Notice on the Termination of Consular Legalisation after China's
Accession to the Apostille Convention
2023-10-25 15:26
I. On March 8, 2023, China joined the
Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public
Documents(hereinafter referred to as "the Convention"). On November
7, 2023, the Convention will enter into force between China and Australia. The
Convention will continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative
Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region of China.
II. As from November 7, 2023, any public documents
when properly executed in Australia within the scope of the Convention, can be
sent to Chinese mainland for use with the APOSTILLE issued by the competent
authority of Australia from which the document emanates,and the consular
legalisation from the Australian side and the Chinese Embassy or Consulate
General in Australia are no longer required.
All public documents within the scope of the
Convention sent from China to Australia will no longer be subject to consular
legalisationby the Chinese authority and the Australian Embassy and Consulate General in
China, but will be subject to APOSTILLE. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
China is the competent authority for issuing APOSTILLE for public documents
executed within Chinese territory. Entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
China, the Foreign Affairs Offices of relevant local governments in China can issue
the APOSTILLE for public documents executed within their respective
administrative regions (see the list attached). The APOSTILLE can be verified
online by visiting this website:https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/. Specific procedures and
requirements for applying APOSTILLE can be checked by visiting the China
Consular Service website (http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/) or the websites of relevant local Foreign
Affairs Offices.
III. As from November 7, 2023, the Chinese
Consulate General in Perth will terminate consular legalisation services. For
public documents executed in Australia, which intended for using in Chinese
mainland, please apply for APOSTILLE from related Australian authorities.
IV.According to the Convention, APOSTILLE may
be required in order 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 the document bears.
The completion of APOSTILLE issued by relevant
Australian authority does not mean that the public document will be accepted
by the receiving organization in China. It shall be inquired in advance with
the receiving organization about the specific requirements for the format,
content, time limit, translation, and other aspects of foreign public documents
before proceeding with the relevant APOSTILLE application.
Attachment:
1. List of Authorized Local Foreign Affairs
Officesfor issuing APOSTILLE
2. Information for authority issuing APOSTILLE
in Australia
Attachment 1:
List of Authorized Local Foreign Affairs Offices for issuing
APOSTILLE
(31 in total)
Anhui Province, Chongqing City, 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 City, 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
Attachment 2:
Information for authority issuing APOSTILLE in Australia
Applicants can apply for APOSTILLE from the
Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade or their offices in various
states and territories.
According to the notice from the Australian government,
all mail applications submitted to the Office of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs and Trade must be sent to the Melbourne Passport Office.
For specific procedures, you can visit the
following website to query:
https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/consular-services/notarial-services/documents-in-australia
For verifying an APOSTILLE issued by authority
in Australia, you can visit https://orao.dfat.gov.au/pages/verifyapostille.aspx