Some countries such as Vietnam require Consular Authentication for foreign documents to have legal effect. In this article, we will delve into what Consular authentication or legalization is and how to get Translation and Consular Authentication services in Vietnam.
According to International laws, Consular Authentication is a certification for foreign legal documents to be recognized with full legal effect in a country. If both the issuing country and destination country are members of the Hague Apostille Convention, you can skip the step of acquiring consular authentication.
Since Vietnam is not a party to this Convention, Consular Authentication is necessary for foreign documents to be used in Vietnam and Vietnamese documents to be used in another country. It’s worth noting that under Vietnamese laws, Consular Authentication only verifies the title of the signing officer, stamp, and signature on the documents, not its content.
Furthermore, the documents need to be translated into the language of the destination country. For example, English documents need to be translated into Vietnamese before putting them to use in Vietnam.
Some places use these terminologies interchangeably, but in fact, they are slightly different.
Consular Authentication is the name of the certificate issued by the competent diplomatic missions. This type of certificate enables foreign documents to be legally used in a country. On the other hand, consular legalization refers to the process of getting the certificate.
It’s also worth noting that Authentication and Apostille are two completely different certificates. If you are working on administrative procedures in Vietnam, Consular Authentication is likely what you need.
Whether you apply for a Vietnam work permit, get married to a Vietnamese citizen, or expand your business into Vietnam, you may have to get Consular Authentication for your documents. This type of certificate is typically required for legal and official documents.
For individuals, Authentication is commonly required for civil documents such as:
For enterprises, consular authentication is commonly required for official business documents such as:
Translation plays an important role when getting your documents legalized in another country. However, similar to notarization, consular authentication is not an assurance of translation accuracy.
Even a small translation error may lead to many potential complications. Especially when it comes to business documents, low-quality translation may cause damage to your company’s image and even potential trade.
Therefore, quality translation helps smoothen your administrative procedure and prevent troubles in the long run. Thao & Co. offers consular authentication and translation services performed by our experienced native linguists. Our supporting services such as consular authentication and notarization will help you save time and effort on complicated procedures.
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The fee of consular legalization for use in Vietnam varies depending on the type of documents. In Vietnam, for standard documents such as ID cards, passports, birth certificates, etc., the legalization fee is 10 USD / stamp (excluding the translation fee). For other documents such as contracts, agreements, and dossiers, the fee will depend on the number of pages.
In most cases, your documents also require to be translated and notarized besides legalization. A translation agency that offers both notarization and legalization as supporting services will be an ideal option to help you deal with these complex procedures.
For standard documents such as passports, marriage certificates, and justice checks,… the translation process only takes 1 day. However, the translation has to go through several offices such as the Justice Department or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. As a result, the overall process may take about 3-4 working days – not to mention unexpected incidents. If your documents are more complicated, this process may take more than 4 days.
If you intend to order a legalization service, it’s imperative to make sure that you are given a clear timeline. Working with Thao & Co., you will receive not only a well-organized timeline beforehand but also up-to-date information about your project through our proprietary Dashboard. A private account will be set up for you to monitor your project progress and interact with our linguists.
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You can get Consular Authentication at diplomatic missions of the Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) as follows:
• In Hanoi: Consular Department (40 Tran Phu Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi, Vietnam)
• In HCMC: Department of External Relations of Ho Chi Minh City (184bis Pasteur, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam)
The Consular Legalization procedure is highly complex and even more challenging if you are a foreigner or not familiar with paperwork. As a professional translation agency, Thao & Co. knows how to navigate this complicated process and help you solve this task.
Why choose Thao & Co. translation and legalization services?
For further details, do not hesitate to contact us via our website Thaonco.com or click on the Get A Quote button!
