When a person from India go abroad for job his certificates has to be authenticated by that country's embassy or consulate in India. Since there are many Indians working in GCC countries - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Kingdom Saudi Arabia (KSA), and United Arab Emirates (UAE) it is necessary for them to attest their documents in corresponding foreign embassy or consulate in Delhi or Mumbai. Same procedure is applicable for other countries in Europe, Africa, Australia and American continents.

University Verification, Translation and Notary Attestation :

For some embassies it has to be authenticate by a Notary before submitting to the home ministry. University verification and translation also required by some embassies. For UAE attestation and Kuwait attestation education certificate procedures are same but non-educational certificates are dealt in different way. So you have to enquire with the corresponding embassy or consulate for exact procedure of attestation.

Delhi, Mumbai and State level Attestation :

At present most of the HRD and MEA authentications are done in Delhi. But state level HRD authentication also happening in some state home ministry departments. If attestation is done in Mumbai consulate then certificates has to be authenticated by Mumbai notary, home ministry, mantralaya prior to the consulate submission.

Attestation Procedure

Exact attestation procedure depends on the type of the certificate and destination country. To get embassy or consulate attestation the document has to be attested by Govt. of India. It has two separate department to take care of certificate attestation procedures, Human Resource Development Department (HRD) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).

Documents can be divided into three categories :

1. Educational Certificates
These are the certificates obtained from school and college like SSLC/10th/CBSE, PDC/+2/HSC, Degree certificates like BA, Bsc, Bcom, BTech, BE, BBA, CA, MBBS, Post graduate certificates like MA, Msc, Mcom, MBA, MCA and other Diploma, Nursing and ITI certificates.
2. Non-Educational Certificates
This includes marriage and birth certificates, affidavit, transfer and leaving certificates, medical, death, divorce, experience and provisional certificates.
3. Supporting Documents
These documents has to be submitted along with the above mentioned documents for attestation. Exact number and type of supporting documents may vary from country to country. Some of the supporting documents are mark lists, transcripts, registration, selection letter, passport copy, photo etc.

Human Resource Development Department(HRD) and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) :

Attestation procedure also different for education and non-educational certificates and again it depends on the destination country of the applicant. Normally to attest an educational document from the embassy it has to be authenticated by MEA. To get an MEA authentication it has to be authenticated by HRD.

Home Ministry, SDM and GAD :

For a non education certificate, prior to MEA and Embassy authentication, it has to be authenticated by the respective state home ministry or Sub-divisional Magistrate (SDM). If the certificate is from Andhra Pradesh then it has to be authenticated by General Administration Department (GAD) prior to MEA/Embassy Attestation.

University Verification, Translation and Notary Attestation :

For some embassies it has to be authenticate by a Notary before submitting to the home ministry. University verification and translation also required by some embassies. For UAE attestation and Kuwait attestation education certificate procedures are same but non-educational certificates are dealt in different way. So you have to enquire with the corresponding embassy or consulate for exact procedure of attestation.

Delhi, Mumbai and State level Attestation :

At present most of the HRD and MEA authentications are done in Delhi. But state level HRD authentication also happening in some state home ministry departments. If attestation is done in Mumbai consulate then certificates has to be authenticated by Mumbai notary, home ministry, mantralaya prior to the consulate submission.

Getting Help

Govt. of India and respective embassies change their rules quite often. So visit their sites or consult with respective offices before going for a certificate attestation. Now for HRD authentication it is necessary to submit the document in person or by a blood relative otherwise it will not be accepted. Latest information can be obtained from Govt. of India departments and their web sites, NORKA (Non Resident Keralites Affairs Department by Govt of Kerala), NRI based sites, Gulf News and Media etc.

Procedure :- All original documents requiring attestation or Apostille should be first authenticated by the designated agencies in the State from where the document has been issued. In case of personal documents, Home Department/General Administration Department are the designated authorities. In case of educational documents, the documents should first be authenticated by the Education Department of the concerned State Government/Union Territory. The details of the Regional Authentication Centre (RACs) in the States/UTs from where the documents should first be authenticated are given below. The Ministry of External Affairs attests the documents on the basis of the signature of the designated signing authorities of the State Government/Union Territory/Chambers of Commerce; hence it does not take responsibility of the contents of the documents

Commercial Documents :- Commercial Documents are to be pre-authenticated by the respective Chambers of Commerce before these can be attested by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Apostille :- India is a member of the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, abolishing the requirement of legalization of foreign public documents. Apostille is acceptable in 98 member-countries of the Convention - please see list below - (also visit HCCH website: www.hcch.net). Appostille is done for personal documents like birth/death/marriage certificates, Affidavits, Power of Attorney, etc., and educational documents like degree, diploma, matriculation and secondary level certificates etc.

The following supporting documents are to be submitted along with the original document :

1. A Photo copy of the document to be attested and.
2. A Photocopy of the Passport whose document required to be legalized only on.
3. Only original documents are legalized and not on photo copies.