Document Attestation is one of those things that you can’t ignore when you are going to another country for specific reasons. When you are moving to a foreign country, you will need to complete various documentation procedures (including personal, educational, and business) based on the reason for moving to another country. One of the most important attestations is birth certificate attestation. 

A birth certificate is a crucial document that certifies the birth of a child. It is a legal proof and representation of the ensuing registration of that birth. In simple words, it is official evidence of an individual’s birth, including the names of the parents. 

In India, birth certificate attestation can be cumbersome for you as the entire process is time-consuming and the legwork required can be taxing for individuals. Though it might sound simple to get a signature and seal from an authorized designated person/department/authority, it is not so in reality. That’s what birth certificate attestation services are for.

When Do I Need Birth Certificate Attestation?

The birth certificate attestation is usually required when you are:

• Applying to study abroad
• Applying for a family visa to travel for two or more months
• Taking your children abroad along with you

The child will need it in order to take admissions in school and colleges abroad. Therefore, the certificate needs to be attested by the state Home Department. 

What is the process of Birth Certificate Attestation in India?

The process of Birth Certificate involves SDM Attestation. SDM attestation means getting your documents attested from the Sub-Divisional Magistrate. 

The attestation is done at two levels:

• District Level
• State Level

The attestation process starts by applying for district-level verification and then for the state Home Department verification. 

Thereafter, you will need to apply for MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) attestation. After the MEA attestation and verification process is completed, the certificate will be forwarded to the embassy of the country where the candidate wants to move.

Note: If your destination country is a member of the Hague Convention, you will need apostille services rather than attestation services. 

Then, you will need MOFA attestation, which is the final step of the attestation process, to obtain a stamp from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the destination country. 

What documents are required for Birth Certificate Attestation in India?

Only a few documents are needed to complete the procedure of birth certificate attestation and they are:

• Passport copy
• Visa copy
• Photographs
• Original Certificate
• Authorization Letter

Since your personal documents are the most crucial assets, it is extremely important that you hand them over to a trusted certificate attestation service provider. Always look for companies that have record credibility and reliability. You will find birth certificate attestation service providers online. Carefully choose the one that you can bank upon. 

Most people in India hear the term “apostille” when they are planning or applying to go abroad for higher education, employment, temporary stay, permanent residency, or business expansions and setups. All these scenarios require the legalization of documents and that is unavoidable. Certificate Apostille and Document Apostille are commonly used terms and they simply mean legalization of your documents and certificates. 

Since there are several levels of verification and validation before final legalization by the central government, most people choose to hire apostille services in India to take the burden off of visiting government bodies and understanding their requirements in detail. When you can have a professional to avoid making mistakes that could delay your departure in exchange for a small fee, it makes more sense to not indulge in this complicated process all alone.                                  

However, it always pays off to have knowledge about what you are supposed to do. So, let’s discuss apostille services in detail. 

What is Apostille?

An apostille is a process of proving the authenticity and credibility of a document and it involves obtaining an apostille stamp on your documents and certificates from the concerned authority. It is computer-generated with a unique identification number which is applied to the back of the document. Doing this helps in maintaining the record online and thus, allows the concerned authorities of a foreign country to check the authenticity of documents in a more convenient manner. 

With Document and Certificate Apostille, your documents are made admissible in any country that is a part of the Hague Convention. In India, a sticker from the Ministry of External Affairs is put on the back of the document and then a stamp is added on the sticker in a way that it is partially on the sticker and partially on the paper. 

Once you complete the apostille process of your documents and certificates, there is usually no need for any added certification in the Embassy. 

Apostille is a mandatory requirement for all countries that are members of the Hague Convention. 

What is the Hague Convention?

Also called the Apostille Hague Convention or Apostille Convention, the Hague Convention was signed on 5th October 1961 in Luxembourg. However, it came into effect from 14th January 1965. This convention was signed to abolish the necessity of the legalization of documents and certificates so that people can move from one country to another freely. When you obtain an apostille on documents, you don’t need to get the same for another signatory country. This convention has brought various trade barriers down and increased accessibility through nations. 

The Hague Convention includes about 116 countries and you need an apostille for only these countries. Some of these countries are France, Japan, Hong Kong, Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada, Belgium, Brazil, Costa Rica, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Norway, Thailand, Turkey, the USA, and the UK. 

