In navigating services related to certifying documents for international use in Singapore, this paper explores the author’s first-hand endeavor on how the Apostille service was obtained for various Singapore government documents during the Covid-19 pandemic. Section II elaborates on the importance of these services. Section III discusses how the Apostille service performed by the Ministry of Law was obtained. In addition, the formalities observed in getting the following documents endorsed and certified through the service are highlighted. Specifically, this paper provides an overview of the process as well as the challenges faced in Apostille certification and other notarial services rendered by the Ministry of Law during the Covid-19 restrictions.
For Singaporeans planning on working or residing abroad, certifying documents for international use is an indispensable part of the relocation process. Globally, the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, commonly known as the Apostille Convention, exempts Singaporeans from partaking in a long and tedious process of legalising various documents for international use. For a document to be considered in an official capacity in a foreign country (e.g., birth, marriage, death certificates, academic credentials, HDB lease documents, the Land Transport Authority (LTA) Board of Fitness certificate, and others that Singaporeans must courier to foreign entities), a seal or stamp of authentication via Apostille must be endorsed onto the document.
Understanding Apostille Services in Singapore
An ‘Apostle’ is a public official competent to sign certificates of authenticity, or those who are designated by the state in which the public document is issued. The Convention provides a simplified form of authentication, called an apostille, which is issued by the public officials in the countries that participate and recognize the terms of the Convention. The onus is on the requesting party to confirm that the destination country is a member of the Hague Convention. The following high-resolution JPEG file is a visual guide, specifying the authority that issues apostilles, depending on the origin of the public document. It is important to identify the appropriate signatory, as the entry point of the apostille process is at the authority level specified. The key under the image provides a further breakdown of the signatory hierarchy for the originator country, creating custom flow diagrams for each bureaucratic system.
Before paying for any service, it is valuable to understand key terms and concepts. An apostille is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document (e.g., birth, marriage, or death certificate, judgment, notarial attestation, power of attorney, passport copy, company registration), second only to an Apostolic Letter. Apostilles can be generally used in countries that are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention (which is also commonly referred to as the Apostille Treaty). Member countries agree to recognize public documents issued by other member countries. A complete list of member countries can be found on the website of the Hague Convention.
What is an Apostille?
The Singapore Academy of Law (SAL), established by the Singapore Academy of Law Act (Cap 294A), is designated as the responsible sectoral authority under the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) Correspondents in Singapore on foreign public document having legal effect. In so doing, SAL functions as the designated Competent Authority to verify and issue Apostilles for public documents issued in Singapore destined for use in countries that are members of the Hague Convention. The competences of the Competent Authority under the Convention shall be exclusive and the Apostille procedure described in the Convention precludes any requirement that the signature(s) or seal(s) be authenticated by diplomatic or consular agents.
The term “Apostille” comes from the French and refers to a document certification process by which the legalization of a document is made more straightforward for international use. This is relevant as the need to use overseas documents both into and out of Singapore is prevalent in today’s globalized world. The Apostille certification reflects the high level of trust that a government requires in order to accept communications and documents, specifically with regard to potential foreign emigration and importation. As long as a country has acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention, it is necessary for documents from that country to be Apostilled and these documents will be recognized and accepted in another country in the same manner as if they had been executed in that foreign jurisdiction.
Importance of Apostille Services
The main problem in a lot of documents resides in the identical seal and signature where some public institutions did not process such a requirement. Many have encountered extensive searches for appropriate agencies to request apostille services and have been given contrasting advice that most likely led to disappointment. Some necessary steps require confirmation from various government agencies. These include the Singapore Academy of Law, Attorney-General’s Office, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and family court records if this requirement does demand legalization via Singapore Diplomatic Missions.
Official documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates, education transcripts, power of attorney, court decisions, and notarized documents are often required for legal validation in foreign countries. These could be due to work and visa applications, residency applications, marriage registrations, opening of bank accounts, etc. The type of authentication process depends on the country of destination. Each country may undergo a different process, which could mean dealing with the respective embassy’s consular offices. Apostille services for Hague member countries are relatively easy because, with a single piece of paper, the process is essentially simplified.
How Apostille Services Work in Singapore
Which documents may be legally notarised, certified, and/or authenticated for use by Singaporean officers of all? It is not necessary for soft signatories holding the statutory power and authority to execute all lawful acts and things requisite to be done in or measured with their official capacity to seal or sign instruments, or to execute any deed or document enforceable against public.
