Document Services
Many countries require official certifications to establish the authenticity of documents that are submitted with immigration applications. Procuring and authenticating the mandatory documents can be an arduous and time consuming process. BAL provides worldwide services to secure and to properly authenticate documents through legalization or apostille.
Procurement Services
BAL will assist in the worldwide procurement of any required document. Procurement services may include the following documents in any country required:
- Birth and marriage certificates
- Copies of university degrees or other professional qualifications
- Police certificate of non-criminal record
- Passport acquisition and renewal
Legalization Services
BAL provides document legalization services around the world. Document legalization is a governmental process that verifies the authenticity of a document to reduce the possibility of forgery or fraud. In many countries, legalized documents are a mandatory precursor to the eligibility to file a visa application. The processing time for document legalization will vary in each jurisdiction and can take weeks or months once a valid document is procured.
Apostille Services
BAL provides apostille services around the world. An apostille is an international certification that is added to documents that have been signed by a notary or other authorized officials. The apostille was created to abolish the cumbersome legalization process and to provide a one-step certification. While the apostille process can be shorter than legalization, documents can only be apostilled if both the issuing country and the receiving host country are members of The Hague Apostille Convention. A list of the current member countries can be found at: http://www.hcch.net/index_en.php?act=conventions.status&cid=41.