1. On March 8, 2023, China acceded to
the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents
(hereinafter referred to as the Convention). On November 7, 2023, the
Convention shall enter into force between China and Netherlands. The Convention shall continue to apply to
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China and the Macao Special
Administrative Region of China.
2. From 7 November 2023, An Apostille
shall be issued onto the public documents as referred to in the Convention
(hereinafter referred to as the public documents) that are issued in the
Netherlands and are to be used in Chinese mainland, instead of legalisation by
Chinese Embassy in the Netherlands.
An Apostille shall be issued onto the
public documents that are issued in Chinese mainland and are to be used in the
Netherlands, instead of legalisation by the Chinese side and Dutch Embassy and
Consulates in China. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China is the designated
authority to issue an Apostille onto the public documents issued in Chinese
mainland. Besides, certain Foreign Affairs Offices (listed below) entrusted by
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China can also issue an Apostille onto the
public documents issued within their own administrative jurisdiction. The
website https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/ enables online verification of the
Apostilles issued in Chinese mainland. For the procedures and requirements for
applying for an Apostille in Chinese mainland, please visit
http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/ or the official websites of relevant Foreign Affairs
Offices.
3. From 7 November 2023, Chinese Embassy
in the Netherlands will cease to provide
legalization service. For the public documents that are issued in the
Netherlands and have to be used in Chinese mainland, please apply for an
Apostille from the Dutch authorities.
4. According to the Convention, the
Apostille issued by a state is to certify the authenticity of the signature,
the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where
appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears. However, there
is possibility that the public documents with an Apostille be rejected in
China. Therefore, applicants are recommended to check the format, content, time
limit, translation and other specific requirements of foreign public documents with relevant Chinese authorities in
advance.
5. The Foreign Affairs Offices in China that issue Apostille are (31 in total): Anhui Province, Chongqing Municipality, Fujian
Province, Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guizhou
Province, Henan Province, Heilongjiang Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province,
Hainan Province, Jilin Province, Jiangsu Province, Jiangxi Province, Liaoning
Province, Sichuan Province, Shandong Province, Shanghai Municipality, Shaanxi
Province, Yunnan Province, Zhejiang Province, Gansu Province, Hebei Province,
Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Changchun City, Harbin City,
Ningbo City, Jinan City, Qingdao City, Shenzhen City.
6. For information on applying
for an Apostille in the Netherlands, please refer to the Dutch
Government website: https://www.netherlandsworldwide.nl/legalisation/what-is-legalisation-apostille.