Foreign Ministry to resume Apostille certification process from Monday

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced the resumption of the Apostille certification process starting Monday, 24NewsHD TV channel reported on Saturday.

According to the report, this service will be available for educational certificates, legal documents, and commercial documents.

Citizens can benefit from the walk-in procedure at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its regional offices in Lahore and Karachi.

The ministry has removed the prior appointment requirement for document verification, making the process more accessible.

A new fee schedule has been issued for the Apostille certification:
Personal and educational documents: Rs3,000 per document
Legal documents: Rs4,500 per document
Commercial documents: Rs12,000 per document
Previously, the fees were Rs 500, 700, and Rs3,000, respectively.

Traditionally, documents verified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs were valid for six months. Now, documents verified through the Apostille process will have indefinite validity.

The Apostille Convention, established in 1961 in The Hague, Netherlands, created a streamlined system for document verification among member countries.

Pakistan will maintain an e-register of all Apostille certifications, audited annually in The Hague. Apostille certifications from Pakistan are recognized in 166 countries.

However, most Middle Eastern and Arab countries, except for Oman and Bahrain, do not recognize Pakistan's Apostille and instead accept verification from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Apostille certification includes a 16-digit unique code and a specific sticker recognized by all Apostille member countries. This sticker is not visible under a normal scanner.

For walk-in customers, the process includes data entry, issuance of a bank challan, fee submission at an on-site bank, document scanning, and the application of the Apostille sticker.

The ministry is also offering online and courier-based Apostille services through five courier companies, including TCS and Gerry's.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is developing an app for Apostille-related services and plans to establish Apostille certification centers in additional cities such as Peshawar, Quetta, and Gujrat within the next two to three months.

Reporter: Anwar Abbas.