1. Introduction

* What is legalisation?

Legalisation is the procedure by which an official document, issued by a foreign authority, is rendered legally valid in Belgium.

* Which documents can be legalised?

a. Only original copies of Birth, Marriage and Death certificates, as well as Court judgements (e.g. divorce and adoption judgements).
Affidavits will be legalised only in special cases (adoption by means of an affidavit according to local customs).

b. School certificates, University diplomas,…

* A document written in any of the local Indian languages will have to be translated into one of the official Belgian languages (Dutch, French or German, depending on the place where it will have to be presented). The Embassy and Consulate General will accept official English versions of an Indian document for legalisation. The translations are to be done by a translator or translation bureau designated by the Embassy.

* The documents must not be older than 6 months on the day of their presentation for legalisation.

* All details on the documents like name, date of birth, parents´ name, address, spouse’s name etc. must be legible and clear, and contain no overwriting, deletions, …( corrections will only be accepted when done in the official way).

* Laminated documents are not accepted for legalisation. Please make sure that the lamination is peeled off before submission.

* The documents are attested by the competent authorities of respective states from where the documents originate and finally by the Consular Division, Ministry for External Affairs, Patiala House, New Delhi. The seal and signature of the consular officer should not be older the 6 months from the date of issue of the documents.

* The sequence of subsequent attestations by the different authorities (see   hereunder) should strictly be followed, failing which, the document will not be accepted for legalisation at the Embassy or the Consulate General.

E.g. for the State of Delhi:
In case the document has been issued in Delhi, only the attestation of Sub-Divisional Magistrate or Magistrate (Executive) or Additional District Magistrate and Ministry for External Affairs, Patiala House, New Delhi is required.

E.g. the State of Punjab:
All documents from Punjab, except for those originating from the state capital of Chandigarh, the certificate has to be attested by the Deputy Commissioner of the area and the Indian Overseas Cell, Chandigarh and finally by Ministry for External Affairs, Patiala House, New Delhi.

As for the legalisation of diplomas and degrees, please make sure that the original degrees and diplomas are attested by Ministry for Human Resources, Kasturba Gandhi Marg, Delhi, followed by the attestation from the Ministry for External Affairs, Consular Division, Patiala House, New Delhi, prior to the legalisation of degrees and diplomas at the Embassy:

2. Legalisation of an official document issued by a foreign public authority

2.1. Official document issued by Indian public authorities
 
Most common are certificates of civil status (birth/marriage/death certificates), diplomas, police clearance certificate and affidavits.

These documents only require a single legalisation (Apostille) issued by the Ministry of External Affairs in New Delhi. Additional legalisation by the Belgian Consulate/Embassy is not required anymore.

Coordinates of the Ministry of External Affairs of the Government of India:

Joint Secretary (Consular), MEA.
CPV Division, Patiala House Annexe
Tilak Marg
New Delhi
India

Telephone: +91 11 2338 8015

Fax: +91 11 2338 8385

E-mail: jscons@mea.gov.in / dcpf@mea.gov.in

Website: http://mea.gov.in / http://mea.gov.in/apostille.htm

2.2. Official documents issued by other foreign public authorities

Please consult www.diplomatie.be, Legalisation, in order to find out whether a legalisation is required.

Remark: Documents issued in Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka have to be attested by the respective local competent authorities and finally by the Honorary Consulate of Belgium in the country of issue.

3.  Legalisation of other types of documents 

Most common are the medical certificates issued by our approved doctors and the formal obligations signed by the financial guarantors. Others may be documents for commercial and administrative purposes in which a person’s signature requires to be certified by the Embassy or Consulate General.

The Embassy or Consulate General will continue to legalise such documents.

3.1. Procedure

3.1.1. Submission of the documents through VFS

The Belgian VFS Visa Application Centres in New Delhi, Mumbai & Bangalore (www.vfs-be-in.com) are authorised to accept documents that need to be legalised. The documents will be sent to the Embassy and the Consulate General for legalisation and forwarded back to you, through VFS.

3.1.2. Submission of the documents directly at the Embassy or Consulate General

You will continue to have the option of submitting your documents directly at the Embassy or the Consulate General.
Embassy of New Delhi: Monday to Friday, from 9.00 to 11.30.
Consulate General in Mumbai: Monday to Friday, from 8.30 to 12.30 & from 14.00 to 15.00.

3.1.3. Way of payment

Only BANKDRAFTS, in Indian Rupees will be accepted. No cash payments. The Embassy and The Consulate General of Belgium reserve the right to refuse bank drafts of certain financial institutions.