Apostille authentication is first and essential process before you start preparing your visa application. Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) in India is the sole body responsible to Apostille documents. It is important to note that Apostille can be done only on the original documents and not photocopies or soft copies. MEA stamps only after the documents gets attested by local state authorities where the documents originated. The applicants need to submit original documents that need to be Apostilled.
When you start your visa application process, you need the three types of documents ready to be Apostilled. First, Educational Documents – All your degrees, diploma, school leaving certificates, needs to be attested first by the education department of the respective state or union territory like HRD / GAD or NORKA. The documents then can be sent to MEA for issuing Apostille sticker on the back of original documents.
The second type of documents are non-educational ones like birth certificates, death certificates, address proof, identity cards issued by local authorities, marriage certificate, documents related to power of attorney if any, etc. These types of documents are first authenticated and attested by State’s or Union Territory’s Home Department or GAD /SDMs of the State. The documents then sent to MEA to get Apostilled.
The third category of documents are Commercial Documents. These are not require for student visa. The documents include Invoices, Memorandum of Association, Articles of Association, certificate of sales and other documents which are commercial in nature.
The first two categories of documents are must to be Apostilled when visa application process starts. The documents stated in this article are just indicative in nature and not comprehensive. It is always advisable to get in touch with professional and experienced visa consultant when you plan to apply for a student visa especially for Europe. We, at Golden Future, are professionally driven consultants for student visa application. Our end to end services put you in ease during the hectic and tedious processes of visa application process as we take care of each and every minute details including the Apostille authentication. So, don’t wait, get in touch with us to avoid any confusion and delay in process.