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Certain documents issued by authorities in EU countries now exempt from legalisation and translation

Publication date 25.2.2019 16.23
Press release

Applications for a residence permit, citizenship, EU registration or residence card must often include documents issued by foreign authorities. As of 16 February 2019, certain documents issued by authorities in EU countries no longer need to be legalised in Finland.

EU countries now employ a standard multilingual form that can be used to describe the contents of an issued document. If you have received a standard form, you will also not be required to translate the document.

The change is due to a new Regulation adopted by all EU countries.

Legalisation by an authenticity stamp (apostille) is no longer required for public documents issued in an EU country on the following matters:

  • birth
  • living status of a person
  • death
  • name
  • marriage, including eligibility for marriage and marital status
  • divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment
  • registered partnership, including eligibility to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status
  • dissolution of a registered partnership, legal separation or annulment of a registered partnership
  • parenthood
  • adoption
  • domicile and/or residence
  • nationality
  • absence of a criminal record

Documents concerning the above matters issued by authorities in a country other than an EU member state or Nordic country must still be legalised. Documents issued in EU countries on matters other than those listed above must also still be legalised.

You can request a multilingual standard form from the authority that issued the document

If you have received a standard form, include it with your application.

If you do not have a standard form, you must have the document translated into Finnish, Swedish or English by an authorised translator.

Asylum seekers are not required to translate or legalise documents and evidence they present to support their application.

For more information on translating and legalising documents, visit: https://migri.fi/en/interpretation-translation-and-legalisation

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