Legalizing documents (certificates, acts, etc.) that come from foreign countries is a problems all foreign citizens face when they need them in Italy. This means that legalizing documents as provided for by law is particularly difficult.
Example – Someone wants to get married in Italy, this person needs his/her birth certificate and the authorization to marriage. These documents must be legalized since self-certification is not allowed.
Self-certification is generally accepted in Italy by law, it is an alternative to the release of the certificate itself. Law number 15 issued in 1968 provides for that anyone can declare under his/her own responsability that requisites are being answered to, this substitutes certificates that otherwise should be issued time to time. Law allows to self-certification almost all the times in order to have administrative and bureaucratic proceedings quickened.
Foreign citizens are not allowed to self-certification. Facts or already known circumstancies can be self-certificated.
Consolidated act art. 2 finally makes this situation clear. It in fact rules this specific matter but it also denies to chance to use some “practically consolidated” proceedings which are not established by law.
This makes things harder: it in fact was in the past allowed that certficates were translated here in Italian territory.
This rule paragraph 1 provides for that foreign citizens regularly living in Italy can take use of equivalent certifications provided for by law 15/68 articles 2 and 4, this is limited to facts and personal qualities that are already known by public and private bureaus. All other istances must be specifically certifictaed.
In other words foreign citizens can self-certificate determined circumstancies only if these are already known by qualified public offices.
Example – In case the child of foreign citizens was born in Italy, his/her birth can be self-certificated since this is already known by authorities. Otherwise if a child was born abroad, self-certification is not possible because it is not officially known by Italian public offices.
In such cases consolidated act art. 2 paragraph 2 rules on the matter, this paragraph states that facts, personal qualities – which are different form the ones stated by paragraph 1 – are documented by certifications released by foreign qualified offices. All these documents must be translated and authentified by Italian consular authorities. The interested person must be aware that producing fake documents is a crime, as provided for by law.
In other words, this second part of the rule states that what cannot be self-certificated must be proved by legalized documnets.
Legalization proceedings provide for that needed certifications must be released by qualified authorities back in the country of origin and these must be officially translated at Italian embassies or consulates. The translated certificate together with the original document are then legalized by Italian consular authorities.
What does legalizing documents mean? Italian consular authorities have to verify that a specific certificate is formalized according to the country of origin laws. This clearly means that it must be released by the country qualified authorities.
This is necessary because noone in Italy could possibly know or verify whether a specific document coming from foreign offices is actually valid or not. The only office that really knows a foreign country laws is the Italian consulate which is in the foreign country territory.
Legalization proceedings are more complex than this, in fact the document must be proved as valid but also the personnel signed it must be entitled to.
Example – Certificates released by local authorities to the interested person cannot be immediately taken to consolar authorities. The same document must be proved validity also by other state authorities, we are usually referring to the ministry of foreign affairs. Italian consulate in Romania doesn’t accept documents signed by all local authorities, this forces everyone to have documents authorized by the ministry of foreign affairs before they are taken to the consulate.
Legalization confirms that such quoted document was released by the country of origin and by a qualified officer. When all these steps are being followed the certificate can be considered valid.
In Italy certifcates cannot be translated if they are not previously translated by Italian consular authorities. Documents sent to Italy from abroad and then translated here are not to be considered valid since law clearly states this.
An alternative to what quoted above. Consular rapresentatives in Italy.
An alternative to what stated above exists: in many situations certificates can be issued at the foreign country embassy working in Italy.
This has never been provided for by law but it is considered an alternative valid procedure.
Consular rapresentatives are fairly considered administrative offices abroad and they are rapresenting all the country offices.
This quoted solution might seem easier and quicker but this is not possibly true. Consular rapresentatives do not usually release certificates under demand. Original coming from the country of origin documents are required (no translation or legalization are required) and subsequently consular rapresentatives release written in Italian papers. Certificates must be then legalized since no Italian public offices can verify the document validity. The officer signature legalization can be obtained at local prefectures.
Therefore Italian embassies abroad must at least know who are the qualified officers at the ministry of foreign affairs, at the same time all documents released by consular rapresentatives in Italy must be legalized at local prefectures.
This alternative procedure is not quicker nor cheaper but interested people can choose whether to go back home or refer to consular rapresenatives.
There’s also another way of avoiding such legalization proceedings and it is cheaper for sure (both in expenses and in times).
Apostille (marginal note)
This is a possibility that only citizens coming from countries which signed October 5th 1961 Aja Convention concerning the abolition of public acts legalization are entitled to. This convention has been signed and accepted by many countries in the years following its enactment, it provides for that documents legalization can be substituted by the so called apostille (in English: marginal note).
What exactly is the apostille?
The apostille is a marginal note that must be written on the original certificate released by the country of origin qualified authorities.
Apostille therefore substitutes legalization at consular authorities.
Example – if a person needs to have a birth certifcate valid in Italian territory and his/her country of origin has signed the Aja convention, the same person can refer to his/her local state authorities in order to have a marginal note written on the document itself (the so called apostille). This document must be then accepted by Italian authorities, even if written in a foreign language, since Italy has signed this specific convention. A translation of the document can be easily done then here in Italy.
The convention specifically pertains the abolition of foreign public acts legalization, this means all documents released by authorities, by state administration officers, by ministries, by juridical authorities. The convention doesn’t refer to consular or diplomatic acts, to commercial or customs acts.
As already stated, all certificates concerning family matters can be given in in the language of origin, the apostille is of coarse needed as the convention says.
Many are the documents which the convention refers to, all documents concerning family matters and the main certificates migrants usually need enter the convention.
Apart from all EU countries, which also signed other conventions, we shall now refer of the other countries having signed the quoted Aja convention:
Japan
Yugoslavia
Switzerland
Turkey
Argentina
Armenia
Australia
Belize
Brunei
Cyprus
El Salvador
Russia
Israel
Lettonia
Liberia
Lituania
Malawi
Malta
Mexico
Niue
Panama
Cesk republic
Romania
San Christopher and Nevis
San Marino
Seychelles
USA
South Africa
Hungheria
Venezuela
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Bielorussia
Bosnia Erzegovina
Botswana
Croatia
Figi
Lesotho
Macedonia
Mauritius
Slovenja
Swaziland
Suriname
Tonga
Ucraina