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How Can One Get Documents Online Apostilled in India?

How Can One Get Documents Online Apostilled in India?

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Apostille services refer to attesting documents, which show that the document is legally accepted. However, attestation services are there. But, the Hague Convention member countries require apostilled documents. It has around 92 members, which are recognised worldwide.

A square-shaped stamp on the back of your visa or immigration document states that your documents are apostilled or valid. It also carries the signature of the Ministry of External Affairs officer.

India has been a part of this Hague Convention since 2005. It was however started on October 5, 1961. Once implemented, it eliminated the requirement of further attestation by state & central ministries and then, the embassy. This type of legalization of documents is accepted all across the world.

Can you apostille all types of documents in India?

Certainly, yes. All types of documents are legalized in India. But, citizens or NRIs should first understand the categorization of documents for it. Here are the categories to understand:

  • Personal papers or documents, such as birth certificate, marriage certificate, NABC, single status certificate etc..
  • Education-based papers or documents, such as transcript, mark sheet, degrees, provisional, and many other ones.
  • Commercial papers or documents, such as compliance, company agreements, & business deals etc..

The documents belonging to these categories may be required to notarize beforehand. In that case, the applicant should discover the concerned departments. Let’s come across the main concerned departments in accordance with the categories of documents.

  • Home/ General Administration Department of the State/ Union Territory for personal documents
  • Education Department of the State/ Union Territory for educational documents
  • Chamber of Commerce of the State/ Union Territory for business-based or commercial documents

How can you get your documents apostilled in India?

The following steps can guide you on how to get it done in India.

  • Go to Regional Authentication Center (RAC)

The Indian government has set up regional authentication centers or RACs all across India. Since there are over 28 states and 8 union territories, people may face hassles in apostilling services. So, these centers are located in many different states. Here is the list of those locations where RACs are.

If you still face any problems, Services 2NRI is here to help you. We have been providing online apostille services in India for over a decade now. The non-resident community trusts us.

  • Submit Your Documents to Support

Your request for legalizing documents would be administered once you deliver the notarized documents. These documents can be any of the aforesaid categories. You need to enclose all documents in original and photocopies for attestation.

  • No Direct Request Can Be Administered

Unfortunately, there is no provision to directly request for legalizing your documents with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). It is where the branch secretariat or RPO verifies the authenticity of your documents. As he does, the verified documents are sent to the registered agents. Here is the list of those agents. Or, you may contact us for getting off any hassles and online requests. Carefully select the agent in accordance with your state or locality. And then, send your documents via a courier or scanned copies.

No Provision to Apply Directly

Before July 2012, people could apply for apostille services directly with the authority. But now, the RPO does not accept any in-person request for apostille solutions at the Ministry of External Affairs Counter at CPV Division, Patiala House, New Delhi.

So, it is suggested to enclose the original document/true copy directly to us with photocopies of your documents like the passport.

Location of RPOs in India

Since the decentralisation of attestation services in January 2019, the Branch Secretariat is administering these requests. He sits in any of the nearest RPOs, which are located in 35 cities. The location of these centers are- Ahemdabad, Bengaluru, Bhopal, Chennai, Chandigarh, Cochin, New Delhi, Guwahati,, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Lucknow, Mumbai, Panaji, Raipur, Thiruvanantapuram, etc..

How long does it take to apostille in India?

If your documents are authentic and have no errors, it hardly takes 10 days to administer your apostilling request. It is noteworthy that the Secretariat won’t check the authentication unless there is any possibility. However, the state administration examines this aspect deeply & carefully.

How much does apostille cost in India?

  • The MEA asks to pay INR Rs 50 for the Apostille of document via debit card or cashier cheque.
  • It excludes the fee for the outsourced agent, which costs per document. In all, a document’s apostilling costs INR 90/- (Service Fee) and Rs 3 per page (Scanning Fee).

Documents to enclosed

  • Any of the aforementioned documents
  • Valid visa photocopy
  • Original visaapproval notice, if any
  • Original passport and photocopiesof first & last two pages

Name
How Can You Change Your Name Legally in India?

