You may have noticed while preparing your documents for your Visa appointment that there’s something called an “Apostille” that’s usually required for official documents. Here’s a quick explanation on what an Apostille is and why you may need to obtain one prior to attending your Visa appointment.

What is an Apostille and does the Embassy need one for my documents?

An Apostille is a certificate that authenticates the signature of a public official on a document for use in another country. The German Embassy asks you to obtain an Apostille as a measure to ensure the authenticity of your documents issued from other countries.

What type of document do I need an apostille on?

You need an Apostille on official documents such as a degree, marriage certificate (in the case that you’re moving with a spouse) and birth certificate of your child or children (in the case that you’re moving with children).

Do I really need to obtain an apostille?

You’ll need to have the Apostille issued by the country which originally issued the document. If that country is on this list - you’ll need to have an Apostille.

We always recommend you obtain translations of your documents into German (if they’re not already in German or English) and an Apostille as one of your first steps once you have signed a contract with a new employer in Germany. This will ensure that no matter how quickly you book an embassy appointment, Localyze will have ample time to prepare all of the relevant documents and evaluate your case in a much more accurate manner.

What if the issuing country of my documents is not on the above List (or part of the Hague Convention?)

In that case, you will not need to obtain an Apostille on your officially issued documents, but the German Immigration Authorities at the Embassy or Immigration Office may determine that your documents require legalisation.

The legalisation is done directly by the German embassy (unless the embassy has given this process to a 3rd party provider). Usually, a separate appointment can be booked for this with the embassy and we recommend booking that appointment prior to your visa appointment. Some embassies might also handle the legalisation request during the visa appointment, but we would please ask you to double-check this on the respective embassy website.

Translations

You may have noticed in your Localyze profile that you’re asked to obtain German translations of your officially issued documents. This also usually applies to a degree, marriage certificate, or birth certificate as mentioned above. For the purpose of your embassy appointment, it’s important that you obtain German translations if your documents are not originally issued in German or English( only for the degrees). If your documents are officially issued in English, then it’s still recommended that you obtain a translation as you may be asked by the authorities after you’ve arrived in Germany to obtain translations for the purpose of registration, or for your residence permit application.

We hope this helps explain a bit more about Apostilles, Legalisation and translations and helps you during your first steps in the process of relocating to Germany for work.

If you ever have a doubt about whether or not any of this information applies to you, please don’t hesitate to reach out to your case manager.