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Legalisation of documents from Tunisia for use in the Netherlands

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To use a document from Tunisia in the Netherlands, you must first have it legalised by a Tunisian notary. This is done with an apostille. This is a simplified form of legalisation which allows you to use your documents in the Netherlands.

Attention: If you want to use a Dutch document in Tunisia, see Legalisation of Dutch documents for use abroad.

Good to know

  • Documents in Arabic must be translated for use in the Netherlands.
  • Documents are often also available in French. Documents in French do not have to be translated for use in the Netherlands.
  • Your document must be original and complete. If it refers to other documents or annexes, these must be included.

Legalisation of documents in Arabic is a two-step process.

Step 1: Having your document translated

If your document is in Arabic, you must have it translated into Dutch, English, French or German by a sworn translator.

  1. Have the document translated by a sworn translator.
  2. Have the original and the translation legalised with an apostille.

Go to step 2.

  1. Have the original document legalised with an apostille in Tunisia.
  2. 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.

Step 2: Legalisation of your document

Have your document and, if applicable, the translation legalised with an apostille.

You can get an apostille from a Tunisian notary. 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.

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 on or after 1 August 1957 you can get an official copy of your birth certificate from the civil status records office (bureau de l’etat-civil) in your region.

You can get a certificate of unmarried status from the civil status records office (bureau de l’etat-civil) in your region. You will receive an official copy of your birth certificate, showing that you are not married.

You can get an official copy of your marriage certificate from the civil registry (bureau d’état civil) in the municipality in which you got married.

If you were married by a kadi, rabbi or notary before 1 August 1957, you can get the certificate from the court (tribunal d'instance) in the place where you got married.

You can get an official copy of a divorce certificate from the court that granted the divorce.

You can get an official copy of a death certificate from the civil status records office (bureau de l’etat-civil) in the region where the death occurred.

If you need to obtain another type of document, ask the local authorities where you can get this document.

Help with obtaining documents and having them legalised

The Consular Service Centre can assist Dutch nationals with obtaining documents and having them legalised in Tunisia.

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.

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