Foreign ministry to begin issuing Apostilles

Those wanting to have documents authenticated for overseas use should find the process to do so much easier as the Hague Apostille Convention came into force Saturday and the Authentication (Foreign Public Documents) Act will enter into operation today.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade will start to issue Apostilles to authenticate documents for use in all of the 120 countries which are party to the Convention. The fees for an Apostille will be $3,500 per document for a five-day processing service.

“Although this is an increase in the fee paid to the ministry, this new process will remove the additional costs that have been associated with the authentication and legalisation of documents by foreign embassies and consulates. The implementation of this service will, therefore, be a major improvement and will result in significant savings and convenience to our clients,” said Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade.

SIMPLIFY AUTHENTICATION PROCESS

A foreign ministry press release said once apostilled, public documents executed in participating countries and territories to be used in Jamaica will no longer have to be legalised by a Jamaican embassy or consulate.

An Apostille certificate will also simplify the authentication process for foreign documents intended for use in Jamaica. If a person is abroad, they would need to submit the completed application form, proof of payment and the documents to be apostilled, to the nearest Jamaican High Commission, embassy or consulate, or they may send directly, via courier, to the Consular Affairs Department at the foreign affairs ministry.

Those in Jamaica can visit the reception desk at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade where they will be directed to pay the requisite fee. After payment, they should return to the reception desk to submit the completed application form, receipt, TRN and the document(s) to be apostilled.

Common documents that generally need authentication include birth, marriage, death and educational certificates; medical documents certified by the Ministry of Health & Wellness; declarations, shipping documents; statements and similar documents signed before a justice of the peace or notary public.