A COMPLETE GUIDE ON HOW TO LEGALIZE OR ATTEST A DOCUMENT IN NIGERIA
Before they can be used in a foreign country, certain documents that are issued by local, state, or federal governments, as well as any other government agency, may need to be authenticated and legalised.
A COMPLETE GUIDE ON HOW TO LEGALIZE OR ATTEST A DOCUMENT IN NIGERIA
Move to a new country always demand a lot of paperwork! Since certain countries only recognize legalized international certificates, it is good important you have those you’ll need abroad authenticated until you travel. This method satisfies that a certificate was issued by a legitimate authority and that the signature is authentic.
Therefore, before they can be used in a foreign country, certain documents that are issued by local, state, or federal governments, as well as any other government agency, may need to be authenticated and legalised. Examples of these documents include birth certificates, marriage certificates, and certificates of incorporation, educational degree certificates, transcripts, death certificates, and more.
WHAT IS LEGALIZATION OF DOCUMENT
Document legalisation is the procedure by which a prospective traveller verifies or formally confirms Nigerian documents that have been certified at a country's embassy for its intended purpose.
Document legalisation, also known as document certification, is the process of certifying a document that has already been authenticated at the embassy or mission of the foreign country where the document may be used or presented. Document authentication is the process of certifying documents in Nigeria. Prior to being legalised, a document must first be validated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja. Due to Nigeria's non-membership in the Hague Apostille Convention, which does away with the requirement for legalisation of foreign public documents, no apostille stamps are issued in Nigeria. In Nigeria, the apostille is replaced by the authentication done by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
WHAT DOCUMENTS CAN BE LEGALISED IN NIGERIA
The following list captures the sort of documents that can be legalized in Nigeria. Although, it may not be an exhaustive list, it’s the most common ones.
Birth Certificate or Declaration of Birth
Certificate Change of Name
Certificates Marriage
Certificate Divorce
Certificate Single Status
Affidavit Adoption Papers
Patent Application
Death Certificate
Police Character Certificate
Nigerian International Passport Data Page
Academic Documents (results certificates and transcripts, etc)
Incorporation Documents
Authorization Letters
Declaration of Assets
Bank Statements
Powers of Attorney
Criminal Record Check
Certificates Citizenship and Immigration Documents
Corporate Documents
Medical Reports
Contract Papers or Agreement; etc.
STEPS TO LEGALIZE DOCUMENT IN NIGERIA
Let's first recognize the crucial institutions involved in the legalization and authentication of documents in Nigeria before moving on to the two tried-and-true methods of doing
DOCUMENT LEGALISATION FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES
Before the foreign authorities accept a public document for legalisation, it must first go through three steps of verification with the involvement of three separate authorities. The Ministry of Education and Science as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs both require the notarization of the documents. After that, the consulate or embassy of the foreign country is notified to conduct a final review of all the educational documents.
The 3 Step Procedures & Authorities in the Document Authentication & Legalization Process:
Ministry of Education: Authentication by the Nigeria ministry of education (Incase if needed; It Only applies for educational purposes)
Ministry of Foreign Affairs: Additional legalization by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria Destination
Foreign Country Embassy or Consulate: Completion of the legalization process by the foreign country embassy in Nigeria
PROCESS INVOLVE IN ATTESTATION OF A CERTIFICATION OR DOCUMENT IN NIGERIA
Before the attestation of a certificate or document, a qualified Notary Public must first notarize such a document. This must be done before any authentication takes place at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Qualified lawyers always carry out the notarization of documents. It should be noted that the charge for notarization is not fixed, it depends on one’s bargaining power.
After the notarization has been concluded, the document would be brought to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, upon which one would be required to authenticate the document.
There will be a required payment to be made for the certificate that is sought to be authenticated. The prescribed fee would be paid into the Ministry designated bank account.
Upon the completion of the payment, proof of payment (which is normally the bank teller or online payment slip) would be submitted at the Legal Services Department in the Ministry. The applicant may be asked to return to the embassy within a few days to pick up the authenticated documents.
If the document involved is an academic certificate or transcript, the document must also be attested at the Federal Ministry of Education, where the applicant can either apply himself or through a lawful attorney only.
After the authentication process, the document may be taken to the relevant embassy for legalization where such a process is further required
NB: This article is not a legal advice, and under no circumstance should you take it as such. All information provided are for general purpose only. For information, please contact chamanlawfirm@gmail.com
WRITTEN BY CHAMAN LAW FIRM TEAM
EMAIL: chamanlawfirm@gmail.com
TEL: 08065553671, 08024230080