Diplomatic Authentications

Author: Matt Nissley, CPA

Introduction

If a document from one country is needed for formal use in another country, the receiving party will generally not accept the document unless it has been properly legalized. This section covers the normal diplomatic authentication process, while the following section briefly covers the apostille process. The form of a diplomatic authentication on a document may be an official certificate, seal, or stamp.

The exact process to obtain diplomatic authentication varies somewhat from country to country, though the key elements are the same. An overview of the process is as follows:

1. Initial certification (originating country)
   1. In cases where a signature needs to be verified, the document must first be notarized.
      1. Note: Some documents – such as court records or vital records (birth/death/marriage certificates) in the United States – do not need to be notarized to be authenticated.
   2. In many countries, a notarized or state-issued document needs to first be certified by a government authority one level below the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Examples include:
      1. A document notarized in the United States will be authenticated by the government of the state in which the document was notarized. The purpose of the authentication is to verify the legitimacy of the relevant Notary Public.
      2. A vital record issued by a state-level institution in the United States will be authenticated by the government of the relevant state. The purpose of the authentication is to verify the legitimacy of the relevant document and its issuing authority.
      3. A document notarized in the Netherlands will be authenticated in the District Court of Justice in The Hague. The purpose of the authentication is to verify the legitimacy of the relevant Civil Law Notary.
2. National authentication (originating country)
   1. After obtaining the required state-level (or equivalent) certification, the document should be sent to the originating country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (or in the case of the United States, the U.S. Department of State) for authentication. The purpose of the authentication is to verify the legitimacy of the relevant state-level government institution.
      1. In cases of documents issued by federal institutions, it is possible that the first step would be skipped and that the document would be sent directly to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. Embassy or consular legalization (destination country)
   1. After the document is authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the originating country, the document is sent to the destination country’s embassy or consulate in the originating country. The relevant embassy or consulate certifies the authenticity of the stamp or seal of the originating country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
   2. The document then goes to the destination country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the destination country. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs certifies the authenticity of the stamp or seal of its embassy or consulate in the originating country.

The diplomatic authentication process as described above can be costly, as each certifying body has its own document processing fee. The process can also be lengthy, often taking 1-3 months depending on the number of certifying bodies involved and how quickly they process documents.

It is possible save time and complete the process more efficiently by hiring a professional courier service to manage the process, though this will of course add to the total cost.

Afghanistan

The “normal” diplomatic authentication process can be used for documents originating outside Afghanistan for use in Afghanistan only if the Afghan Ministry of Foreign Affairs has a diplomatic mission which it recognizes in the originating country.

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs publishes a list of the countries in which it has recognized foreign missions. That list can be accessed on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website here. The list of recognized foreign missions is fluid and can change at any time. It is worth noting that just because an Afghan embassy or consulate exists in another country does not mean that it is recognized by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. At the time of writing this article, there are some Afghan embassies or consulates existing in foreign countries that are willing to authenticate documents from their end but will not be accepted by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul.

If any organization is looking to initiate a document authentication process from a particular country for use in Afghanistan, Quest recommends that in addition to checking this list, someone be sent in-person to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul to confirm the status of the diplomatic mission in the originating country.

If Afghanistan does not have a recognized diplomatic mission in the originating country, it is still possible to perform the diplomatic authentication process though alternative means (as explained in detail later in this article). 

It is always possible for authorities in Afghanistan to reject an authenticated document after a lengthy authentication process due to incorrect content in the document, outdated stamps, mismatched translations, or other technicalities. If possible, it is wise to verify the content of documents with Afghan authorities before initiating the document authentication process.

Case Study

XYZ Company is registered as a legal entity in the United States and wants to open a branch office in Afghanistan. The local authorities in Afghanistan require the presentation of an authenticated board resolution as well as an authenticated copy of the articles of incorporation. Assuming Afghanistan has an established diplomatic relationship with the United States (which is not the case at the time of writing this article), the process would be as follows:

1. Initial certification (United States)
   1. Both the board resolution and the articles of incorporation are first notarized in the United States.
   2. The notarized documents are mailed to the relevant state government, which certifies the legitimacy of the relevant Notary Public.
2. National authentication (United States)
   1. The documents are mailed to the U.S. Department of State, which certifies the legitimacy of the Seal of the relevant state government.
3. Embassy or consular legalization (Afghanistan)
   1. The documents are mailed to an Afghan Embassy or Consulate in the United States, which certifies the legitimacy of the U.S. Department of States’ authentication and provides document reference numbers for cross-verification.
   2. The documents are taken to Afghanistan and presented to the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul, which verifies the documents’ reference numbers and certifies the legitimacy of its embassy or consulate in the United States.

While the “normal” diplomatic authentication process is straightforward, many organizations operating in Afghanistan have had challenges when the originating country does not have an Afghan diplomatic mission recognized by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. In such cases alternative procedures, as explained below, must be used to obtain diplomatic authentication.

The first thing to do is to identify an intermediary country in which there is an Afghan diplomatic mission recognized by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Whether the diplomatic authentication of a document is initiated in the originating country or in the intermediary country, the document must be processed through the Afghan diplomatic mission in the intermediary country.