Thus, it’s important to check whether the country you are planning to go to is a member of the Hague Convention or not. If not, you should hire attestation services. Otherwise, you should seek reliable apostille services in India. 

Whether you are traveling abroad for job opportunities or higher studies, the one important thing that you cannot miss out in your planning is certificate attestation. For most countries, your visa is accepted and entry is granted only if all the documents are attested. Attestation proves that your documents are genuine and different authorities have approved them. Not just for visa processing, an attested document helps you even after landing on the foreign land.

The attestation procedure has a defined model, but sometimes it changes based on the country you are travelling. Most countries have their requirements that are very important for you to fulfil. A few legal authorities through which documents undergo are State Government, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), HRD, and Embassy of the respective country, and so on.  

The entire process of certificate attestation is very tough because you will need a lot of physical effort to run around the Government Authorities. And if you commit a mistake, everything will spoil in a minute. So, to ensure everything goes perfect, you should hire an expert providing quality certificate attestation services.

But, how will you do it?

To ease the selection of a certificate attestation service provider, we have mentioned the 5 tips for you:

Research on service rates

It’s not a brainer to spend your hard-earned money without doing any research. You should check online and find out the prices of the services offered by different companies. The right way to analyse the rates is by asking for the price quote from the shortlisted companies. You should compare the services and prices charged for the same. But, don’t fall for the cheap-priced service certificate attestation services.

Real-time Checking facilities

We already mentioned in the beginning that documents go through different government authorities to complete the attestation process. So the company should have real-time checking facilities. With the help of this, you will stay updated with the position of your papers and the progress of the attestation. If the facility is not available, you will know nothing about your documents until the process is complete. Lack of the facility can even delay the process.

Knowledgeable customer care support

Along with the professional experts, the company should also have a dedicated and knowledgeable customer care support department. The customer support staff should be available 24/7 to attend and clear all your doubts. It’s because questions and queries can come any time and you would look out for immediate solutions.

Data Confidentiality and security

At the time of certificate attestation, you will have to submit all your confidential and original documents to the service providers. It’s because the government authorities verify the details from the original certificate before they sign and stamp. So, you should inquire about how the documents are handled in the company. You should know the safety protocols followed in the company before hiring the service.

Taking these tips into consideration, we are sure you will select the suitable certificate attestation service provider. Just remember, if certificate attestation is done right, nothing will go wrong before or during your journey.

Equivalency certificate or Equalization of studies from a country other than the UAE is the process by which Ministry of Education in UAE officially validate a degree and acknowledge the studies to be equal to UAE standard. It typically involves attestations in the home country of the certificate and the destination country (in our case UAE) finally the review by equivalency committee after which the certificate of Equivalency is issued from the Ministry of education, UAE.

It is imperative to follow the procedure as:

• Attestation of documents
• Applying for Genuinity letter (if certificates are from India, All Asian and African countries) from the Indian embassy (in the case of Indian certificates)
• Applying for equivalency certificate online via the Ministry of Education website.

Globo Prime can assist with:

• Attestation of all relevant certificates from home country
• Attestation of relevant certificates from Ministry of Foreign Affairs in UAE
• Apply for equivalency on behalf of client via the MOE website

What are the documents required to apply for an equivalency certificate in the UAE?

1.  Degree / Diploma certificate qualification to be equalized  properly attested (attested by the SDM/HRD then ministry of external affairs at the home country of the qualification and the UAE embassy there and finally UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
2. Degree transcript of records for the qualification to be equalized properly attested by the ministry of exteranl afairs  at the country issuing the qualification and the UAE embassy there  and finally the UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs attestation.
3. The original passport  copy and a proof of residence visa copy if you completed your degree/diploma from abroad yuu must submit entry and exit seals for the country where the applicant studied, a copy of the Identity card (for non-citizens).
4. The original equivalency should be attached along with a copy of it by the competent authorities in the country where the qualification is granted if this country’s system so requires
5. A copy of the applicant ID card copy.
6. Legal translation of the educational certificates if issued in any language other than  English or Arabic.
7. The original delegation letter for delegated students, showing the certificate title, the name of the university, the target country, the date of commencement and end of delegation and the system of study
8. The original letter of the embassy of the country issuing the qualification with the academic institution’s reply indicating: the authenticity of the qualification, the applicable study approach and whether the qualification issuer is certified (the department does the correspondence in case the embassy’s letter doesn’t cover all required information, or if the embassy of the country of study doesn’t issue such document)
9. A transcript record of transferred hours for each institution independently (where applicable) and a copy thereof, attaching the original letter of the embassy of the country issuing this transcript record with the academic institution’s reply indicating: the authenticity of the course, the applicable study approach and whether the transcript issuer is certified.
10. ) The non-Arab high school certificate should be equalized by the UAE Ministry of Education, and the high school certificate issued by private schools inside the UAE should be equalized or attested by the relevant districts. (Holders of academic qualifications granted 20 years before the submission of the high school certificate or equivalent will be exempted, unless necessary, of this condition when applying for equivalency).

