Foreign Public Documents Without an Apostille? Yes, in These Cases.

In our article "When a Stamp Makes All the Difference: Why Higher Authentication Matters?", we have written about the requirement for foreign public documents to undergo so-called higher authentication, meaning they must be certified with either an apostille or a superlegalization clause, in order to be used for visa or residence permit applications in the Czech Republic.

However, the number of exceptions can make the whole issue rather difficult to navigate. So when exactly are an apostille or superlegalization not required at all?

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1. Bilateral Legal Assistance Agreements

The Czech Republic has entered into bilateral treaties on legal assistance in civil and family matters with a number of countries. Under these agreements, public documents issued in those states are recognized in the Czech Republic without any additional authentication.

One important point to keep in mind: the document must still be officially translated into Czech. It is also advisable to verify whether the exemption applies to all public documents or only to certain types. For instance, a marriage certificate may be exempt from authentication, while a criminal record extract may still require it.

The Czech Republic currently has such bilateral agreements with the following countries:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Belgium, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, France, Georgia, Croatia, Italy, Yemen, South Korea, Cuba, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, North Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Romania, Russia, Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Syria, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam.

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2. Public Documents Issued in EU Member States

Within the European Union, certain public documents are exempt from higher authentication requirements. This exemption does not apply to every type of document, but mainly to documents concerning:

• birth
• death
• marriage
• divorce
• registered partnership
• adoption
• parenthood
• nationality
• residence
• names and surnames
• certificates confirming that a person is alive
• criminal record extracts (only for nationals of the issuing state)

For example, a marriage certificate issued by German authorities does not require either an apostille or superlegalization.

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3. Documents Issued by Embassies and Consulates

Another exemption is based on the Council of Europe Convention abolishing the legalization of documents executed by diplomatic agents or consular officers (not to be confused with the European Council).

In simple terms, if a document is issued by an embassy or consulate of one contracting state within the territory of another contracting state, no further authentication is required.

This exemption applies to the following countries:

Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and Russia.

For example, a document issued by the British Embassy in the Czech Republic does not require an apostille or superlegalization.

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4. Consular Agreements with India and Turkey

A separate exemption also exists under consular agreements concluded between the Czech Republic and India or Turkey.

The principle is similar to the one described above: documents issued by the embassy or consulate of one state in the territory of the other state do not require any further authentication.

For example, an Indian police clearance certificate issued by the Embassy of India in the Czech Republic does not need an apostille or superlegalization sticker.

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The rules surrounding higher authentication of public documents can be quite complex and are full of exceptions. If you are unsure how to proceed in your specific case, feel free to contact us. We will be happy to advise you on what type of authentication is required and help you navigate the process correctly.

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