What is consular legalization

    Legalization, also called consular legalization, refers to a consular practice ensuring authenticity of the very last signature, or the seal affixed to a document related to the application from a natural person, legal person or other organization. Chinese embassies and consulates in foreign countries can make consular certification for notarized documents or other verified materials issued by the relevant authorities of the host country, and certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the host country or agencies with consular certification authority, for the use of intended purposes in China.

    The purpose of consular legalization is to ensure that notarial deeds issued in one country have due legal effect and can be acknowledged by the relevant authorities in another country with no question as to their authenticity. Consular certification can not perform certifying function for any item in the notarization or other certificates, and has no responsibility for the authenticity and legality of the document, for which the issuing agency should be responsible.

Procedure for legalization application

    1. Firstly, before applying for consular certification, the relevant papers and documents of the applicant must be certified by the notary office or the Department of Justice where the Vietnamese civil status is registered;

    2. The certification applicant applies for consular certification from the host country with the Consular Department, Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs;

    3. After completing the application form, the applicant can apply for consular certification in the Chinese Visa Application Service Center.

Preparatory documents for legalization application

    1. 01 copy of " Application Form of Consular Legalization of the Embassy /Consulate of the People's Republic of China”;

    2. Original and copy of valid passport or original and copy of identity card (Identification Card) of the applicant;

    3. Original and 01 copy of the papers and documents applying for legalization (certified by the Consular Department, Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs);

    4. If an agent is authorized to apply on the behalf of the applicant, he shall submit 01 copy of the agent's valid ID card and the party's valid ID card; If the relevant legalization application involves critical matters, the agent must also submit 01 power of attorney issued by the applicant.

    Please note: the Embassy may require the certification applicant personally submit the application and take an interview if necessary.

 5.For the legalization of the company's business license, a copy of the passport of the company's legal representative and  the company documents that can prove the identity of the company's legal representative should also be submitted.

   6. Other necessary documents and evidences according to the actual situation.

Important notice for legalization application

1.The applicant shall submit the legalization application to its corresponding Embassy or consular in Vietnam in accordance to the location of notarization and certification of the documents, conforming to consular region-division by the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in Vietnam. Applications submitted to the embassy must be certified by the Consular Bureau of the Vietnamese Ministry of Foreign Affairs beforehand. Failure to submit an application in accordance to the region-division may result in rejection of the application.

2. Document contents and submission procedures should be truthful, complete and lawful, and not contain things that violate China’s laws or harm national and public interests of China. If the documents applied for certification consist of two or more pages, they should be bound in a volume so as to avoid being easily removed and changed. They should be wax sealed or affixed with border seals and embossed seals for integrity assurance. The Embassy will not certify applications with incomplete procedures, unsatisfactory specifications, illegal contents, erasures, modification, removal etc...

3. Affidavit or certificate of no marriage record used for marriage registration in China is valid within 6 months from the date of notarization; Notarized certificates of marital status, health, assets, income and no criminal record for children adoption in China are valid for 6 months from the date of notarization to the date of application for adoption registration (excluding the processing time by Chinese adoption center). The embassy shall not notarize expired papers and documents.

4. Embassy notarized papers and documents may not be removed, deleted or modified arbitrarily. Any problems caused by the applicant's own disassembling or altering of documents and relevant legal liabilities shall be borne by the applicant.