A birth certificate is an important civil document for any individual. To be considered legally valid abroad, birth certificates have to be legalized in accordance with the regulations and agreements between relevant countries. Discover the requirements, procedures, and considerations for legalizing birth certificates, especially in Vietnam, with Thao & Co. in this article.
Consular Legalization of a birth certificate involves the competent authority confirming the seal, signature, and title of the signing officer on a birth certificate issued by a foreign country. This recognition ensures legal effect when using the birth certificate in a country other than the one that issued it.
Several situations require Consular Legalization of birth certificates, including: getting married to a foreigner, applying for emigration, studying abroad, immigration, foreigners registering for citizenship or adopting a child, and more. Countries that are not parties to The Hague Apostille Convention, including Vietnam, have certain regulations and agreements for legalizing birth certificates. For instance, Consular Legalization is necessary when using a foreign-issued birth certificate in Vietnam or a birth certificate issued in Vietnam in a foreign country.
Due to the need for use in different countries, many cases also require the additional step of notarized translation for birth certificates into a preferred language. For instance, birth certificates in languages such as Korean, Chinese, French, German, and others need to be translated into Vietnamese after Consular Legalization to have legal effect in Vietnam.
Some cases in which birth certificates cannot be legalized are as follows:
Certain requirements for Consular Legalization of foreign-issued birth certificates:
In many cases, the language of the country where the birth certificate will be used is different from the issuing country. Therefore, the birth certificate needs to be translated into English, Vietnamese, or the preferred language before the Consular Legalization process.
Depending on the country’s regulations, the competent authorities for Consular Legalization may include diplomatic missions, consular departments, or other authorized departments performing Consular Authentication.
You can get a Consular Authentication at the following diplomatic missions in Vietnam:
Consular Department – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Address: 40 Tran Phu Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi
Department of External Relations of Ho Chi Minh City – Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Address: 184 bis Pasteur Street, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City
Required documents include:
For birth certificates issued by Vietnam for use in foreign countries:
You’ll need to get notarized translations for all of your documents and have them authenticated by the competent authorities of Vietnam. After that, you can get Consular Authentication at the competent diplomatic missions, or the consular department of the foreign country.
For birth certificates issued by foreign countries for use in Vietnam:
You need to get a Consular Authentication at the diplomatic missions, consular departments, or other authorized offices that perform Consular Authentication on behalf of the foreign country. Then, you need to get Consular Legalization from the competent authorities of Vietnam.
If you are facing difficulties or have further questions regarding the Consular Legalization birth certificate process, the professional team of experts at Thao & Co. can help you handle this complicated procedure. For a detailed consultation about our services, please provide the birth certificate information that needs consular legalization on our Get a Quote page!
The service cost includes translation rates and an additional consular legalization fee. The translation rates mainly depend on the source and target language pair and the urgency required by the client. If the notarized translation is required, there will be an additional notarization fee. The notarization and consular legalization rates depend on the authorities in charge and the number of document pages requiring consular legalization.
You can contact Thao & Co. or provide information about your birth certificate which needs consular legalization. We will get in touch with you to provide specific advice on the process and a detailed quote as soon as possible!
Consular legalization only certifies the seal, signature, and title of the signing officer, not the form and content of the birth certificate itself. Additionally, consular legalization must be carried out by the competent authorities according to the regulations of each country to ensure legal effect when using the birth certificate in another country. It is important to choose a professional agency with transparent processes and dedicated consultation to avoid potential administrative complications.
At Thao & Co., we guarantee accurate birth certificate translations performed meticulously by our experienced linguists and proofreaders. Clients can rest assured that all procedures will be swiftly and properly completed with reasonable rates when choosing Thao & Co.’s translation and consular legalization services.
Please contact us or leave information about your birth certificate that needs to be legalized on our Get a Quote page to receive a detailed consultation on the translation rate and process!