Ministry of External Affairs is a government commission responsible for India’s foreign relations. It is the third step for Certificate MEA Attestation. The MEA attestation of personal documents is performed after verification from the state home department. The Certificate is further submitted to MEA to verify the Certificate MEA Attestation issued from any state in India is genuine.

Generally, MEA takes 1–2 days for MEA Certificate Attestation.

This central government department deals with external affairs that are related to outside countries. When anyone looking for any legalization process in India at that time it is mandatory to verify your documents and certificates from ministry. This document authentication process is necessary to prove the credibility and genuinity of your documents.

Ministry of External Affairs is an expansion of MEA, it is a government ministry functioning for maintaining the diplomacy of the country. MEA ministry is headed by an elected minister and the government authority is the responsible authority of appointing the MEA minister. Ministry Of External Affairs (MEA) is a synonymous term of Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), it will accomplish all foreign related matters of the country. A certification provided by the MEA ministry is known as MEA Attestation, which will increase the prominence of the certificate inside the country. This Attestation is needed at the ending stage of attestation process. MOFA attestation is an integral part of every international communication, this legalization is required for every type of certification such as Attestation and Apostille. Ministry of Foreign Affairs Attestation is provided for every type of documents and original Xerox copy of certificate is needed for obtaining MOFA attestation.

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) attestation MEA from Global Attestation Service is essential for verifying your documents to use abroad. MEA Attestation is required for all educational and non-educational documents.

HRD Attestation is the process of verifying educational documents The home department  office is headed by a principal secretary

It is an inside service primarily liable for the support of inner security and local arrangement.

For reasons for verification of records, the HRD service designated the obligation to the particular Home Departments of each state after 2005.

HRD attestation process is obligatory for advanced educational purposes.

A portion of the fundamental purposes behind in acquiring a Home Department verification are recorded underneath.

Document required for HRD attestation:

• Original Degree
  • Marksheet copy
  • Passport photo copies
  • Passport size photo -2

In case you miss any single ID proof, you have to face major difficulty so you need to carry the complete document with you and complete the attestation services. We have the same attestation services in Bangalore where we provide the complete attestation for entire documents such as marriage certification, Birth certification, education certification, Commercial document attestation, non-educational certificate, and other documents attestation.

Home Department validation is required for the most part for universal employment purposes

Movement reason for existing is another point of this verification

Global understudies acquire this nation of origin authentication for advanced educational purposes.

Home division authentication is a basic and introductory advance of certificate validation.

Every one of the archives implied for authentication/apostille must be validated by the home office.

Out of this 80% of the reports are validated by the Maharashtra Home Department.

The fundamental explanation behind this being Mantralaya has been a point for confirmation from the earliest starting point.

The straightforwardness and agreeableness of Mantralaya authentication at numerous consulates settle on it a well-known decision

Embassy attestation is the final process of document attestation which is required to legalize your documents before producing in other countries when you travel abroad for different purposes. It is done by the respective embassy /consulates in your country and is followed after the state attestation and MEA attestation. That means during the document attestation process, your document should be first attested from the respective sate Home department of the issuing state and then followed by MEA (Ministry of External Affairs) attestation before it can be attested by the embassy.

Document attestation is an essential process for scrutinizing the authenticity of a document to prove your document’s legitimacy in a foreign country. Depending on your purpose of visit, you need embassy attestation services for your essential documents such as birth certificate, education certificate, marriage certificate, professional documents, or any other for legal and official purposes. It depends on the type of visa you are applying for.

Why is it required?

