country.
2. Duration of validity of the documents:
   The Dutch Embassy and consulates make no demands regarding the age of documents, but do follow requirements of the Dutch authorities involved. Dutch authorities usually don't accept documents older than 6 months. It is your own responsibility to request information from the relevant Dutch authority about requirements regarding the age of document.
   If you insist a document older than 6 months be legalised, you will need to do so in writing and by signing for the request.

   For good measure: this refers to the date of issuance of the document, NOT the registration date of the judicial decision.

   We can not comply with requests to apply a recent stamp to older documents that have been legalised before. Adding new stamps to the document will not add value.

   Please note: Foreign authorities may have stricter requirements regarding the age of the document. In any case the foreign legalisation must be completed before the Dutch Embassy or consulate can legalise the document.
   disclaimer: no rights can be derived from this information

   2010