Job Discussion Forums

[HLJHLJ]

[Teacher in Rome]

I've had to get various things apostilled, but always at times when I was living abroad. I ended up going to the British Embassy, and they did all this for me. Maybe this is the equivalent of sending them all to the FCO, but it certainly wasn't as expensive or as much hassle as the procedures / costs already quoted. But this wasn't for things like degree certificate, but for "nulla osta" and declarations of marital status.

[naturegirl321]

[HLJHLJ]

There are a few documents that can done locally, usually things related to birth, marriage or death, but not education certificates. When you get an education certificate apostilled through an embassy, they send them back to the FCO in the UK, where it gets apostilled and sent back to the Embassy. However, it may allow you to bypass the notary stage, as certain British Council and British Embassy officials can notarise documents. Although even when they do, they may charge as much as a notary in the UK.

It has to be done that way because all the apostille actually certifies is that the person who notarised the document is authorised to do so and that the signature/seal is genuine. So they can only check that for UK registered notaries.

The whole thing is pretty ridiculous, the notary checks your ID documents and certifies that either this is the actual document that was brought to them, or it is a true copy of the actual document. The FCO then certifies that the notary was authorised to certify it, and that the seal/signature is genuine. No-one ever actually certifies that the documents themselves are genuine, but it fulfills the requirements of the Hague Convention.

[morrisonhotel]

[HLJHLJ]

Notaries can charge whatever they want. It depends where you live, and how much competition there is locally. I contacted every notary within 1 1/2 hour drive and the cheapest quote I got was �25 per document. I ended up going to one who had a more expensive rate per document, but a lower hourly rate.

Last time I went back to UK I had to get a couple more certificates done and paid �25 per document in a different county on the other side of the country.

Between the two occasions I probably spoke to around 20 different notaries, and none charged less than �25, most charged a lot more. There probably are places that charge �10 per document (though �5 would be incredibly cheap, and frankly not worth their while), but if it means driving for 3 hours to find them, it's hardly worth it. I would also imagine there are places in the South East that charge many times more than that.

[johnslat]

In the Stares, if you have a bank account, you can get any document notarized for free at that bank - at least, I've always been able to do so.

Regards,
John

[naturegirl321]

[smithrn1983]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but aren't notarizing and apostilling documents two different things? Anyone who is certified can notarize a document, but I thought an apostille could only be given by the government.

[naturegirl321]

[morrisonhotel]