Many foreign trade enterprises or import and export companies may need to submit and use relevant documents when conducting business operations abroad. However, the validity and legality of these documents need to be certified in advance before they can be recognized. That is, only after the relevant international convention certification procedures can be recognized as valid, and the global Hague certification is one of the most common international convention certifications.
Ⅰ. The need for global Hague certification
If an enterprise needs to take a document or certificate for overseas use, in this case, international notarization is required. Hague certification is the most commonly used certification method. Among them, two different situations may be involved:
1. Use in the countries of the Hague Convention: Hague certification can be carried out directly in Hong Kong, for example. (Hong Kong, China is also a member of the Hague Convention)
2. If it is used in a non-Hague Convention country: embassy certification is also required. (The notarized document is to be handed over to the official of the embassy or consulate of the overseas country in China to "authenticate" the document for signature confirmation.)
The difference between the global hague certification and the embassy and consulate certification:
Hague certification can be used in any member state of the Hague Convention, and its processing time is relatively short. The embassy and consulate certification can only be used in the country where the application is processed. For example, at the US embassy or consulate in China, its certified documents are only recognized as valid in the United States.
Ⅱ. The scope of the global Hague certification
1. Certification company, registration certificate, power of attorney, business registration certificate and business documents, commercial CE certificate, ISO certificate, sales contract, certificate of good reputation of the company;
2. Attestation of personal documents and information for immigration, marriage, adoption, inheritance, etc., preparation of power of attorney for overseas use and witnessing its signature, witnessing the signature of overseas land or property sales documents;
3. Birth certificate, degree certificate, marriage certificate, no criminal record, birth certificate, etc.;
4. Provide authentication and keep notarized records for transactions, documents or events.
Ⅲ. How Hong Kong companies apply for global Hague certification
Although Hong Kong is a member of the Hague Convention, the documents of Hong Kong companies also need to be authenticated if they are to be used between treaty countries, and the general method of authentication is as follows:
1. First of all, entrust a Hong Kong International Notary Public Lawyer for notarization. This is mainly to prove the authenticity of the document. Finally, the lawyer's signature and seal are required.
2. Then, it will be forwarded by the Hong Kong International Notary Public for certification by the Hong Kong High Court, and finally stamped with the special seal of Apostille.
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