Why apostille a medical exam
You just got accepted at a foreign university, or perhaps you plan to lecture there. A great job just opened up in a country you’ve always wanted to visit. Maybe, you just want to go on an extended vacation and spend extended time in several countries during your trip. This sounds terribly exciting, but for many Americans who are used to crossing state borders at will, international study, work, and travel can have some frustrating and confusing prerequisites.
Perhaps the least understood of all travel requirements is the medical exam. Before issuing student or work visas, or even visitor visas in excess of six months, most countries are going to require a medical exam showing that you do not have a contagious disease and are not suffering from a chronic illness that may put you in their hospitals. Some jobs require an exam no matter how long you will be there. Many countries now require a physical exam if you have traveled to countries with high disease rates in the previous year, even if you do not typically require a visa for travel.
What does a medical exam include
A typical medical examination includes a medical history review, physical examination of the eyes, ears, nose and throat, extremities, heart, lungs, abdomen, lymph nodes, skin and external genitalia, a chest X-ray and blood test for HIV and syphilis. You will often find yourself tested again once you arrive in your new destination, but without the proper paperwork, you won’t get the visa to go there in the first place. Relax, it’s all part of the expatriate experience.
You’ve had your physical exam, all is good, right? No, to be accepted overseas, your medical exam will need to be authenticated, and the authentication process varies depending on the country or countries in which you will be visiting. All authentications start with obtaining certified or notarized copies of the exam reports.
Apostille process for Medical Exam Forms
Once you receive your notarized copies, member countries of the Hague Convention of 1961 (currently 80 countries, 79 states, and one Regional Economic Integration Organization) require a stamp of authenticity known as a “document apostille”. Other countries require a Certificate of Authenticity from the U.S. Office of Authentications or U.S. Department of State, but may also require further stamps and seals including Consular certification by your embassy and theirs.
To obtain a medical exam apostille, you must send your certified copies to the designated Competent Authority in the state where the documents were issued and notarized. No state can apostille a document issued by another state, and the U.S. Department of State will almost never issue an apostille for any state issued documents; however, they will provide a Certificate of Authenticity if your document is not going to a Hague Convention country. Federal signatures must go to the U.S. Department of State because documents issued by the federal government or signed by a federal officer, an American Consular Officer, or a military notary or Judge Advocate go through the federal apostille process.
Medical exam certified translation
Once you receive your apostille, you will want to have it and your medical documents translated. Most countries will not consider documents “legal” unless they are written in the language of the country in which they will be presented. Accepted translations must meet stringent certification and notarization requirements.
Tight timelines (many certified documents are only considered valid for an apostille for 6 months), inconsistent application procedures, and varied requirements based on your destination country or countries just add to the frustration of the apostille and translation process. To ensure your documents are processed properly and in time, you should seriously consider using a professional apostille company. These are services you can’t afford to have performed improperly.
Why hire us to handle your medical documents
Apoling Solutions is a full-service apostille, translation, and document retrieval service familiar with international law, business regulations and the business laws of most foreign countries. Apoling Solutions understands the details and potential challenges of the medical exam apostille process, and will ensure your documents are properly legalized. This means that from one location, Apoling Solutions retrieves documents, orders certified copies, apostilles and authenticates documents, translates (over 55 countries and several English dialects), certifies translations, and expedites your documents back to you.
Once you let Apoling Solutions know your requirements, they will obtain the proper apostilles from any of the 50 U.S. states and/or the U.S. State Department depending on your needs. If you live overseas, Apoling Solutions will retrieve your documents and apostilles for you.
With Apoling Solutions, you need to contact just one agency regardless of where you live or how many document apostilles you need. Even better, you have peace of mind knowing that your documents will be legal, accepted, and not require any additional services because they are guaranteed to align with all international and domestic requirements.