Notice on the Abolition of Consular Authentication Services by the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in Canada after the Apostille Convention comes into effect between China and Canada

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2023-12-26 07:30

On November 7, 2023 and January 11, 2024, the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as the Convention) comes into effect respectively in China and Canada. The Hong Kong Special Administration Region and the Macao Special Administration Region of China acceded to the Convention previously, the Convention will continue to apply to the two regions.

Starting from January 11, 2024, public documents within the scope of the Convention executed in Canada only need to obtain an Apostille issued by Canadian competent authorities (see the attachment for detailed procedures) before they can be sent to Chinese mainland for use, authentication by Canadian competent authorities and the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in Canada are no longer required.

On the same day, authentication services at the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in Canada will no longer be provided.

According to the provisions of the Convention, an Apostille issued by a country is used to certify the authenticity of the signature on the public documents, the identity of the signatory of the document at the time of signing, and to confirm the authenticity of the seal on the document when necessary. The completion of an Apostille issued in Canada does not guarantee the acceptance of the public documents by the relevant user in China. Applicants are suggested to check in advance with the relevant party in China about specific requirements for format, content, time limit, translation, and other specific requirements before proceeding with the relevant Apostille application.

Information for obtaining an Apostille in Canada

1. Global Affairs Canada and relevant Ministries in some provinces are competent authorities for issuing Apostilles.

2. Global Affairs Canada is responsible for issuing Apostilles for the following documents: (1) documents issued by the Government of Canada; (2) documents notarized in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, the Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island, Yukon, regardless of where they were issued in Canada.

3. Ministry of Justice of Alberta, Ministry of the Attorney General of British Columbia, Ministry of Public and Business Service Delivery of Ontario, Ministry of Justice and Attorney General of Saskatchewan are responsible for issuing Apostilles for documents notarized in the above-mentioned provinces, regardless of where they were issued in Canada.

4. Ministry of Justice of Quebec is responsible for issuing Apostilles for the documents issued or notarized in the province.

The above information is for reference only. Please contact the Canadian competent authorities for issuing Apostilles or refer to its official information for specific procedures and requirements.

(1) Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services

——General pages and contact information：

https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/about-a_propos/services/authentication-authentification/step-etape-1.aspx?lang=eng

Email: docs@international.gc.ca

Telephone: 1-833-928-1551

——Apostilles pages and contact information：

https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/about-a_propos/services/authentication-authentification/apostille-convention.aspx?lang=eng

Email: apostille@international.gc.ca

(2) Ministry of Justice of Alberta

https://www.alberta.ca/document-authentication-other-jurisdictions-countries

Email: official.documents@gov.ab.ca

Telephone: 1-780-427-5069