Jeddah: The cumbersome attestation procedure that annoys Indian expatriates abroad will cease soon. The existing process of attestation and legalisation of public documents is confusing, time-consuming, cumbersome and costly for most people.
In a significant development, Indians will experience a smooth and faster document authentication service in India for certificates bound for Saudi Arabia.
Soon, any legal document or certificate originated in India and duly attested by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) will be accepted by Saudi Arabia without any further authentication requirements with the Apostille system. Other member countries of the Apostille Convention are also likely to follow suit.
“The accredited agents have received a circular from the Saudi Arabian consulate in Mumbai that informs that the Apostille system has been introduced in India and does require to be attested again by the consulate”, said a noted advocate notary Abdulaziz, a leading attestation agent in Hyderabad.
“We were waiting for further information in this regard,” he added.
Till now, certificates whether educational or legal documents needed to be attested by the General Administration Department (GAD) or any relevant department in its respective state.
In terms of educational certificates, it would then be sent to the ministry of human resources development in New Delhi and would be attested by the Indian ministry of external affairs.
After finishing this multi-layer verification, the document will be attested by the Saudi Arabian Embassy or Consulate in India only then would the local authorities in Saudi Arabia accept it.
The process is time-consuming and fresh job seekers and other people who need civil documents to be attested have to wait for long periods of time.
With the new procedure of Apostille, the certificate verified by issuing authorities and authorized by the ministry of external affairs is enough.
According to a report, as part of Saudi Arabia’s vision 2030 where digital transformation and ease of doing business the country has acceded to the Convention, Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, popularly known as the “Apostille Convention”, effective from December 7, 2022.
Specifically, in accordance with Royal Decree M/40 dated 26/05/1443H (corresponding to 30/12/2021G), the country’s prior legalization requirements for foreign-issued public documents have been eliminated. With this decree, Saudi Arabia becomes the 122nd member of the Apostille Convention, joining other Gulf countries Bahrain and Oman.
The Convention of 5 October 1961, “Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents” (HCCH 1961 Apostille Convention) facilitates the use of public documents abroad.
The purpose of the Convention is to abolish the traditional requirement of legalisation, replacing the often lengthy and costly legalisation process with the issuance of a single Apostille certificate by a competent authority in the place where the document originated.
The electronic Apostille Programme (e-APP) was launched in 2006 to support the electronic issuance and verification of Apostilles around the world.
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