2016: Brazil, Chile and Morocco – new members to the Apostille Convention

Pursuant to the Apostille Convention of October 05, 1961, any official government issued documents originating from a signatory State (country of origin) can be recognized by another member country (host country) only if an apostille is affixed on the document by the competent authorities (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Department of State, etc.) of the country of documents origin. The apostille certificate or stamp (in some countries) removes the necessity to legalize the document in the embassy or consulate in the host country where the document will be presented and used.  Affixing an apostille will, hence, be the only required formality. The apostille will confirm that the signature, seal or stamp on a public document was affixed by a public official acting under the authority of the country of origin and, thus, the document should be deemed valid and legal in any country subscribed to the Apostille Convention.

Simplifying the Process for Legalization of Documents

This year 3 more countries, Brazil, Chile and Morocco joined the Hague Convention and by now all of them have ratified the agreement, abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. This means that 3 more members are accepting documents that have been apostilled (legalized) in any country that is subscribed to the Convention, including the U.S. This treaty will make simpler the legalization of documents for expatriates from the member countries who intend to work (or currently are working), live or manage their personal or corporation affairs in Brazil, Chile and Morocco, and need to present government documents from their country of origin.

Foreign documents: Apostille for Brazil

The Hague Convention was enacted in Brazil on February 01, 2016. It became effective before all signatory countries beginning August 14, 2016.

Brazil’s accession to the Apostille Treaty significantly reduces the time and costs involved in the process that official certain documents shall undergo to produce full legal effect in the Republic of Brazil. This brings the country into line with the faster means that have been used by the countries, who are the members to the Apostille Convention, for many decades.

Before Brazil joint Hague Convention, foreign documents had to be legalized by the Brazilian consulate in the countries where the documents were executed. The procedure was commonly referred to as consularisation, replaced by Apostille obtaining procedure as the way of legalizing foreign documents meant for use in Brazil. Documents that can be apostilled are: any documents issued by public agents and official representatives of government agencies; administrative and court documents; documents produced and notarized by Notaries Public (powers of attorney, affidavits, statements, notarized copies of IRS documents, etc); and official statements enclosed in private documents; vital records; birth certificate, marriage licenses and death certificates along with their certified translations into Portuguese.  However, when it comes to the documents produced by diplomatic agents and administrative documents concerning commercial or customs transactions just legalizing by obtaining an apostille may not be sufficient: they may need certified translations into Portuguese and require registration  in Brazilian registry of titles and deeds.

Thus, if you represent a financial institution or you are a professional investor, it is wise to contact a professional agency, providing documents legalization and apostille services, to find out how to prepare the document to make it valid for Brazil.

Apostille for Morocco

Morocco has signed and implemented the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, generally known as the Apostille Convention, effective August 14, 2016. Thus, beginning the date the agreement came into the legal force in Morocco, documents issued in Morocco and certified with an Apostille no longer require legalization to be recognized by other Apostille Convention members. Similarly, documents issued by the USA or other convention countries with Apostille no longer require legalization to be used in Morocco.

It is worth to mention that the previous consular legalization procedure required citizens to complete several procedures in various legalization services before referring to embassies and consulates of foreign countries accredited in Morocco. After Morocco joint an Apostille Convention, documents destined for Morocco ONLY requires the Apostille from the Secretary of State’s office or the U.S. Department of State – Office of Authentications.

If you are currently in Morocco or another country and need help to obtain your documents, please contact us and let us know how we can help. Certain documents will require notarization prior to being certified by the State, and we’ll provide you with a valuable advice on how to prepare your document in accordance with the provisions of the international law and the Law on documents legalization of Morocco.

Apostille for Chili

After Chile deposited the instrument of Accession in December of 2015, the Apostille (Hague) Convention came into effect in Chile on August 30, 2016, along with entry into effect of Law No. 20,711 that implements the aforementioned Treaty and its Regulation (Supreme Decree No. 81 of 2015).

This will allow public documents issued in Chile to be more easily recognized as such in the Convention’s signatory countries, provided that they have been duly legalized by Apostille before the relevant competent authority. Specifically, the power to “apostille” documents in Chile is given to the Undersecretary of Justice and its Regional Secretary Offices (called “Seremis”), and in relation to specific documents, certain members of the Ministries of Education, Health, Foreign Affairs and the Civil Registry and Identification Service will exercise such powers.

The implementation of the “Apostille” involves a significant change in the legalization of public documents issued overseas or issued in Chile for their use outside the nation, which broadly speaking, presents more strengths than weaknesses; therefore, it acts in furtherance of trade and multicultural interactions between the member states, as the barriers which hinder the exchange of documents are broken down.

If after reading this article you might want to pose a question, please give us a call or send us an email. We’ll be glad to assist.