When you are applying for a job or student visa, certificate attestation is required for visa approval. It is the process that legalizes and authenticates the original degree certificate, educational certificates, and other related documents that you will need to process your visa application. Your visa application will not be approved without attested certificates. It is done by government-approved attestation services where you need to provide your certificates to the authorities for attestation and stamp.
During a certificate attestation process, your documents are reviewed and scrutinized at different levels to approve their authenticity. It is done in four phases in India that involves document verification and attestation from different authorities. These four phases are: Verification from certificate issuing department or university
Before going through the actual attestation process, verification of your documents is necessary to prove their authenticity. It is mandatory to get the HRD attestation that is the next phase of certificate attestation. Verification of your documents is done from the department that issued them in the first place like institutes, universities, boards, or any other department. It is a necessary process for almost all the certificates before the HRD attestation.
HRD Attestation
After the verification process, documents are submitted to the human resource development department in the concerned state for the initial attestation. HRD attestation can be done only in the state where the documents are issued.
MEA attestation
MEA or Ministry of External Affairs Attestation is the next phase of your certificate attestation for the visa process. You will receive MEA attestation or Apostille Attestation depending on which country you are traveling to. Apostille attestation is acceptable in 104 member-countries of the Hague Convention while the normal MEA attestation is done for all other countries where apostille is not accepted.
Embassy Attestation
Once you are done with initial verification, HRD attestation, and MEA attestation, your certificates are submitted to the concerned embassy in your country for the final attestation. They will provide the official stamp and signature to attest your documents. After this, you can submit your attested documents for the visa approval process.
The certificate attestation process in India can be challenging and time-consuming where you are required to go to different departments for attestation. During the certificate attestation process, you will be asked to submit your original documents, pass copy, visa copy, photographs, and authorization letter (if required) at different stages. A government-approved attestation agency can complete the whole process on your behalf in quick time. These agencies collect your documents from your home and deliver them back to your doorsteps after the final attestation. It will help you avoid the trouble of visiting different departments to save time and energy.