It should be possible to use any country in which there is an active Afghan diplomatic mission recognized by the Afghanistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs as an intermediary country. In practice, the United Arab Emirates is often used as an intermediary country since the Afghan diplomatic mission there is very active and the diplomatic authentication procedures are clear.

Alternative Procedure #1 – Initiation in Originating Country

The process below is the full process used to authenticate a document for use in Afghanistan through an intermediary country. The steps below are virtually the same as the “normal” process, apart from the addition of embassy or consular legalization through the intermediary country (i.e. step 3 below). For sake of brevity and to avoid unnecessary repetition, some additional detail or clarification provided above for the “normal” diplomatic authentication process has been omitted from the process below even though it is equally applicable.

1. Initial certification (originating country)
   1. In cases where a signature needs to be verified, the document must first be notarized.
   2. In many countries, a notarized or state-issued document needs to first be certified by a government authority one level below the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2. National authentication (originating country)
   1. After obtaining the required state-level (or equivalent) certification, the document should be sent to the originating country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for authentication
3. Embassy or consular legalization (intermediary country)
   1. The document must then be sent to the intermediary country’s embassy or consulate in the originating country. The relevant embassy or consulate certifies the authenticity of the stamp or seal of the originating country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
   2. The document then goes to the intermediary’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the intermediary country for authentication.
4. Embassy or consular legalization (Afghanistan)
   1. After the document is authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the intermediary country, the document is sent to the Afghan embassy or consulate in the intermediary country. The relevant Afghan embassy or consulate certifies the authenticity of the stamp or seal of the intermediary country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and provides a document reference number for cross-verification.
   2. The document then goes to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs verifies the document’s reference numbers and certifies the legitimacy of its embassy or consulate in the intermediary country.

Alternative Procedure #2 – Initiation in Intermediary Country

The “alternative procedure #1” above is lengthy and time-consuming given how many steps there are in the process. In cases of a signature on a document needing to be notarized and authenticated, it may be possible to skip the steps in the originating country and initiate the process directly from the intermediary country if the signer of the document is willing to travel to and be physically present in the intermediary country for document notarization.² Using this process can reduce the time required to complete documentation authentication for use in Afghanistan to as little as 1-2 weeks.

Several points must first be noted:

• This process will not work for documents issued by state or government institutions that need to be authenticated (since in such cases, it is not the signature but rather the legitimacy of the issuing institution that is being authenticated).
• The Notary Publics in some intermediary countries may refuse to notarize the signature on an official document (such as a Power of Attorney) originating from an entity that is not legally registered in the intermediary country. In other countries, this may not be an issue.³
• If a Notary Public refuses to notarize a signature on an official document originating from an entity that is not legally registered in the intermediary country, a substitute procedure can be tried. Rather than notarizing the signature on the official document itself, it may be possible to notarize a separate “signature specimen” document with the same signature that is used on the official document that was signed. In this case, it is the “signature specimen” document which goes through the diplomatic authentication process rather than the official document itself. If the signature on the diplomatically authenticated signature specimen document clearly matches the signature on the non-authenticated official document, the official document might be accepted for use in Afghanistan.
• It is important to verify all procedures with relevant parties before a person from the originating country takes the time and expense to travel to the intermediary country. While “alternative procedure #2” can be completed significantly faster than “alternative procedure #1,” it also comes with more risk.

With the above points out of the way, the process is as follows:

1. Initial certification (intermediary country)
   1. The signature on the relevant document must be notarized.
      1. It might be required to first translate the relevant document into the language of the intermediary country
   2. In many countries, the notarized document needs to first be certified by a government authority one level below the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
2. National authentication (intermediary country)
   1. The document should be sent to the intermediary country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs for authentication.
3. Embassy or consular legalization (Afghanistan)
   1. After the document is authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the intermediary country, the document is sent to the Afghan embassy or consulate in the intermediary country. The relevant Afghan embassy or consulate certifies the authenticity of the stamp or seal of the intermediary country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and provides a document reference number for cross-verification.
   2. The document then goes to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs verifies the document’s reference numbers and certifies the legitimacy of its embassy or consulate in the intermediary country.

Conclusion

This article explained the normal diplomatic authentication process, the time-saving apostille process for parties to the Hague Apostille Convention, and alternative procedures that can be used to obtain diplomatic authentications for documents intended for use in Afghanistan even when there is a not a recognized Afghan diplomatic mission in the originating country. These are well-established international processes, but can be challenging and time-consuming to carry out in practice. This article should give the reader enough knowledge to further research the process. If you faced a challenge with document authentication for documents intended for use in Afghanistan that is not addressed in this article, please do let us know by leaving a comment below or emailing us at [email protected].

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1. Anecdotal evidence suggests that in some cases an apostille certificate may be issued for a document needed for use in Afghanistan, but the fact that an apostille certificate was used does not exempt the document from going through the full diplomatic authentication process. ↩︎
2. In some cases remote notarization may be possible, depending on the policies and procedures of the respective Notary Public. ↩︎
3. Anecdotally, Quest has seen one country accept and another country reject notarization of a document originating from a legal entity not registered in the respective country.   ↩︎