Authentication of the legality of your document is required so that it could be accepted in a foreign country when you are applying for a visa. Your visa will be issued only when your documents have been verified by the respective officials. After the embassy attestation process, your documents will be attached with the sign and stamps to authenticate the credibility and validity of the documents.

Embassy attestation of respective documents is required when you are moving or migrating to another country for different reasons. This is a part of your visa application where you need to submit some mandatory documents depending on your visa type and purpose of visit. It legalizes your documents for the stay in a foreign country. Here’re some of the most common documents that you need to get attested from the respective embassy for your visa application:

• You need to produce your birth/marriage certificate when moving to a foreign country to live with your family/spouse on a family/resident visa.
• You need embassy attestation for your educational certificates if moving to a foreign country for higher education on a student visa.
• You need to get your commercial/business/experience documents or certificates if you are applying for a work or business visa.
• You will also need embassy attestation for certain medical documents if visiting a foreign country for some medical emergency.

Embassy attestation is processed by the government-approved attestation services that have expertise in doing this job. You need to find the right attestation service provider that understands rules &regulations, processing times, and alteration visa fees for different visa types in different countries. Each country has its own immigration laws and you need to follow all the visa information and processes accordingly. Any professional embassy attestation service provider can help you in providing certification of your original document that you will need at the time visa application and to live in a foreign country legally.

With increasing transnational marriages these days, a single certificate has become an important document for the people traveling abroad. For India, the number is a bit high because over 15 million Indians are settled abroad who might end up marrying in or from other countries. A single certificate specifies one’s marital status as per the judiciary laws of the country. It’s a statement stating that a person is single or has no dependent from any previous marriage.

Having a plain statement stating the marital status is not valid when traveling abroad; the certificate should be attested in India. Single certificate attestation services in Chennai are important to legalize the document and increase its authenticity by the state government. With this, it will be acceptable in every country (if all the rules are followed).

Further, in this blog, we will discuss the issuing authorities under in India, the process of applying, and the documents required.

The Issuing authorities in India 

 In India, there is no particular authority to attest to a single certificate. But there is a process that every individual has to follow for the legalization of the document. The complete attestations service involves 4 major departments.

Notary– A affidavit is drawn up by a notary to start the attestation process. The officials at the notary verify the authenticity of the documents followed by stamps and signs accordingly. If they the suspicious, the document will not move to another step.

Sub-divisional Magistrate or SDM– Also known as the Home department, it’s the head authority of the district subdivision. The certificate signed and stamped in notary is brought here. The officials verify the affidavit and put the stamp stating certificate attestation is valid.

Ministry of External Affairs or MEA– It’s the top-most authority in the certificate attestation process. If the MEA is satisfied and has placed the stamp on the certificate, it means the statement is authorized by the home government (India).

Embassy- Whichever country the applicant is planning to travel, the document will go for respective Embassy approval. Embassy approval is optional. If the country wants, the certificate will go to the embassy after MEA approval otherwise no need.

The process of applying for the certificate attestation 

The two ways of applying for the certificate attestation are:

 Applicants themselves or their blood relatives

 In case the family members are applying for the attestation, they must have approval and permit to perform the process. It can be in the form of Power of Attorney or any other legal statements. The applicant or the family members have to start the process by preparing and submitting an affidavit along with proof of documents. After that, the certificate will move to SDM followed by MEA stamping and Embassy approval (if required).  

Hiring an attestation service provider 

 If the applicants or their family members are unable to process the certificate attestation, they can take help from professionals by hiring attestation services. The attestation experts or consultants will prepare the draft and the applicants have to only submit the required documents. They will get the certificate attested from the departments.

Documents Required

• For single certificate attestation, the applicants need the following documents:
• An affidavit stating that the applicant is single along with all the personal details
• Any address proof like bank passbook, Voter ID, Aadhar Card, etc. to show that the applicant is the resident at the mentioned address in the affidavit.
• A valid passport or visa
• Any documents like birth certificate, school certificate, etc. showing applicant’s date of birth.
• A letter from applicants’ parents stating they are single. Also, the identity cards of parents.

If the applicant was married before, they need to produce the following documents:

• Divorce documents if legally divorced
• Death certificate if the former spouse died

So, we hope this short yet useful post will help the applicants in a single certificate attestation process in India.