LEGALISE IT!

LEGALISE IT!

Tue, 05/24/2011 - 09:15

Legalising documents can be a bit confusing but you can always get an expert to help

Whether you are buying property or marrying a Bulgarian, you will certainly come to a point when you will need to get documents officially translated and/ or legalised. Higher education diplomas, personal documents or a certificate that you have no criminal convictions are only part of the long list of documents that you might need to get officially recognised on various occasions. Any document that was issued outside Bulgaria and is to be used within the country and, likewise, any Bulgarian document that is to be used abroad, must be translated and legalised in order to be valid.

The good news is that there is no need to go through long administrative procedures. You can go to any translation agency where they will help you to do the necessary the easy way. Translation and legalisation agencies became popular in the early 1990s, after the travel restrictions imposed by the Communist regime were dropped. This led to a mass wave of Bulgarians going abroad and making contacts with the outside world - they needed the services offered by such companies in a variety of situations ranging from taking a job abroad, applying to an overseas college or starting business with a foreign partner.

Translation and legalisation agencies have contracts with the Consulate Relations Department of the Foreign Ministry and are licensed to make official translations and act as intermediaries. They work with authorised or "sworn" translators, whose signatures on a document guarantee the correctness of the translation. You can check the full list of licensed agencies at www.mfa.bg.

Depending on the occasion, you might need just an official translation, printed on the official stationery of a licensed agency and bearing the signature of an authorised translator or certification by a state institution. Verifying the authenticity of the document and rendering it into a specific form suitable for use in a certain country is referred to as legalisation. In Bulgaria documents are legalised by the Foreign Ministry and the Justice Ministry. If the document was issued abroad the procedure depends on the agreement that Bulgaria has with the country in which the document originated.

One of the working agreements is the Hague convention abolishing the requirement for legalisation for foreign public documents, also known as the Apostille Convention or the Apostille Treaty. This is an international treaty, signed by more than 70 states. Bulgaria joined the Apostille Convention in 2001. The convention deals with the use of documents outside the country in which they were issued. The documents are certified by means of an "Apostille" ‒ a uniform certificate granted by the relevant authorities in the country of origin. The certificate is dated, numbered and registered and it can be easily checked on request. Documents bearing an Apostille don't need to be certified or legalised further in the country in which they are used, as long as it is a member of the convention. A full list of member states and the authorities that can issue an Apostille can be found at www.hcch.net. Legal contracts with specific regulations are applied to document legalisation when the country where the document was issued is not a signatory to the convention.

The authorities in Bulgaria that can issue an Apostille are the Justice Ministry (for court and notary public acts) and the Foreign Ministry (for any other public documents such as civil status certificates, address registration certificates, education and qualification certificates and so on). The Justice Ministry charges a state fee of 5 leva for the service, which must be transferred to its bank account. The documents with an Apostille applied to them can be collected from 11.15am to 12.00pm within three working days When there are more than 10 documents it takes five working days. At the Foreign Ministry you will have to pay 15 leva for a normal service, where you receive your documents in four working days, or 22.50 leva for a faster two working days. There is same-day express service available between 10am and 3pm for 30 leva.

With the support of the Trust for Civil Society in Central and Eastern Europe and Open Society Institute – Sofia

Issue 55-56

Commenting on www.vagabond.bg

Vagabond Media Ltd requires you to submit a valid email to comment on www.vagabond.bg to secure that you are not a bot or a spammer. Learn more on how the company manages your personal information on our Privacy Policy. By filling the comment form you declare that you will not use www.vagabond.bg for the purpose of violating the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria. When commenting on www.vagabond.bg please observe some simple rules. You must avoid sexually explicit language and racist, vulgar, religiously intolerant or obscene comments aiming to insult Vagabond Media Ltd, other companies, countries, nationalities, confessions or authors of postings and/or other comments. Do not post spam. Write in English. Unsolicited commercial messages, obscene postings and personal attacks will be removed without notice. The comments will be moderated and may take some time to appear on www.vagabond.bg.

0 comments

Add new comment

The content of this field is kept private and will not be shown publicly.

Restricted HTML

  • Allowed HTML tags: <a href hreflang> <em> <strong> <cite> <blockquote cite> <code> <ul type> <ol start type> <li> <dl> <dt> <dd> <h2 id> <h3 id> <h4 id> <h5 id> <h6 id>
  • Lines and paragraphs break automatically.
  • Web page addresses and email addresses turn into links automatically.

Discover More

offroad bulgaria.jpg
OFFROAD MADNESS
Spring adrenaline often needs to find an outlet, and on 20-21 April you have the perfect excuse to let it all out. For two days Hadzhidimitrovo Village, near Yambol, will host Tundzha Trail, one of craziest 4WD competitions.

emma hoplins.jpg
EMBASSY RECIPES
Emma Hopkins OBE was appointed Her Majesty's Ambassador to Bulgaria in May 2015. Since then, she has been exploring Bulgaria, its people, culture, landmarks and, last but not least, its cuisine.

public trasnport sofia.jpg
TRANSPORT FOR SOFIA?
"Do I feel lucky today?" This popular movie tag could easily apply when considering whether or not to chance the public transport network in Sofia.

taxi sofia.jpg
IN FOR A RIDE
A French girl emerges from Sofia Airport and, before she even looks round for a taxi, she is bombarded with offers of a ride into the city.

BUYING PROPERTY IN BULGARIA
I’m reading “The English Neighbour” at the moment, a book about an Englishman who moves to a quiet Bulgarian village. Many people had recommended it to me.
GETTING A JOB
According to the National Employment Agency, Bulgaria's official unemployment rate is 9.6 percent. Eurostat, however, has produced different data, stating that in June 2011 the unemployment rate was 11.4 percent, compared to 10 percent a year earlier.
STUDYING HOW TO STUDY
You may have various reasons for choosing public education in Bulgaria, either for yourself or for your children, ranging from an inability to afford the fees at private educational institutions to being unable to access their services because you live, for
112 emergency number bulgaria.jpg
GETTING EMERGENCY HELP IN BULGARIA
Three young Finns set out in May 2010 to trek over the mountain pass at Bachkovo, in the Rhodope. The day started well but ended up as a nightmare when one of them fell and was injured.

HAPPY BUYERS?
"I bought a pair of winter shoes, they seemed stable. After two weeks the sole of one of them came off“ a friend of mine complained. "They were under warranty. I exchanged them for another pair at the shop. Two weeks later the sole came off again.
TRACED IN WARS AND DISASTERS
It could happen to anyone. Your brother or husband goes on what seems like an exciting trip to the Middle East or the Pacific. Then you switch on the TV and you catch some breaking news.
ADOPTING A BULGARIAN CHILD
There was a report in The Sunday Times a few years ago that described how easy it was to purchase a child from some Gypsy quarter in Bulgaria. A healthy child was priced at ₤16,000.
palace of justice sofia.jpg
NAVIGATING THE BULGARIAN LEGAL SYSTEM
What is the level of corruption in the Bulgarian judicial system? Judging by what WikiLeaks has revealed, the US Government is as concerned with corruption in this sphere as it is with all branches of power in Bulgaria.