An Apostille is an extra page that is bound/attached to your original document (e.g. birth certificate) stating that the person issuing and/or signing the document is legitimate, as well as the stamp thereupon.
Apostille
Formally put:
South Africa and the Netherlands are both member countries to the Hague Convention. Under this Convention, South Africa and the Netherlands agreed to abolish the legalisation process of public documents and to replace it with a single formality - the issuance of an authentication certificate (i.e. the Apostille)
In other (plain) words:
If you plan on using South African legal documents in the Netherlands (or any other foreign country for that matter), you’ll have to get them apostilled by DIRCO in Pretoria in order to prove their validity to the officials in the Netherlands. This can unfortunately only be done at DIRCO in Pretoria as South African diplomatic or consular representatives abroad are not permitted to issue Apostille Certificates.
An Apostille is an extra page that is bound/attached to your original document (e.g. birth certificate) stating that the person issuing and/or signing the document is legitimate, as well as the stamp thereupon. The Apostille page is attached by a green ribbon, verifying the signature on the document and/or the stamp affixed thereto.
Any original certificate/document issued by the Department of Home Affairs (ie. Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Death Certificates and Letters of No Impediment) can be apostilled by DIRCO offices.
Documents issued by a school leaving authority or tertiary education institution must first be verified by either Umalusi, The Department of Basic Education or The Department of Higher Education before they can be apostilled by DIRCO.
If you need to have your documents legalised by means of an apostille My Dutch Cousin can help you to get it done quickly.
