When it comes to legalising documents in South Africa, navigating the bureaucratic procedures can be daunting. Whether you need to authenticate personal documents for international use or obtain critical paperwork from the Department of Home Affairs, understanding the process is essential. This comprehensive guide aims to demystify document legalisation in South Africa, providing you with the necessary information to streamline the procedure and save valuable time.
What is meant by the legalisation of a document?
In essence, legalisation generally relates to ensuring a public document is verified, usually for usage in another country. For example, a public document, like a SAPS Police Clearance, needs to be verified by a means that the foreign country can trust. Such means include apostilles and other legalisations.
Sometimes the document is used overseas in a country that is part of the Hague Convention and is therefore apostilled. If the country is not part of the Convention, a Certificate of Authentication is issued. A High Court or Foreign Embassy can often be the signatory for such legalisation.
Generally, there are four different routes to document legalisation in South Africa:
You can see a description and the services we offer by clicking on any of the above legalisations. Please remember to check clearly which documents you need to be legalised and in what way since this cannot be determined by us or any authority other than the one asking you for the legalisation.
Legalisation of civic certificates from the Department of Home Affairs
The Department of Home Affairs is responsible for issuing vital documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, and passports. Although Apostil.co.za cannot assist with the application of passports, we do help our clients with obtaining civic certificates from the DHA in the fastest time possible.
Abridged Birth and Marriage Certificates from Home Affairs
In essence, abridged birth and/or marriage certificates merely indicate the most basic details pertaining to the person to whom the document is issued.
Between 1995 and March 2013, all children born in South Africa were issued abridged birth certificates. These certificates only stated the name and surname of the child’s biological mother. Children born after March 2013 were issued with the longer-form unabridged birth certificate, indicating the details of both the child’s biological parents.
Abridged marriage certificates are issued by the Department of Home Affairs on default after a wedding takes place in South Africa. The married couple often receives this certificate immediately after their wedding. This certificate should suffice if you live, work, and plan to stay in South Africa.
An unabridged marriage certificate is only issued by the Department of Home Affairs and, thus, the only version that counts in overseas applications. This document is given to South African and non-South African couples (if they apply) that marry within the Republic. These certificates are also issued in the event that one partner in the married couple is a foreign national. These certificates are typically issued if the couple lives outside of South Africa. They are also issued if a couple plans to travel outside the country. But your reason for applying can be anything, and you will not be denied.
It is essential to understand that Home Affairs no longer uses the terms’ ABRIDGED’ and ‘UNABRIDGED’. Instead, birth certificates are issued as THE BIRTH CERTIFICATE, and marriage certificates are titled MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE. Although it does not state unabridged, these certificates contain the same details found on the unabridged certificates.
Vault copies of your documents
Whenever a South African citizen is born, the original registration paperwork is stored at the archival offices of the DHA. The same process is followed when someone gets married, or a person’s death is registered. These documents, stored in the vault, prove that certificates issued to South African citizens contain the correct information.
As the name implies, a vault copy is an authentic copy of the original registration form. The “vault” is merely the name for the archives where these documents are stored. One can have vault copies of a number of documents. However, generally, only birth, death, or marriage certificates are required by South African citizens. Divorce decrees are held by the High Court in which the divorce order was granted.
Vault copies contain essential information. This is why they might be requested by foreign passport and visa-issuing authorities for travel or immigration purposes. Vault copies are used as protective measures against fraud as computer-generated South African unabridged certificates are believed to be vulnerable to forgery. In order to prove one’s lineage, you will often need to provide a vault copy of your birth certificate.
Apostille and High-Court Authentication
To use South African documents abroad, you may need to have them apostilled or high-court authenticated.
What is authentication, and what documents need it?
Suppose you’re legalising a document in order to use it in a country that is not a signatory of the Apostille Convention (such as Taiwan, Vietnam, etc.). In that case, you’ll be required to follow a long process that you’d need to have if you had been travelling to a country that forms part of the Hague Conference. Your legal South African documents will have to be authenticated and submitted to the relevant embassy for legalisation.
Documents that are authenticated may include:
- Department of Home Affairs documents (called Civic Services Documents) such as birth, death and marriage certificates, and letters of no impediment to becoming married.
- Academic documents such as degrees, diplomas, and matric certificates
- Police clearance certificates
- Medical reports
- Passport copies
- Notarised Power of Attorney (POA) forms
- Divorce orders
- Contracts and trade documents
Documents can be authenticated by:
- A Notary Public and the High Court
- The SAQA, the Departments of Basic and Higher Education & Umalusi
- The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)
- The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO)
- Relevant Embassies and Consulates
Which documents require attestations?
Attestations are the authentication of South African documents that are to be used in countries in the Middle East, such as the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. It follows a slightly different route than authentications, but it is a similar process and requires documents to be attested for South Africans looking to use their documentation legally in the Middle East.
Documents that have to be attested include:
- Department of Home Affairs documents (called Civic Services Documents) such as birth, death and marriage certificates, as well as letters of no impediment to becoming married
- Academic documents such as degrees, diplomas, and matric certificates
- Police clearance certificates
- Medical reports
- Passport copies
- Notarised Power of Attorney (POA) forms
- Divorce orders
- Contracts and trade documents
Documents can be attested at:
An example of a Saudi Embassy Attestation and Authentication.
- A Notary Public and the High Court
- SAQA, the Departments of Basic and Higher Education & Umalusi
- The Health Professions Council of South Africa (HPCSA)
- The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO)
- Relevant embassies and consulates
Which documents need an apostille?
When documents are to be used abroad in a country that is a member of the Hague Convention, they will have to be legalised using apostille. Apostilled documents can only be legally used in countries that form part of the Apostille Convention.
Documents that have to be apostilled include:
Department of Home Affairs documents (called Civic Services Documents) such as birth, death and marriage certificates, as well as letters of no impediment to becoming married
- Academic documents such as degrees, diplomas, and matric certificates
- Police clearance certificates
- Medical reports
- Passport copies
- Notarised Power of Attorney (POA) forms
- Divorce orders
- Contracts and trade documents
What is a notarisation?
For notarisations, please click through to our page that focuses on Notarisations only: Notarisations.
Validity and expiration of authentications and apostilles
We often get asked what the validity of apostilles and authentications are and if these stamps ever expire. The most straightforward answer is that while apostille certificates or stamps do not have expiry dates, the apostille might only be valid for a certain period depending on who or what authority has requested the certificate.
One example of apostilles having a specific validity period is a police clearance certificate. A visa authority may request that your police clearance certificate and apostille are less than three or six months old. This is understandable since a certificate verifying your criminal records must be recently issued.
Another document that must be issued with an apostille at most three to six months is a letter of no impediment. This certificate confirms that nothing is preventing a couple from getting married. Suppose South Africans get married abroad or wish to get married to foreigners in South Africa. In that case, the letter of no impediment is a vital document that must form part of a documentation pack.
Aside from the apostille’s signature page, it is the actual date stamp on the original document that matters. Therefore, the date stamp on the apostille does not necessarily matter since it will certainly be a date after the document’s date. Nor does the date on which you applied for the original document. The only critically important date is the date on which the relevant government department issued the document.
Conclusion
Navigating the document legalisation process in South Africa may seem complex, but with the right information and proper planning, it can be streamlined. Whether you need to obtain documents from the Department of Home Affairs, apply for police clearances, or get your documents apostilled or high-court authenticated, following the steps outlined in this comprehensive guide will help you save time and ensure a smooth process. Remember to stay updated on any changes in requirements or procedures and seek professional assistance when necessary to simplify the document legalisation journey.