How Can You Change Your Name Legally in India?

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Are you thinking of changing your name?

It’s a ritual in the Indian society that you have to adjust your surname according to your husband’s name. It’s a tradition. It determines that you have to make the necessary updates in your all documents, like Aadhaar Card, Voter ID card, Driving Licence and so on. Otherwise, several frictions will hamper your way to get visa or passport. At the worst, your application for these documents might be rejected.

So, always stay aware of this fact.

This article is really a helpful guide for those who want to change their name legally. If it’s adjusted in a document, you won’t have to wait for long to apply for the passport/visa.  

Steps to change your name legally in India: 

  1. Get an affidavit:

An affidavit is a sworn statement in a document. The Indian court accepts this vital evidence. The practicing notary lawyer approves it via a notary stamp and his signature. He, usually, drafts it on a non-judicial stamp paper. It costs around INR 20 in India. Once the oath is written, the notary attests it with it while registering its entry into the Notarial Registration Book.

If you’re an NRI, you can follow the same process. Thereafter, you can get it attested by the nearest consulate in your residence country.  It’s quite similar to withdrawing CENOMAR before marriage.

Who can attest the affidavit?

  • Commissioner for oaths by state, according to Section 3(2) (b) of the Oath Act (XLIV, 1969)
  • Notary recruited under the Notaries Act, 1952
  • Magistrate of the regional area
  1. What to be written in the affidavit:

As aforesaid, you should take a plain white non-judiciary paper. It should consist of all these details:

  • Current name
  • The name that you want to replace the former one with
  • Father’s name
  • Husband’s name
  • Address
  • Mention the name of the employer, if there is any.
  • Get the signature, name and address of two witnesses.
  1. Publish publically:

This is a vital step to publicly announce that you have changed your name. The medium will be a newspaper. Choose a column that is specifically dedicated to serve this purpose in one of the reputed newspapers. What points it should read are:

  • Name of the person (who changed his name)
  • Old name of the person
  • Father’s name/husband’s name
  • Address

When it is published in the newspaper, keep its original copies with you as a proof. It’s paid. You have to pay for this NRI service. They will be used later when you will alter your name in other documents.

  1. To Whom to send the documents:

Once you’ll have the published news of your changed name, you can take it along with other documents, like affidavit. Now, you have to visit the controller of publication. It basically verifies the inquiry regarding any publication in the Gazette in India. If you don’t intend to go in person, you can drop a message in its inbox via acobdep2017@gmail.com. 

Take these documents for verification:

  • Attested affidavit/ sworn document
  • The sworn statement with the details of witnesses
  • Two passport size photographs
  • The newspaper wherein the change of name is publically distributed
  • The printing cost (It can vary due to revised service cost). If you want, pay for it through a demand draft/ Indian Postal Order. Mention the controller of the publication as the name of the recipient.
  • If you’re an NRI, the service cost will be in ‘K’ or thousands. It includes air mail charges also.
  • If you want some extra copies of it, you have to bear an additional cost per copy.
  • You can either scan and mail or visit the publication office physically along with the documents. These documents should not be older than a year.
  • Always keep this fact in your mind that the documents that you would enclose shall not be returned. So, send them cautiously.
  • If you’ve adopted the name from another religion, make sure that you’ve submitted an affidavit. It should read that you have named yourself on the other religion but the religion is unchanged. It should be duly attested by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). The cost of advertisement of such ads differs from the other one.
  • Get along two witnesses. The oath statement would be similar (as aforementioned).
  1. What do NRIs do after changing their name?

Many NRIs alter their name after solemnizing marriage with a foreigner. They have to publish the advertisement in a prominent newspaper wherein they live. It can be any foreign country. Remember that they have to specify the permanent address of place in India.

Subsequently, they have to follow the fourth step. Once these formalities will be fulfilled, they can alter the name in your passport or visa. Enclose all the requisite documents while following the steps.

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