Foreigners who want to use documents not in Vietnamese will have to legalize and authenticate those papers if they want to submit in the country. However, the terms legalization and authentication haven’t been well understood and make many people confused. Let’s make it clearer via this updated post!
What is legalization and authentication
According to international law, legalization is a procedure of certifying a legal document so that the legal system of the foreign country will recognize it with full legal effect.
Simply understand, a document needs to be legalized will have to undergo 3 steps including:
- All the documents will be translated into the language of the country you are going to use those things,
- Verification by the authority/government of the issuing country;
- Verification by the Embassy of the destination country within the issuing country. So if you are in New York, USA, come to the Consulate of Vietnam in New York for this final stage.
On the other hand, authentication of a document ensures the acceptance of its value in the foreign country. It means that this is an action verifying the genuineness of the documents or signatures and making them effective or valid. Authentication will be normally in the second step of legalization when the authority of the issuing country will confirm that the documents/ signatures are in good standing.
Therefore, if US passport holders in New York want to use the documents in Vietnam, they will first of all have to translate all the papers into Vietnamese, get them verified by the authority in the US and then have the Vietnam Embassy/ Consulate in New York in their country verify. Make sure to get all those steps done before bringing to the destination nation for using.
How to get legalization and authentication
Please have a look at the list of things required for legalization and authentication application as below:
- Application form for legalization and authentication;
- Original and copy of personal documents: ID, passport, driving license, residence permit, etc.;
- Documents that have been translated into the language of the destination country.
As at the final step, the documents will be processed at Vietnam Embassy/ Consulate so applicants will have 2 choice to receive their results:
- Visit in person at the office of Vietnam Consulate in New York to get them back; or
- Using mail services via FedEx, USPS Express Mail, or UPS. If this option is chosen, please remember to attach a self-address, fully postage paid envelope so that the result can be sent to the right place.
Legalization and authentication fees
The fee of legalization and authentication can be paid:
- In person: in the form of Cash or Cashier’s Checks payable to THE CONSULATE OF VIET NAM IN NEW YORK
- Via mail: in the form of Money Order or Cashier’s Check (Certified Checks) payable to THE CONSULATE OF VIET NAM IN NEW YORK.
Contact of Vietnam Consulate in New York for legalizing or authenticating your documents
For any information or further support regarding legalization and authentication of documents for use in Vietnam, please feel free to contact Consulate of Vietnam in New York as below:
- Address: 866 U.N. Plaza, Suite 435, New York, NY 10017
- Telephone: 1-212-644-2535 or 1-212-644-0831
- or Hotline +1 929 523 5888/ +1 917 513 8688 (for protection of Vietnamese citizens)
- Fax: 212-644-5732
- Email: [email protected]/ [email protected]
- Working hours: 09:00 to 17:30, from Monday to Friday