Documents submitted directly to the Legalisation Services are usually processed within an hour (queues at service counters excluded), while those submitted by proxy (in-person appearance is mandatory) or mail may require up to 7 working days.
The Legalisation Service counter of the Ministry of Law occupies a long row of cubicles through which members of the public must queue and wait. The process involves a counter clerk and/or a consular officer communicating with the ministry of destination to certify the seal of the certifying officer and their capacity if necessary. During this process, the applicant may be prompted to top up insufficient processing fees credited to the ministry of destination by the applicant via SAM or AXS self-service kiosks. The processing fee is flat at S$20 per document, and typically, the discharge is mandatory: no fee, no processing.
The Legalisation Service counter of the Ministry of Law (in person) The Prudential Regulatory Authority in the Monetary Authority of Singapore building (in person or by mail) A qualified service provider such as a notary public, government ministry, or embassy (in person or by mail) The Strategic Goods Control Unit of Singapore Customs (in person or by mail)
Singapore is known for its efficiency. Transactions may be conducted online through the following offices and services.
Documents Eligible for Apostille Services in Singapore
To generate awareness and to ascertain Singapore’s acceptance of an apostille certification worldwide, the firm collated a list of Country Profiles and profiles of Overseas Missions accredited to Singapore. A country that is a member of the Hague Convention can issue and use apostilles. For Authentication (certifying documents with stamps), the Singapore Mission in the receiving country can issue a Singapore Authentication for documents originating in Singapore. As the documents are certified for use in a foreign country, use of the documents would be governed by the respective foreign jurisdictional requirements applicable in foreign countries. Nonetheless, to ensure that the documents are acceptable in a specific country, you can contact the recipient, attorney, or consular services of the targeted country to verify the governing authority requirement. Based on the latest information on our Site, many countries and territories are members of the Hague Convention on Private International Law.
There are certain documents that can be certified with apostilles in Singapore. There are three crucial factors to consider when determining a document’s eligibility for apostille services. They are the short title with the competent authority’s website, type of document, and the governing authority of the receiving country that legalisation services are ultimately required in. For those documents that are likely to require legalisation, the firm has collated the requirements for documents commonly requiring legalisation with dedicated enabling services for these documents. Alternatively, the firm provides document legalisation advice. Documents designated with apostilles in Singapore typically include a verified true copy of a transcript or certificate; articles of incorporation (company); certificates (e.g. CE/CO); and extracts from a register or a document containing a notarial certification. The document recipient often informs the client what their specific document is, and this can be used to determine the governing authority requirement.
Personal Documents
It is not mandatory to have your personal documents witnessed, notarized or attested. It is up to the requesting institution/authority in the other country to decide if they require these documents to be witnessed, notarized or attested. Notarial certification, or notarization, is a service provided by notaries public in certain countries, for personal documents. The service involves notaries public verifying the authenticity of the signatures on personal documents, witness the making of the document, witness the signatures being affixed to the document, confirm the identity of those signing the document, and affirm that the signatories acted voluntarily and free of any duress. The notarization of documents is an additional certification service provided by our Ministry in certain cases.
Personal Documents Documents submitted to our Ministry for alternative submission processes to One-Stop Centres can be notarized by one of our notaries public, before being submitted to the Ministry for notarial certification or legalization service. For notarial certification, please refer to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ website for the necessary information. Please do not send original documents unless requested. Please route your documents through an alternative submission process, and have them notarized by our notaries public, before forwarding them to the Ministry for notarial certification or legalization service.
Educational Documents
In most cases, the organizations conducting official procedures overseas are also aware of these requirements, and in the first place, the applicants of the application for the certification of documents are informed. Even if several documents are required, most of the procedures can be processed by email, and the whole process is usually completed with few visits to the official venue.
Additionally, the process for submitting educational documents for certification by the SAL is completely dependent on the document issuing authority and their consent for this step. So, refer to the document issuing authority’s online platform website for information and the requirements to prepare before submitting the documents to the SAL. Some examples of documents are national exams, GCE “O” and “A” levels or its equivalent, NITEC, diploma courses, etc.
Here is an example of the procedures in Singapore for using Singapore issued educational documents for work related affairs overseas. The good news is that in Singapore, it is possible to request for your own name, called “Self-extract” in English to pass the process at an external agency like an embassy. For an agency like this, the documents will be accepted on the condition that the documents are certified by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL). However, do note that if the final document user destination country is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention 1961, potentially one more step is then required according to what that country requires.
