Legalization

Legalization

What is consular legalization

Consular legalization of a document is a consular officer's certification that a signature, a seal and duties of the undersigned individual on a document are genuine. Legalization is necessary to allow documents issued in one country to be accepted and used by institutions of other countries.

Which documents are subject to legalization

• Civil status certificates (birth certificate, paternity verification, certificate of adoption, certificate of marriage, certificate of divorce, verification of change of family name, death certificate);
• Company documents (incorporation agreement, certificate of incorporation, articles of association of a company);
• Education and study documents;
• Certificates issued by public institutions (for example, criminal record certificates), companies, offices and organizations;
• Other documents may also be legalized provided that their contents shall not contradict laws and international agreements.

Legalization requirements and procedure

• Before submitting, the above mentioned documents shall be legalized in the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or diplomatic mission or consular post of the country having issued the documents.

• Documents for legalization are submitted in person or by a legal representative.

A legal representative shall present the power of attorney, translated into Lithuanian/English and legalized.

• The appointment at the Embassy is mandatory. Book an appointment online here.
• A service is provided either during the visit or within 5-15 working days, depending on whether the Embassy has a sample of signature and stamp of the official who legalized the submitted document.
• Legalization of one document costs 20 euros which are paid with a bank card during the visit (attention: payment in cash is not accepted). 
• Maximum 3 documents and only belonging to the same person may be submitted during one visit.

Frequently asked questions

      1. How many documents are acceptable per appointment?

• If a person comes in person, he/she may submit maximum 3 documents (belonging to him or his family members, for example,spouse).

      2. Can my legal representative submit my documents and my spouse's documents during one visit?

• Yes he can, but no more than 3 documents in total during one visit.

Note: a legal representative shall have a separate power of attorney for each family member he represents.

      3. Can my representative submit multiple documents in one day?

• If your representative reserves 2 appointments, he/she can submit documents of 2 unrelated persons (1st appointment  -  documents of the 1st person, 2nd appointment – documents of the 2nd person).