I Need to Send My Documents Outside of South Africa?
Key Takeaways:
Sending documents outside South Africa involves adherence to legal and logistical considerations.
Essential steps include notarisation, authentication, and potential apostille certification.
Professional guidance from a Notary ensures compliance and efficient document processing for international dispatch.
Notary Public, Apostille, Hague Convention, DIRCO … What does it all mean? This article will guide you in the right direction.
A certain young man once shared how disappointed he was when he turned up at an attorney’s firm to authenticate his documents, only to be told at the office front desk that he ought to come on appointment only. “It takes only 5 minutes” he protested. Well, he could not have it his way that day and left in disappointment.
That ‘only 5 minutes’ moment whereby documents are authenticated is a very important process. It can prevent a lot of complications in transactions that come after. The most important idea behind the authentication of documents is to verify and attest that the documents presented are true and original, and thus safe for further intended use. Official public documents such as Identification Documents, Educational Certificates, Marriage Certificates and other such issued by Organs of State or private entities for public use have indeed been vulnerable to the risk of fraud and forgery to achieve outcomes that border on criminality. In as much as issuing authorities (e.g state departments, institutions of learning) continuously work towards securing the authenticity of the documents they issue, criminal syndicates also in turn invent new ideas to bypass security measures, and produce counterfeit documents indistinguishable to the authentic ones.
Authentication of documents for acceptance and use outside of South Africa is therefore an importance process, which seeks to minimise the risks of fraudulent documents being used in intended transactions. The jurisdiction in which the documents are to be accepted for use usually determines the procedures and nature of such authentication, wary of the prevalent risks detected in that particular place. Inevitably different jurisdictions will have slightly varying procedures for authentication of documents, albeit for the same purpose and goal.
Where documents are to be used locally the risks are minimal, as entities that accept the documents for use would reasonably be in a position to detect counterfeit documents at face value, as they deal with such documents frequently and sometimes on a daily basis. This is the reason why a stamp by a commissioner of oaths is sufficient for local purposes and not sufficient for use outside of South Africa. Further, should there be any shred of doubt on the part of the accepting entity, the issuing authority of the document is readily accessible locally to confirm the authenticity of the document in question.
The problem arises when the documents are to be accepted and used abroad, where the accepting entity in that foreign country does not enjoy the pleasure of being privy to the documents at face value as a local entity would, nor have the convenience of readily accessing the issuing authority to verify the authenticity of the documents. There are indeed various reasons and instances where public documents are required to be presented, accepted and used in other countries besides the one in which they were issued. It can be international students being admitted at institutions of learning in other countries and therefore would need their qualification documents to be legalised and authenticated; It can be employment candidates offered jobs in other counties where there are skills shortages, or still it can be business people making use of contracts for export and import purposes. The instances are various. It therefore would require diligence and willingness to last the distance on the part of the entity accepting the documents abroad, to confirm the authenticity of the documents before transacting and relying on them, otherwise complications might arise stemming from the documents should they be found to be fraudulent in future.
The Hague Convention of 1961 was signed to bring uniformity with regards to the authentication of documents in countries which are signatory to it. South Africa is a signatory to the Convention and the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) manages this process in the country. The Convention came up with what is called the Apostille Certificate, which is attached to authenticate documents for acceptance and use in any country which is party to the Convention. Once the Apostille Certificate is issued and attached to documents in a signatory country, the holder of the documents need not authenticate the documents further in the country of intended use, but will be accepted on mere presentation.
The question then is, how does one authenticate and/or legalise documents for acceptance and use in countries that are not party to the Convention? Much of the same procedure applies as in countries party to the Convention, albeit with an added requirement.
The documents are firstly, signed and/or executed in the presence of a Notary public, who will then attach the Certificate of Authentication bearing their signature, seal as well as a stamp. The next step is when the Notary public delivers the documents to the High Court in their jurisdiction of practice, whereafter the Court will attach the Apostille Certificate to certify the signature of the Notary public.
After the High Court process, the documents will then be forwarded to the Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) for legalisation. The Department has a section responsible for legalisation of documents. There are requirements that must be met before documents can be legalised by DIRCO;
Upon presentation for legalisation, the documents must be valid;
Legalisation of documents must be required in the country where the documents are to be presented, accepted and used;
Some documents such as educational qualifications, usually need a stamp of the issuing institution as well;
Documents that were issued in foreign countries need to be legalised in the countries where they were issued before they can be legalised in South Africa.
Documents which are accepted for legalisation include marriage certificates, letters of no-impediment, contracts, police clearance certificates, unabridged birth certificates, powers of attorney etc. However, computer printouts, certified copies of birth or death certificates, abridged documents, certified copies of identity or travel documents, are all not acceptable.
The last step is when the documents, from DIRCO, are forwarded to the diplomatic mission of the country in which the documents are to be used, for further legalisation as per their own prescripts. The diplomatic mission can be an Embassy, Consulate or High Commission.
We leave nothing to chance in our approach to the legalisation of documents for acceptance and use in foreign countries. This is because we value and encourage our clients’ pursuit of opportunities both locally and abroad. Documents should never present hurdles in that process. Our able team of qualified and experienced attorneys stand ready to assist you in the legalisation of documents from the start right through the whole process.
Contact us to set up and appointment for consultation on these and a host of other legal matters, where comprehensive assistance is rendered on each occasion.