Documents which prove that you have educational qualifications can also be certified for international use. In general, these are graduation and educational certificates from post-secondary courses of study such as a university or college degree. For some countries’ nationalities, working in a foreign country legally is important, and thus document certification can sometimes feel quite unpredictable and at times stressful because it is something unknown.
Legal Documents
If you have documents that are wholly issued by an authorized entity and are to be used for overseas legal purposes, you cannot simply require the certification services of a notary public. Rather, there are two entities that you can use. The first, and more common one, is the Singapore Academy of Law. When you approach them, they will ask you at the onset to obtain a photocopy of your original document from a Notary Public who will verify the copy as true. You then have to present both the original and true copy before a commissioner for oaths who will verify key information related to the document. Upon receipt of the true copy and the certified true copy, the Singapore Academy of Law will verify your documents and thereafter endorse the true copy. The Singapore Academy of Law does not charge a fee.
Local usage notwithstanding, some documents require additional certification for use in a foreign country. The process involved in legalizing foreign-bound documents is determined by the legality of such documents. As a general rule, documents and certificates that are wholly issued by a government and bear the signature of an official or public functionary without bearing any private or commercial seal require different processes. For one, while the Singapore Academy of Law can certify true copies of original documents, which are commonly for legal use, it cannot attest original documents or public documents that are completely issued by government sources. Aspects of which can then only be verified by the Singapore Academy of Law with the issuing public entity in Singapore.
Commercial Documents
Official documents are documents originating from courts or various tribunals, administrative authorities or notaries, clerks of court, and the document signed forming an event directly related to anyone exercising public power, or persons acting on behalf of the government offices and also an official document that bears the seal of a foreign, consular or diplomatic officer in Singapore, to have consular significance.
Those two certification methods are Apostille and Legalization. The main difference between these two is the steps involved. Apostille is faster and cheaper, although the Apostilisation process is surprisingly governed by many international treaties and agreements. According to the tenets of the Apostille Convention, official documents issued in one state party* to the Convention shall be recognized in the territories of other state parties. The Republic of Singapore is one state party to this convention. Apostille on public documents is written in English as an abbreviation followed by French spelling office: FUNCTIONARY. The text of the Apostille is set out in the French language.
Most people are familiar with the features of a witness and solemnizer of an official registration or signing a legal document and certainly know that these actions are called “certification” or “attestation” officially or in other sources. Put simply, documents should be certified or attested if their intended use is outside the country. This general concept of certification could be applied to more than just marriage certificates and papers of business. Diplomas, academic transcripts, invoices, company registry extracts, court decisions, and so on have to be certified before they become internationally recognized. Regardless of the purpose, there are generally two ways to obtain international certification.
Process of Obtaining an Apostille in Singapore
Alternatively, a notarial certificate can be issued to the notarizing officer by an officer of the Ministry of Law—who is described as a receiving officer and is duly authorized to execute vetting services for the preparation of a document for international use—before submitting the document to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the apostille. Another important formal requirement is that the notarial certificate to be attached to the original document must be stamped with the court seal and signed by the Judge, Prothonotary or Senior Assistant Registrar of the Supreme Court to certify the signature and seal of the notarizing officer, prior to submitting the document to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The need for the court seal is arguably the most crucial requirement. The documents will not be apostilled unless they are a true or certified true copy bearing the court seal and contain the Judge’s or supporting officer’s signature verifying the Notary Public’s signature and seal. The exception to the requirement of the court seal involves a notarial certificate executed by a receiving officer, who is an officer of the Ministry of Law that is duly authorized to execute vetting services for the preparation of a document for international use. The procedure is especially ideal if time is of the essence.
The most common practice is for the document that requires an apostille to be notarized by a Notary Public or a Commissioner for Oaths. However, a notary public or a commissioner for oaths should be mindful that he or she should not exercise his notarial or other functions in respect of the document before it is executed (section 12 of the Notaries Public Act). The notary should also ensure that he has complied with paragraph (f) of the First Schedule of the Notaries Public Rules on the preparation of notarial certificates. There are also a myriad of formal requirements that the Notary Public must satisfy before an apostille can be issued. For instance, each Notary Public must be in possession of a unique Notarial Seal, which must be capable of being reproduced when photocopied. Notarial acts can only be in English because the Notary Public must give an English certificate showing he acts in the capacity of either a notary public or a commissioner for oaths (section 10 of the Notaries Public Act).
