Legalisation of documents from India for use in the Netherlands
To use a document from India in the Netherlands, you must have it legalised with an apostille by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. This is a simplified form of legalisation which allows you to use your documents in the Netherlands.
Good to know
- Documents in Hindi must be translated for use in the Netherlands. Documents in English do not have to be translated.
- Your document must be original and complete. If it refers to other documents or annexes, these must be included.
Legalisation of documents in Hindi is a two-step process.
Step 1: Having your document translated
If your document is in Hindi, you must have it translated into Dutch, English, French or German by a sworn translator.
- Have the document translated by a sworn translator.
- Have the original and the translation legalised with an apostille.
Go to step 2.
- Have the original document legalised with an apostille in India.
- Have the legalised document translated by a sworn translator in the Netherlands. You do not need to have the translation legalised. You can find a sworn translator on the Legal Aid Council website.
Go to step 2.
Your document was issued by the Indian consulate in Oranjestad (Aruba):
- Have the document translated into Dutch, English, French or German by a sworn translator.
- If you have the document translated by a sworn translator in Aruba, have the translation legalised.
- If you have the document translated in the Netherlands, you do not need to have the translation legalised. You can find a sworn translator on the Legal Aid Council website.
Go to step 2.
Step 2: Legalisation of your document
Have your document and, if applicable, the translation legalised with an apostille by the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. See the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) website for contact details.
Once your document has been legalised it is fit for use in the Netherlands.
It is then also fit for use in Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten, Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius.
Your document was issued by the Indian consulate in Oranjestad (Aruba):
- Have the document legalised by the Department of Legislation and Legal Affairs (DWJZ) in Oranjestad.
Once your document has been legalised it is fit for use in the Netherlands.
It is then also fit for use in Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten, Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius.
Don’t have the document you need?
Find out below where to obtain a document that you need but do not yet have.
If you were born before 1 April 1970
You can get an official copy of a birth certificate from the office of the Registrar of Births and Deaths in the municipality where you were born.
If your birth was not registered on time, you can get a late entry birth certificate. This is available from the office of the Registrar of Births and Deaths in the district where you were born. (In the state of Punjab late entry birth certificates are only issued for births that took place on or after 1 April 1970.)
If you are an Indian national born before 1947 in what is now Pakistan, contact Pakistan’s diplomatic mission in India. They can tell you how to get an official copy of your birth certificate.
If you were born on or after 1 April 1970
You can get an official copy of a birth certificate from the municipality or the office of the Registrar of Births and Deaths in the state where you were born. States often have their own rules for registering births.
If your birth was not registered on time, you can get a late entry birth certificate. This is available from the office of the Registrar of Births and Deaths in the district where you were born.
Missing or non-available birth certificates
If your birth certificate is missing or not available, you can get an entry-not-found certificate or non-availability certificate. Contact the register office in the district where you were born.
An affidavit can also serve as proof of your birth. This a written statement that you make under oath in the presence of a notary.
You can get a certificate of unmarried status from a competent court, or from a Sub Divisional Magistrate with jurisdiction in the area where you live. You will be given a certificate/sworn statement. This document must be legalised by the Indian Home Department of State.
You can get an official copy of a marriage certificate from the office of the Registrar of Marriages in the state where you got married.
If your marriage was not registered, contact the body that solemnised the marriage.
Divorce certificate
You can get a certified copy of a divorce certificate from the court where the divorce was granted.
Muslim divorce certificate
You can request a certified copy of a Muslim divorce certificate from the Qazi or head of the Jamaat in question.
Hindu divorce certificate
You will need a divorce decree issued by the court as proof of the divorce.
If the person died before 1 April 1970
Ask the Indian authorities where you can get this document.
If the person died on or after 1 April 1970
You can get an official copy of the death certificate from the office of the Registrar of Births and Deaths in the state where the person died.
If you need to obtain another type of document, find out from the local authorities where you can do that.
Help with applying for documents and having them legalised
The Consular Service Centre can assist Dutch nationals with applying for documents and having them legalised in India.
After legalisation
Verification of your document in the Netherlands
Legalisation does not prove the authenticity of a document or the truthfulness of its content. A municipality in the Netherlands, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) or another authority may decide to verify these things. Legalisation of your document simply means that your document bears the correct signature.
How recently must your document have been issued or legalised
Organisations have different requirements for how recently your document must have been issued and legalised. For more information, contact the organisation in the Netherlands requesting the document.
Contact
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.