Legalization and Apostillation of documents
All documents issued by the Albanian administration intended to be used abroad should be legalized. Foreign documents to be presented to our authorities should be legalized as well.
Legalization of documents in our missions and the MFA
Legalization is the procedure of recognition of foreign document’s regularity. For this, the consular diplomats confirm the responsible functionary and the institution, namely by verifying the signature and seal. Beforehand, the issuing authority should have informed the persons who have the right to issue documents and deposit their signatures.
The responsible authorities for the legalization of documents for each foreign country can be found on the official websites of foreign ministries.
The legalization of the Albanian documents to be used abroad and legalization of foreign documents to be submitted to the Albanian authorities is regulated by DCM. 134, dated 07/03/2003.
Attached:
List of countries that require legalization of documents: List of countries with legalization
Apostillation of Documents
Albania is a member of the Hague Convention “On the abolition of legalization of foreign public documents” of 5 October 1961, which means that the Albanian documents that will be used in member countries of the same Convention, and vice versa, will not be legalized by diplomatic and consular representations. For more: http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.authorities&cid=41
Under this Convention, the documents are provided with an apostille stamp by the relevant authority of the country where they are issued and can then be used directly at the relevant institution (Public Records Office, court, educational institution, etc.) of the host country.
Authorities responsible for the apostillation of documents can be found at: http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.authorities&cid=4
Attached:
List of countries that require apostillation of documents: List of countries with apostillation.
Vendet për të cilat nuk kërkohet legalizimi/apostilimi i dokumenteve
Countries that do not require apostillation/legalization of documents
Attached:
List of countries whose documents are accepted without being legalized or apostilled List of countries directly
Relevant Institutions
In Albania, the relevant authority for the legalization and apostillation of documents is the MFA, Consular Department. In other countries it can be the Foreign Ministry, Ministry of Justice, or various local structures.
The authorities responsible for the legalization of documents for each foreign country can be found on the official websites of foreign ministries.
The authorities responsible for the apostillation of documents can be found at: http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.authorities&cid=41
Submission of documents for legalization
The submission of documents for legalization abroad is carried out directly at our missions abroad.
The submission of documents for legalization in Albania is carried out through postal services.
For more:
