Apostille
What is Apostille?
Apostille is a process of certification by which documents are made legal for use in a foreign country party to The Hague Convention of 1961.
Commonly apostilled documents include, but are not limited to, university degrees, college diplomas, marriage certificates, birth certificates and professional accreditations.
Why use PSO for your Apostille?
Expedited Processing
Global Affairs Canada recommends “hiring a private service provider, such as an authentication and legalization (apostille) service or process server in the Ottawa-Gatineau area” in order to expedite processing.
Embassy and Consulate Experience
The PSO team has extensive experience with many of the Embassies and Consulates in Ottawa and the surrounding area. We can cut the time required to obtain your apostille equivalent to a matter of days, rather than weeks, while ensuring all is in order and completed properly the first time.
Experienced Professionals
Requirements for obtaining apostille can be very specific, and frequently changing, depending on the type of document and the country. Our experience can help remove uncertainty around the apostille process, helping you navigate the in’s and out’s.
Common Documents for Apostille
Is Apostille known by any other name?
As Canada is not signatory to The Hague Convention, we do not have Apostille, but instead, an equivalent two-step process of Authentication and Legalization.
While the name and process may differ slightly, the end result is the same. The document is certified for use in a foreign country.
Apostille of Canadian Documents
The first step in the equivalent process, authentication, is a check of the signature or seal of the official executing the document against a known sample specimen. Authentication is performed by Global Affairs Canada (formerly Department of Foreign Affairs Trade and Development) in Ottawa.
Some documents must be notarized before being processed. If you are unsure of the requirements particular to your documents, please do not hesitate to contact us.
The second step in the process equivalent to apostille, is called legalization. This is a check of the signature of the Canadian authority that has authenticated the document. This step is executed by the Embassy, Consulate, or High Commission of the country in which the document is to be presented after being apostilled.
How long does the process of Apostille take?
Apostille of Canadian documents can be a long process if attempted without the help of an apostille service or process server. According to the Global Affairs Canada website, documents submitted by mail can take “approximately 25 days” to be authenticated. It can take another month after this point to have them transit by mail and be legalized by the Embassy or Consulate.
Our team at PSO can attest your documents quickly and without confusion. Depending the country in which they are to be used, our attestation service can have your documents processed in as little as one business day.
More Information
For more information, or to have your Canadian document apostilled, please contact us by phone at +1 (613) 203-5957, or by email contact@psoprofessional.ca and we will be happy to help.
You may also check our articles section for more detailed and country specific information.
M. Headley
Dubai, UAE
“While getting ready to head back out of country to work internationally and only 6 weeks to spare, I started this process of requesting transcripts to be sent to the embassy during week 1. Everything was on track, or so I thought, but on PSO’s end they were telling me that the embassy didn’t get the correct documents…needless to say the University messed up real bad sending incomplete documents causing unnecessary delays. Jordan was incredibly patient during this process-having made many trips to check the status of my documents. In the end, I got my documents with a few days to spare before I boarded the plane back to the Middle East.
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G. Van Wyk
Calgary, AB
“Service Excellence and PSO in my opinion = Perfect Service Ontime.
THANK YOU for consistent and reliable Client Care!!”
S.W. - LCBO
Toronto, ON
“Quick, easy and reliable. Highly recommended for speed and excellent customer service.”
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O. Ebrahimpour
Montreal, QC
“Recently, I contacted PSO for authentication of a medical document. First they explained me the procedure and guided me how to prepare the document. As soon as they received my document by mail, they informed me and they started to proceed my file. I am very happy about their service as they did it on time.”
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T. Subaihi - Director at Taqa Global
Abu Dhabi, UAE
“The service was outstanding. I had requested attestation of my degree in Ottawa from both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and my Embassy. PSO took care of it less than two days after receiving my documents. Outstanding service, extremely professional, highly recommended.”
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A. Daghache
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
“Jordan helped me in getting my degrees and transcripts asserted by the Saudi Embassy as well as the Culture Bureau. Even though it took longer than intended, Jordan went out of his way to ensure my documents would be sent back to me by the time that was needed. He was patient as friendly and always kept me updated and always had the best interest for my documents. Couldn’t have asked anyone else to handle my degrees better than him! :)”
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