June 24, 22

NEWS / Pakistan accedes to Apostille Convention

The Islamic Republic of Pakistan has officially acceded to the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (the so-called Hague or Apostille Convention). However, the country is yet to decide on when the accession will come into force. This would mean that it would become easier to use public documents issued in Pakistan abroad and vice abroad as one would simply need to get the document apostiled Pakistan’s largely figurehead president Arif Alvi signed the instrument of accession to the Apostille Convention on June 16. He was asked to do so by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif. “Pakistan’s accession to Apostille Convention will facilitate & ease a significant burden on Pakistanis traveling & living abroad,” Prime Minister Sharif tweeted, “Creating smooth processes for our citizens is a priority for us. Now Pakistani notarized documents will be accepted in 100+ countries.” Shehbaz Sharif, the brother of political stalwart Nawaz Sharif, represents the conservative Pakistani Muslim League (Nawaz) dominated by the Sharif family. He came to power earlier this year in wake of a constitutional crisis triggered by a vote of no confidence against the previous government of Prime Minister Imran Khan. Khan accused the United States of interfering in the country’s internal affairs to remove him from office and install Sharif. Pakistan joins a group of over 120 countries in which having an apostille is sufficient for a foreign document to be accepted. The list includes nations such as the United States, Mexico, Brazil, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Turkey, South Africa, India, Japan, Indonesia, and Australia. Among major nations that have not joined the Convention are Canada, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Nigeria, Iran, and China. A&M Logos is proud to offer document legalization services for all countries around the world. We will continue to provide consular chain legalization services until the Convention comes into full force in Pakistan. After that we will assist our clients with obtaining apostilles from all 50 state and the US federal government for use in Pakistan.