Schmidt & Schmidt covers the full spectrum of legalization services for documents issued in Montenegro.
Montenegro joined the Hague Convention on the Simplified Authentication of Documents on 30 January 2007; the Convention entered into force on 3 June 2006.
The apostille, or the “Hague apostille” is a certificate that authenticates the origin of a public document (e.g., a birth, marriage or death certificate, a judgment, an extract of a register or a notarial attestation). It confirms the authenticity of the signature and the authority of an official who signed the public document.
Documents issued in Montenegro are certified with an apostille in accordance with the Hague Convention of 1961 are recognized in all Member States of the Hague Convention and do not require any other form of certification, such as consular legalization, which considerably reduces the costs and time required for the certification of documents. So far, more than 120 states have joined the Convention.
The apostille is not sufficient for use in the states that are not party to the Hague Convention. In this case, consular legalization applies to a public document.
Designated Competent Apostille Authorities in Montenegro
In Montenegro, the designated Competent Authorities for issuing apostilles are as follows:
- President of the Court: The President of the Court is authorized to certify the authenticity of documents by affixing the "Apostille" seal. Additionally, individuals authorized by the President of the Court can also issue apostilles.
- Ministry of Justice: The Ministry of Justice has the authority to issue Apostilles for public documents issued by authorities within the jurisdiction of each Court of First Instance in Montenegro. This is contingent upon fulfilling necessary conditions, which includes having a sample of the signature and stamp from the public document in the Ministry's database.
The apostille in Montenegro is a square stamp in Montenegrin with the obligatory heading "Apostille" and a reference to the 1961 Hague Convention in French (Convention de La Haye du 5 octobre 1961). The apostille certificate’s sides will be at least 9 centimeters long.
Types of documents
| Can be apostillized | Cannot be apostillized |
|---|---|
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Specific aspects and document requirements for the apostille in Montenegro
Acquiring an Apostille Certificate for Montenegrin documents usually involves a local process conducted in the municipal court. This procedure can be quite time-consuming, often taking up to 30 days or more, depending on the specific documents involved and the workload of local authorities.
Montenegro is a participant in the Hague Apostille Convention, which mandates that any official document intended for the country must bear an Apostille from the Secretary of State. The certification procedure involves visiting the Ministry of Justice, Human and Minority Rights with the document requiring certification. The resulting certification can then be used in another country.
Document requirements that might apply:
- The document must be an original or a certified copy issued by the competent authority.
- The document should contain all relevant and accurate information.
- The document must be in the official language of the issuing country or translated into the official language of the country where the apostille is sought.
- The apostille must be affixed by the designated competent authority in accordance with regulations.
The apostille is issued in a uniform format. In Montenegro, it has the form of a printed sticker with a handwritten signature of an official, an official seal, and a hologram.
In cases where apostilles are not recognized, holders of foreign documents will need to legalize them instead. However, If the country of destination of the document recognizes and issues apostilles, then legalization is unnecessary.
Legalization of Montenegro educational documents for use abroad
The process of legalizing educational documents in Montenegro involves submitting them to the designated authority along with the required fee. Once the apostille is affixed to your documents, it serves as an internationally recognized endorsement of their authenticity. This is particularly important when presenting your educational credentials to foreign institutions, employers, or authorities.
By undergoing the apostille process, your Montenegro educational documents gain credibility and acceptance across borders. This ensures that your academic achievements are acknowledged and respected in foreign countries, contributing to your opportunities for further education, employment, and professional growth on an international scale.
Recognition of the authenticity of public documents within the EU
Documents from countries with which Montenegro has bilateral agreements for exemption from legalization are not required to undergo any form of legalization procedures. Some of these include:
- Agreement between SFRY and the Kingdom of Belgium on Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters;
- Convention between SFRY and the Republic of France on issuing documents on personal status and the exemption from legalization;
- Agreement between the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and the Croatian Republic on Legal Assistance in Civil and Criminal Matters from 15 September 1997;
- Agreement between SFRY and the Republic of Cyprus on Legal Assistance in Civil and Criminal Matters from 19 September 1984;
- Agreement between Montenegro and the Republic of Macedonia on Legal Assistance in Civil and Criminal matters.
Contracting states of the Vienna CIEC Convention of 08.09.1976 (issuance of multilingual extracts from civil status registers: birth, marriage, and death certificate) are:
- Austria, Germany, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Estonia, France, Italy, Cape Verde, Cyprus, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Switzerland, Serbia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey.
Regulation on public documents (EU) 2016/1191 of 6 July 2016
Furthermore, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of 6 July 2016 on public documents simplifies the circulation of certain public documents that must be presented in an EU Member State and have been issued in another EU Member State, thus exempting public documents from the confirmation of authenticity with the Apostille with the aim of reducing administrative burden and costs for citizens.
Consular legalization of Montenegro documents for use abroad
Consular legalization is the process of authenticating or certifying a legal document so a foreign country's legal system will recognize it as with full legal effect that is carried out by the diplomatic or consular mission of the country in which the document is to be used.
Consular legalization is more complex, time-consuming and costly than the simpler apostille procedure. Whereas apostille is usually issued within one step, consular legalization requires several pre-certifications before a public document can be certified at the embassy or consulate of the destination country.
It is a common requirement that the document has to be translated into the official language of the destination country before submission to the embassy. It is up to the diplomatic mission to decide about the authentication procedure.
The main differences between an apostille and consular legalization of documents
The common feature between apostille and consular legalization is that they authenticate an official document for presentation to institutions in another country. However, they have many differences.
| Apostille | Consular legalization | |
|---|---|---|
| Legal effect | Can be used in all countries that are party to the Hague Convention on the Simplified Legalization of Documents. | Use between States one or both of which is not a member of the Hague Convention, or where one of the contracting States has protested the accession of the other. |
| Difficulty | Moderate. To obtain an apostille, contact the competent apostille authority of the state of origin of the document. | High. For consular legalization, various inland authorities and a diplomatic mission of the state of destination must be involved. |
| Pre-certification | Usually not required. | Is obligatory. |
| Attestation at the state of destination embassy in the state of origin of the document | No need to contact the Consulate of the country of destination. | Is the final step of legalization. |
Apostille and consular legalization in all cities of Montenegro
Schmidt & Schmidt provides apostille and consular legalization services for public documents originating from all regions across Montenegro. We handle the entire process, from document review to obtaining the necessary certifications, ensuring that your documents are valid and recognized internationally. With our reliable services, you can confidently use your Montenegrin public documents abroad.
Procurement of documents from Montenegro
If the important documents are lost or damaged, or current copies of the documents are needed, the re-issue of the documents is required. It is not unusual for people outside Montenegro to encounter difficulties with obtaining new documents when abroad. Our consultants will help you procure new documents from Montenegro remotely, and we can arrange for your documents to be sent by courier anywhere in the world.
Certified translation of documents from Montenegro
Copies and transcripts of civil status documents can be translated into any language by a sworn translator in Montenegro or the translation can be done in the country of destination. We offer certified translations of civil status documents with further certification. The cost of the work is calculated according to the volume of the document in question.
Does the translation have to be apostillized?
Any foreign document issued in one country and used in another country must be legalized for use abroad. Therefore, the authenticity of a certified translation from Montenegro needs to be certified by an apostille. Consequently, many authorities may not accept certified translations from Montenegro if the translation has not been properly authenticated in Montenegro for use abroad. To avoid this confusion, translations should better be made in the state of the destination of the document.
