December 30, 22

NEWS / Saudi Arabia accedes to Apostille Convention

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has officially acceded to the 1961 Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, more commonly known as the Apostille Convention. This development greatly expedites and facilitates the process of legalizing personal and corporate documents between the Saudi Arabia and United States, as well as 120 other member-states of the Apostille Convention. The Convention formally entered into force in Saudi Arabia on December 7, meaning that an apostille is now sufficient for the legalization of a document originating from or destined for another Apostille Convention country. Saudi Arabia previously deposited its instrument of accession at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands in The Hague, Netherlands in a ceremony attended by Saudi Ambassador to the Netherlands Ziad Al-Atiyah and Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) Secretary General Christophe Bernasconi. Saudi Arabia had been a member of the Convention since 2016 but had not acceded to any treaties before 2022. The accession and entry into force of the Convention in Saudi Arabia is welcome news for American individuals and companies doing businesses or handling personal affairs in Saudi Arabia, as the process was much more convoluted, arduous, and lengthy, as it involved getting authentication certificates at both the state and federal level, which could take up to 2-3 months, before requesting embassy legalization, which involved making a payment via the Enjaz system and correctly completing an application form in Arabic. The processing time at the embassy was lately delayed due to a changeover in personnel. It is now sufficient to obtain an apostille at the state or federal level (depending on where the original document had been issued). Saudi Arabia acceded to the Convention in line with Saudi Vision 2030, a strategic framework spearheaded by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the country’s de-facto ruler, that is aimed at reducing Saudi dependence on oil exports and promoting foreign investment, education, and tourism in an effort to modernize the country, which until recently did not issue tourist visas and prohibited women from driving. For over 30 years, A&M Logos International has been helping individuals and companies with legalizing documents for use in Saudi Arabia, including embassy legalizations. We will continue to provide assistance to get apostilles for use in Saudi Arabia. The process is now simpler and faster, but still involves a number of legal hoops you would need to jump through depending on the state in which your document is issued. Call us today at (212) 233-7061 or e-mail us at info@apostille.us if you need to retrieve, prepare, and/or legalize documents for use in Saudi Arabia for a free consultation with one of our specialists.