Step 1: Document Preparation
The first step to getting any document certified is to prepare it. First, ensure that the document is original – i.e., that it has ink signatures, which can be legalized as a part of the certification process. Photocopies cannot be legalized in this way. Next, if the document is in a language other than English, either translate it by a certified translator (not hired by the ministry) or obtain an authoritative certificate of verification from the Supreme Court to accompany a translation by another source. Furthermore, obtain any prior certificates that are necessary for legalizing this document, i.e., the unconfirmed educational certificate printed out from the Singapore Examinations and Assessment Board’s website and/or the notary public certificate.
It is time-consuming to obtain the various certifications prior to legalizing a document for use in another country. In this particular section, we walk you through the entire certification/dual legalization process in Singapore, from preparing the documents to actually receiving the document in hand. Note, however, that this process can only be used for documents intended for use in countries that are either non-apostille member countries, or only require one governmental certification. If a country requires a second certification (i.e., dual legalization) from the embassy of the recipient country, please refer to the previous section. Alternatively, this process can also be used as a viable backup plan for denoting failed apostille efforts.
Step 2: Engaging Apostille Services
But before engaging in the apostille process, bear in mind that this layer of verification is only afforded to public documents. What constitutes a public document is contingent upon each country’s regulations, yet it is commonly understood to refer to documents that carry a state or public agency’s legally enforceable authenticity, including state administrative documents, judicial documents, official attestations related to acts of a non-contentious nature, and certificates and endorsements of official documents. A presentation of marital status via a CNI (Certificat de non-impedimentution) by the French administration is the best illustration of a public document. In fact, the CNI symbolizes a two-fold classification: it is at once both a public document as well as an apostille-intercepting public document. If the Vital Records exchanges such a document with you, have the CNI correspondingly certified locally. Then, once the Vital Records also confers the Vital’s apostille, your CNI document with all its associated apostilles will be ready for your French marriage.
After having gotten one of your personal documents certified, the next step is to have the certifying official’s attestation applied, which is completed by commissioning an apostille. While countries party to the Hague Convention are generally apostille recipients, review the signatory states in case your country of interest is an exception. To obtain apostille services in Singapore, visit the Notarial Services website attached to the Singapore Academy of Law. Other channels are available, but for purposes of continuity and to streamline your experience in the same government bureau or official space, keep all your notarial needs confined to this portal.
Step 3: Submission and Verification
Each of the documents may be certified by the Singapore Academy of Law (SAL)’s notary. However, before doing so, ascertain from the parties in the foreign jurisdiction who require an Apostille that the type of notarial act is acceptable to them. You may also receive guidance on the notarial act or make enquiries with the relevant authorities. Visit the SAL’s office, where you must inform the Notary Public of abolishing or waiving the demand and request for their assistance in the notarial act. Inform the notary public that you and the required authority need an Apostille. This may take a few days or more depending on the number of documents that must be notarised, and the contact between the Notary Public and the notaries of foreign jurisdictions. During the consultation, it is essential to provide the SAL with specific details among estimates of the relevant notarial requests.
Ensure the accuracy of the administrative data given while filling up the electronic notice of submission and payment (electronic cover form). Upon completing this, print a copy of the payment notice or payment notice slip. Visit any of the electronic submission venues in Singapore (for example, selected SingPost, CrimsonLogic Service Bureaus or the BizFile Services Counter at the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority, Pearl’s Centre), where you may print a cover form, complete all necessary procedures regarding submission, then pay for the documents’ Apostille service fee. Please check the respective websites of the selected venues for their opening hours, or undertake preparatory arrangements for submission.
Step 4: Collection of Apostilled Documents
When collecting apostilles from the counter, you must take a receipt slip from the respective customer service counter, i.e., Finance Service A19-02 for mail requests and Services part of the Ground floor counter for walk-ins. In addition, the photo ID used for verification must be presented at the counter to receive the apostilled documents. Note that the proxy ID-card image is present in the notification email, and the proxy can download it. Apostilled documents can be delivered by mail or by hand, but the applicant must facilitate the collection if a proxy is doing so. Applicants will receive an email notification once documents have been apostilled and that they are ready for collection. For the final collection of documents, you must retain the slip shown as evidence of payment. The apostilled documents and the receipt slip will be needed upon collection. Once it has been verified, an authorized person collects documents on behalf of the applicant by presenting his or her identity photo ID card.
Once the documents have been apostilled, they need to be collected. Some countries use a national postal or courier service which can deliver documents around the country in just a day. If similar services are available to you, this is the safest and fastest way to retrieve your documents. For those who need to travel from Singapore to collect apostilled documents, it is useful to ask if arrangements can be made to pick up at a specific date and time to minimize travel.
