What is an MEA Apostille? What are the uses of an MEA Apostille?

Apostille is a method of authenticating papers. Documents that have received an apostille are acceptable in nations signatories to the Hague Convention. The Ministry of External Affairs is abbreviated as MEA. The Ministry of external affairs oversees a country's overseas relations. The MEA apostille is the Ministry of foreign affairs attestation of papers used overseas. The MEA apostille is recognized by nations signatories to the Hague Convention.

The MEA apostille is a critical step in document authentication. Personal papers such as birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, powers of attorney, and so on are apostilled by MEA. Also included are educational documents such as SSLC certificates, HSC certificates, and degree certificates. Whatever the document, the original certificate and a copy of the passport must be supplied.

After obtaining an apostille from the Ministry of External Affairs, the certificates will have the Ministry's seal and signature. The seal denotes that the document has been verified and authorised by the appropriate authorities.

MEA apostille is used for getting visa approval. Other reasons for getting MEA apostille:-

For getting an employment visa
Family visa
Higher studies etc.

People who want to go overseas must get an apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ministry of external affairs, a government entity, does the authentication. MEA apostille is sent with your documents and is only acceptable in countries members of the Hague agreement. However, this MEA apostille is valid in all of the convention's member nations. The MEA apostille is one of the most critical processes in document verification.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is the exclusive authority for affixing an Apostille Stamp Sticker to papers issued in India. Apostilled papers are only valid in countries that have signed the Hague Convention.

The Hague Convention of 1961 removed the necessity for member nations' governments to repeatedly legalise foreign public documents. Therefore, a document apostilled by one Hague Convention member nation is accepted by all other Hague Convention member countries. MEA Apostille Attestation is performed for personal papers such as Birth Certificate Apostille, Death Certificate Apostille, Marriage Certificate Apostille, Educational Degree Certificate Apostille Authentication, etc.

From March 1, 2012, the Ministry of External Affairs outsourced its Apostille/Attestation services. MEA no longer accepts documents for apostille directly after outsourcing the collection and delivery of documents. The original document must be provided directly to the outsourced agency, together with a photocopy of the document and the applicant's passport for Apostille India. NRIWAY is one of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA's) outsourced companies for collecting certificates/documents for MEA Attestation and Apostille Documents from people. It is important to note that the MEA only Apostille original papers and does not Apostille photocopies of documents. Applicants are warned not to rely on unauthorised individuals for Certificate Apostille.

In recognition of our high-quality services, the Ministry has re-empaneled our company, Superb Enterprises Private Limited, as an authorised service provider of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), with effect from January 1, 2019, for the collection of documents for further attestation by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and delivery of the same attested documents to individuals/applicants (following the successful completion of an earlier contract from March 2012 to December 31, 2018).

Only genuine papers validated by the appropriate authorities of the State Governments and stamped with an Indian Apostille stamp by the Ministry of External Affairs are accepted (MEA). Apostille is performed on the reverse side of the original document by affixing a unique sticker with a unique number. In addition, the candidates must provide the following documents/fees, which have been authorised by MEA, as of January 1, 2019.

Apostille from the MEA is possible following certification from the necessary state government bodies. When a person requires the legalisation of a document to be used in a Hague Convention member nation, the Apostille Certificate Attestation procedure is required. All Indian diplomas can be Apostilled by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) of the Government of India.

Step 1 – Authentication of Documents

All original documents/copies that require Apostille/attestation from MEA must first be validated by the appropriate authority of the State/Union Territory from whence the document was issued.

For educational papers, the Education Department/Human Resource Development (HRD) of the respective State Government/Union Territory must first attest the documents. The name and designation seals, as well as the Department seal, must be used for authentication.

The Home Department or General Administration Department (GAD) of the issuing State Government/Union Territory is the designated authority to do primary attestation for non-educational papers. The attestation must be completed with the name and designation seals, as well as the Department's seal.

1. Commercial Documents

These must be pre-authenticated by the various Chambers of Commerce. Each document must include the rubber stamp of the appropriate Chamber of Commerce and the name and designation of the authorized signatory.

2. Apostille of Documents

Following that, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) legalizes/apostille the papers based on the signature of the authorized authority of the State Government/Union Territory/Chambers of Commerce and affixes an Apostille Sticker to the back of the original documents.