The Apostille Convention of the Hague Conference came into force in China on the 7th of November 2023. With this transition, the traditional legalization process of public documents to be used abroad is abolished and replaced with a much simpler, timesaving and cost-effective legalization process.
China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has stated, amongst others, that the time required to complete procedures will be reduced by 90%. Chinese citizens can now have academic degrees, driving licenses, medical certificates, etc. easily recognized in another Member State of the Apostille Convention.
In addition, this transition is expected to contribute to the improvement of foreign business environment in China, as foreign companies investing in or exporting to China will no longer need to request consular legalization of their commercial documents.
The Apostille Convention may also have a positive impact for Chinese investors in Cyprus who intend to apply for Permanent Residence Permit through the Permanent Residence Scheme – Category (6.2), as this procedure requires supporting documentation from the applicant’s country of origin (such as clean criminal record) that would need to be certified. The certification of these documents is now greatly simplified by the Apostille Convention.
