Apostille and consular legalization of documents in Portugal
The institute of legalization of documents for the purpose of their further use abroad is becoming more and more relevant every year. Legalization of documents can be carried out in two forms: affixing an apostille or consular legalization.
Today, the most common way of issuing documents for their possible use abroad is the affixing of an apostille, introduced by the Hague Convention of 1961. More than 90 member states have joined the convention.
The main competent central authority for the purposes of affixing an apostille in Portugal is the Prosecutor General of the Republic. These delegated powers are exercised by the District Prosecutors of Porto, Coimbra and Évora.
By means of an apostille, you can legalize documents issued by the following authorities
- local governments;
- notary offices;
- bodies of state civil registry;
- state educational institutions;
- ministries;
- courts.
The advantages of affixing an apostille are:
- short terms;
- the possibility of using an apostilled document in any of the states participating in the Convention.
Instead, some states did not join the Hague Convention. Consular legalization of documents is required for such countries.
This process is more complicated than affixing an apostille and consists of the following stages
- confirmation of the validity of the document in the relevant authorities of Portugal, to whose competence it refers.
- application in Portugal to the consular institution of the country in which the document is planned to be used. The document will be valid only in the specified state.
The First Legal Portugal company has extensive experience in legalizing documents in Portugal for their further use abroad. Our specialists will provide you with high-quality advice on this matter.
Also, First Legal Portugal company provides services for obtaining a tax number, ENI registration, opening a bank account.
