1. On 8 March 2023, China acceded to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as the Convention). The Convention shall enter into force between China and Finland on 7 November 2023. The Convention shall continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region.

2. From 7 November 2023, Finnish public documents as referred to in the Convention that are to be produced in the mainland of China need only an Apostille from Finnish Authorities and not the legalisation by the Finnish Authorities and Chinese Embassy in Finland.

From 7 November 2023, Chinese public documents as referred to in the Convention that are to be produced in the Finland no longer need the legalisation by Chinese Authorities and Finnish Embassy and Consulates in China. Instead, an Apostille from concerned Chinese Authorities is necessary. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China is the designated authority to issue an Apostille onto the public documents executed in the mainland of China. Meanwhile, relevant Foreign Affairs Offices entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China are also entitled to issue an Apostille onto the public documents executed within their own administrative jurisdiction (please refer to the attachment for detailed information). The website http://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/ enables online verification of such Apostilles. For the procedures and requirements for applying for an Apostille in the mainland of China, please visit http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/ or the official websites of relevant Foreign Affairs Offices.

3. From 7 November 2023, the legalisation business at Chinese Visa Application Service Center in Finland will be ceased. For the Finnish public documents as referred to in the Convention that are to be produced in the mainland of China, please apply for an Apostille from Finnish authorities.

4. According to the Convention, the Apostille issued by a state is to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity of the person who has signed the public document and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which the public document bears. The public documents with Finnish Apostilles onto them will not necessarily be accepted by relevant Chinese authorities. Applicants shall check the format, contents, time limit, translation and other specific requirements of foreign public documents from the Chinese authorities where the documents are to be used before going through relevant procedures.