Every official document issued outside of the Czech Republic need some sort of a verification, in order for it to be used for the Czech immigration process.
The purpose of the verifications is to credibly prove that the document was issued or certified by the right authority or clerk.
There is three verification types.
1) NONE
Yes. Probably the easiest type of verification - none. Some countries have signed an agreement with the Czech Republic to make the processes easier, and documents issued in these countries do not need any type verification.
This applies to the following countries:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Belgium - only for documents related to a court request, Belarus - only for documents related to a court request, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, France, Georgia - only for documents related to a court request, Croatia, Italy - only for documents related to a court request, Yemen - suspension of the Treaty as of 11 April 2019, DPRK, Kosovo, Cuba, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Romania, Russia, Greece - only for documents related to a court request, Northern Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Syria, Spain, Switzerland, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam
Found the country of the document issue on the list? In this case, you can only arrange a translation by a Czech sworn translator and the document is ready to be used for your immigration process.
2) APOSTILLE
A bit more difficult verification type than the first one. Apostille is a verification stamp usually stuck to the back of a document, confirming its authenticity and that the document was issued by the right institution and it is not a forgery.
Obtaining the Apostille differs country to country but usually it is issued by the Ministry of Justice.
If the country is mentioned on the below list and also in the first one above, the above rule applies.
Apostille is needed on documents issued in the following countries:
Albania, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Belarus, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burundi (as of 13 February 2015; the Czech Republic objected to Burundi's accession to the Convention. As a consequence, verification between the Czech Republic and Burundi will continue to take place in the form of so-called super-legalization.), Cook Islands, Montenegro, China - Hong Kong and Macao only, Denmark (+ Faroe Islands; apostille does not apply in Greenland), Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Philippines, Finland, France, (+ Fr. Polynesia, Afars and Issas, Guadeloupe, Fr. Guyana, Comoros, Martinique, New Caledonia, Réunion, St. Pierre and Miquelon, Wallis and Futuna ), Grenada, Georgia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, Chile, Croatia, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Iceland, - Italy, Israel, Jamaica, Japan, South Africa, Cape Verde, Kazakhstan, Colombia, Republic of Korea, Kosovo, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Lesotho, Liberia , Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malawi, Malta, Morocco, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Namibia, Germany, Nicaragua, Niue, The Netherlands (+ Aruba, Curaçao, St. Martin + Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba islands, Norway, New Zealand, Oman, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Romania, Russia, Greece, El Salvador, Samoa, San Marino, Northern Macedonia, Seychelles, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, United States of America (+ American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands of the United States), Serbia, Suriname, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, United Kingdom (+ Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey, Isle of Man, Anguilla, Bermuda, British Antarctic Territory, British Virgin Islands, British Solomon Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, St Helena, South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands). Vanuatu, Venezuela
Picture by: www.reuterssolicitors.com/
3) LEGALIZATION
(also called superlegalization)
If your document was not issued in one of the above mentioned countries, you will have to spend a bit more time on the process. Legalization is a process of two-phases verification - it is at first verified by the authority superior to the one issuing the document (e.g. documents issued by schools are verified by the Ministry of Education etc., or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs). Once this verification is done, the document is verified again by the Embassy of which country the document will be used in - in case of Czech immigration it would be the Czech Embassy in the country where the document was issued. (Note that the process may differ in various countries.)
Picture by www.apostila.cz
WHICH DOCUMENTS NEED VERIFICATION?
It is usually only official documents that need to be verified by one of the above verification types. The most often such are: Diploma, Marriage certificate, Criminal Record, Birth certificate, Divorce certificate. It can also apply to documents with verified signatures.
Simple certificates or signed documents without the verification of the signature cannot be verified.
Still unsure which type applies to your documents? Send me a message so we can discuss it together.
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