I. Brief Introduction

According to the Measures for Consular Legalization that came into effect as of March 1, 2016, the consular legalization refers to the practice of confirming the authenticity of the last seal or signature on the foreign-related notarial deeds and other certificates issued in China or relevant documents issued by other countries, performed by consular legalization agencies upon the application of natural persons, legal persons or other organizations.

The Embassy of the People's Republic of China in Belgium is authorized to conduct the consular legalization of documents for use in Mainland China, which are issued by Belgian competent authority and authenticated by the FPS Foreign Affairs. Documents for use in China's special administrative regions of Hong Kong and Macao, do not need to be legalized but only require an apostille affixed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Belgium (FPS Foreign Affairs).

Consular legalization does not undertake the responsibility of certifying the matters certified by the notarial deeds or other certificates, and it is not responsible for the authenticity and validity of the document's content, which shall be the responsibility of the issuing institution. The purpose of consular legalization is to ensure that a document issued in one country can be acknowledged in another country, and its legal effect outside the issuing country will not be affected due to doubts on authenticity of the seal or signature thereon.

II. Legalization Procedures

The document for consular legalization shall be first issued either by a Belgian competent authority (including Civil Registry office of City Hall, court, school, hospital, police department, sworn translator, etc.) or notarized by a Belgian notary (Notaire).

1. The above-mentioned document needs to be then legalized by the FPS Foreign Affairs (documents issued by certain authorities shall be authenticated by their superior competent authorities before legalized by the FPS Foreign Affairs).

2. Submit the above-mentioned legalized document at the Consular Department of our Embassy.

III. Other Important Information

1. Only documents legalized by the FPS Foreign Affairs are admissible for consular legalization at our Embassy. These authenticated documents shall bear the same relevant seal or stamp of the legalizing party (FPS Foreign Affairs) and name/specimen signature of the undersigning official as previously certificated and recognized at our Embassy. Only paper legalization (not E-legalization) by FPS Foreign Affairs may be accepted by the Embassy.

2. Consular officials will review the documents submitted at the window. The application documents will be rejected and returned to the applicant in case of the following problems identified during the verification process, including:

- incomplete procedure;

- incorrect format;

- illegal content;

- alteration or substitution of the document.

3. A document containing two or more pages must be bound properly and securely, with sealing wax, paging seal or embossed seal to ensure the integrity of the document; a document that does not comply with this requirement will not be accepted.

4. Documents for use of marriage registration in China including Marital Status Certificate, Statement of No Spouse or other relevant statements are valid for a period of 6 months since the issuing date and will not be accepted for consular legalization beyond validity. Documents for use in China for adoption affairs, such as Marital Status Certificate, Health Examination Certificate, Property and Income Certificate and Attestation of No Criminal Records, are valid for a period of 6 months since the date of notarization and will not be accepted for consular legalization beyond validity.

5. Documents already legalized by our Embassy shall not be altered or substituted. The applicant is self responsible for all consequences and legal responsibilities caused by his or her unauthorized altering or substitution of the document.

IV. Required Documents

1. A double-sided printed Application Form of Consular Legalization, with truthful complete content and signed by applicant self (Notice: The signatures of the appllicant /agent shoud be original. Scanned signature will not be accepted.);

2. The original of the legalized document by the FPS Foreign Affairs (including a copy of the legalization sticker page);

3. The original of the applicant's passport and a photocopy of the information page(or the original and a photocopy of the applicant's valid IDs for Belgian citizens);

4. If an applicant has entrusted someone else to submit the application on his/her behalf, the original and a photocopy of the passports (or the valid ID for Belgian citizen) of both entrusted person and applicant will be required.

5. To legalize commercial documents, a photocopy of the passport (or the valid ID in case of Belgian citizen) of the company's legal representative and the original company registration document(business license for instance) that can prove the person's legal representative status are required.

V. How to Apply

1. You may either submit the application in person or entrust someone else for application. Upon the request of a consular official, you may be requested to come in person for an interview at the Consular Department in some special case.

2. No reservation needed. The applicant may directly visit the Consular Department of our Embassy for legalization of documents during office hours.

3. Our Embassy doesn't accept applications sent via mail, by post or fax.

VI. Time Required for application

1. If your application is complete with all required documents, and pass the review by the consular officials:

- Regular service: 4 working days;

- Express service: 3 working days;

- Urgent service:2 working days.

Delays due to force majeure events or the lack of supporting materials or fact needed to be checked for the legalization don't take into account.

2. The applicant may apply for Express or Urgent service when applying, the approval of which is subject to the decision of the consular official.

VII. Application Fees

1. Regular service:

- Civil documents: 20 € per document, commercial documents: 40€ per document;

2. Express service:

- Civil documents: 45 € per document, commercial documents: 65€ per document;

3. Urgent service:

- Civil documents: 55 € per document, commercial documents: 75€ per document;

VIII. How to Collect the Legalized Document

1. The collection shall be scheduled according to the date suggested on the pick-up form (pink sheet), at the latest in 2 weeks after the appointed day; documents not collected in time will not be kept.

2. The applicant may either come in person or entrust someone else to pick up the legalized document upon presentation of the original pick-up form; in case of lost, the applicant must come in person with a valid identification card with personal photos on which(such as passport, identity card or driving license).

3. It is advised to check your legalized documents carefully after picking-up. Please report to the pick-up counter immediately in case of any doubt or question.

4. Delivery service is not available.

IX. Payment

No payment is required at the moment of submission. Payment must be made by debit cards (Bancontact, Mister Cash) when collecting the legalized documents.

X. Contact Information of Relevant Competent Authorities

Service Légalisation du SPF Affaires étrangères

Opening hours: Monday until Friday 9am - 12am (closed on public holidays)

Address: 27 Rue des Petits Carmes, 1000 Bruxelles

Tel: 0032-25018111

Fax: 0032-25018058

Website: https://diplomatie.belgium.be/fr/Contact

For more information, please refer to: https://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/services/legalisation_of_documents

The FPS Foreign Affairs legalizes documents issued in Belgium for use abroad.

The Consular Department of our Embassy only accept documents legalized by the FPS Foreign affairs.

 

Service Légalisations et questions parlementaires du SPF Justice

Opening hours:

- Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday 9:00am -12:00am;

- Wednesday 9:00am - 12.00am and 14:00pm - 16:00pm.

Address: 115 Boulevard de Waterloo, 1000 Bruxelles

Tel: 0032-25426532

Fax: 0032-25427052

Mail: legal@just.fgov.be

For more information, please refer to: https://justice.belgium.be/fr/themes_et_dossiers/personnes_et_familles/legalisation_de_documents/legalisation

This Service of FPS Justice authenticates documents issued by Belgian Courts and other relevant institutions.

All documents authenticated by the FPS Justice shall be then legalized by the FPS Foreign Affairs before submitted to our Embassy.