Legalization and Authentication

Legalization by the Embassy of the UAE

Legalization and authentication turkey

Legalization and Authentication of Official Documents via Foreign Embassies – Soylu Apostille Services

Certain countries that are not party to the Hague Apostille Convention require document legalization through their embassies or consulates in the country where the document was issued. This procedure confirms the authenticity of signatures, seals, and the capacity of the issuing authority, enabling the document to be legally accepted in the destination country.

Unlike an apostille, legalization is a multi-step process, and the requirements can vary significantly depending on both the country of origin and the destination country.

How the Legalization Process Works (General Overview)

Pre-certification: Private documents such as contracts, declarations, or corporate agreements must first be notarized by a licensed notary in the country of issuance. Public deeds and notarized documents are then presented to the competent judicial authority for authentication of the notary’s credentials.

Ministerial Validation: In many jurisdictions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or an equivalent governmental body must confirm the validity of the prior certifications before the document can proceed to consular legalization.

Embassy or Consulate Legalization: Only after the preceding steps have been completed can the document be presented to the embassy or consulate of the destination country for final legalization.

Certified Translations: If the receiving country requires the document in a specific language, a certified or sworn translator must complete the translation. In many cases, the translation must be attached to the original document before the legalization process can be finalized.

Countries Requiring Legalization Instead of Apostille

A number of countries have not acceded to the Hague Apostille Convention and therefore require full consular legalization. Some examples include:

United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and other Gulf states

People’s Republic of China

Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, and various other jurisdictions

For these destinations, special validation procedures may apply, including verification of educational credentials by the issuing institution, Chamber of Commerce endorsement for commercial documents, or additional ministerial approvals specific to the destination country.

How Soylu Apostille Services Can Assist

At Soylu Apostille Services, we offer guidance and administrative support for individuals and companies preparing official documents for international use across any jurisdiction. Our role includes:

Helping determine the correct legal pathway, whether apostille certification or full consular legalization is required for your specific destination

Coordinating notarization, certified translation, and judicial or ministerial pre-approvals in the country of issuance

Providing clarity on document sequencing and embassy-specific rules for the destination country

Managing communication with the relevant governmental institutions, embassies, and consulates on your behalf

Ensuring a smooth and transparent preparation process from the initial assessment to final delivery

Important Disclaimer

Soylu Apostille Services does not act as a government authority. All legalization and authentication procedures are performed by the respective governmental ministries, judicial authorities, and foreign embassies or consulates. We provide preparatory, coordination, and facilitation support only. Final decisions and processing times depend solely on the competent issuing authorities.

For more information or to request support with preparing documents for legalization, contact us at info@soylulegal.com – we look forward to assisting you.

Legalization by the Embassy of the UAE

Legalization and authentication in Turkey by a foreign consulate or embassy

Legalization is another form of authentication and is different from an apostille. Unlike an apostille, legalization is carried out by a foreign consulate or embassy in Turkey.

Before submission to the respective diplomatic mission, some formalities have to be considered.

Private documents, for example, contracts or signature certifications must be certified in advance by a notary in Turkey, so that these documents become a public deed. Only public documents may then receive further certification at the competent court. The court then states in its credentials that the notary’s signature and seal are genuine and that he has the authority to authenticate the document. The content of the document is not examined by the court.

Only after the endorsement of the court, the document can be submitted to the diplomatic mission.

Legalization and authentication turkey

But there are other countries too, such as Saudi Arabia, the People’s Republic of China, Qatar, Iraq or the Kingdom of Jordan. For these, the documents still have to be certified by the Federal Office of Administration. Without this final certification, the document will not be accepted in the respective embassy. The Federal Office of Administration in turn confirms that the signature and seal of the court are genuine and that the employee has the authority to authenticate the document.

Commercial documents such as a certificate of origin and a commercial invoice must be legalized together. However, it is important that the competent Chamber of Industry and Commerce (IHK) first pre-authenticates the document. Only after the two attestation steps can the documents be submitted to the respective embassy or consulate for legalization.

But there is much more to consider. If, for example, a diploma is to be legalized at the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates, the diploma must first be attested by the respective university or university of applied sciences.

That is, the university confirms in its credentials that the diploma or certificate matches the original diploma. Thereafter, the certified copy must be submitted to the competent Turkish authority, which in turn certifies that the employee of the university or school is entitled to affix the signature and the seal on the photocopy. Only when these certifications are available, the legalized document may be submitted to the embassy or consulate.

Of course, a Turkish diploma or legalization certificate can be submitted to the Embassy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

But many companies in the United Arab Emirates would like to be presented with an English-language document, here it should be noted that even in such a case, the university or college diploma, certificate or doctoral certificate must be pre-authenticated. The certified copy must then be stitched together with the correct prior authorization and with the translation by a court appointed translator. Here, too, further credentials before submission to the embassy or consulate are to be considered.

There are also other rules that need to be considered before a document can be submitted to the embassy or consulate. We are happy to handle the procedure of filing your documents so that they can be properly legalized.

Please contact info@soylulegal.com or upload your document here

We will inform you of the costs and the approximate duration of the legalization procedure.