How do I legalise my documents for the Philippines?
Legalisation is the process of granting a document legal status for international use. The process involves verification of the authenticity of a document by a competent authority in the country where the document has been issued. This is followed by the legalisation by the document by the Embassy of the nation where the document will be used.
For countries that are a part of The Hague Apostille Convention of 1961, an apostille certificate is attached to the document, which is accepted as proof of authenticity by over 100 countries that are signatory members of the apostille convention. No further Embassy legalisation is required for documents to be used for cross-border purposes among these nations.
The Philippines joined the Apostille Convention in September 2018 and announced that it will honour all foreign public documents bearing the apostille certificate of the competent authority in the country of origin of the document. The Philippines has announced that from May 14, 2019, there will be no requirement for submitting apostilled documents to its embassies for legalisation.
Therefore, all UK-issued public documents with an apostille certificate attached by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or FCO can be presented to the Philippine authorities for work, business, personal and legal purposes. These documents are not required to be legalised by the Philippine Embassy in London.
If you wish to apply for a work or business visa to the Philippines, you will need apostille certification of your personal, educational and professional documents from the FCO UK. This government body has the sole authority to issue the apostille certificate for documents that have originated in the UK.
Some other documents, related to your financial status or criminal records, will require attestation, ratification and verification by a Notary Public or registered solicitor in London, before their submission to the FCO for apostille certification.
Legalisations.org.uk offers the full range of services associated with the legalisation of UK-issued documents, for use in any other country. Our experienced staff is well-versed with the entire process and has been helping both individual and corporate clients in all documents legalisation matters for several years now. Our services include pre-checking of all documents for their content and format, ensuring that these documents are notarised by a Notary Public or registered solicitor (where needed) before submitting them for apostille certification at the UK FCO. We also take care of document legalisation by the Philippines Embassy in London, if required. After the entire process has been completed, we also return all documents to you safely, via courier.
In addition, we offer translation services for any documents that need to be translated into the official language of the Philippines, where required. For this, we have a wide network of certified and experienced translators.
Please see the process as below that we follow:
STEP 1
Send Us the
Original Document
STEP 2
We quality check
documents internally
STEP 3
The document is
solicitor certified and then
Apostilled 24 hours.
STEP 4
If required, we take the
document to the required
embassy for legalisation
STEP 5
Documents Returned
Back to you Domestically
or Internationally
Please use the dropdown menu’s for your document requirement. The pricing and document type will be generated after pressing the button below. Please note that to complete your order you will need to use the dropdown menus per document order. After the pricing table, you will then be taken to our order page. Following this you will be sent to our upload page to upload the documents which you can also complete later.
Service Inclusions:
- Solicitor Stamp
- FCO Submission and Collection
- Embassy Legalisations
- Precheck of documents
- Free Resubmissions
- Same Day Send Out
Start Legalisation Order
The button above will redirect you to our legalisation order form via our main RLS website. You will be able to select your service, your return address and method and make payment via it.
After making your order, we advise you contact our legalisation consultants by emailing your requirement to: applications@rapid-visas.co.uk.
IMPORTANT NOTES
All UK-issued documents to be submitted in the Philippines for visa or other purposes do not require Philippines Embassy legalisation. These documents only need the apostille certificate, issued by the UK FCO, the competent authority in the UK with the sole authority to issue this certificate.
If you are planning to apply for a work or business visa for the Philippines or need to submit certain documents for legal matters, you are not required to approach the Philippines Embassy in London. You will, however, need all your personal, educational, professional and other documents to be apostilled by the FCO. Some of these documents will also require attestation, verification and ratification by a Notary Public or registered solicitor, before their submission for the FCO.
Legalisations.org.uk offers standard and express services for all document legalisation needs for the Philippines and other countries across the world. Our expert staff is well-versed with the entire process and the rules and regulations relating to the legalisation of documents for their submission in the Philippines. We will only pre-check your documents to ensure that they adhere to the regulations set by the FCO and Philippines Embassy in London, we will also ensure they are attested by a Notary Public or solicitor, where needed, before submitting them for apostille certification. Our experienced translators can also translate any documents into Filipino, if required.
The processing time for the Philippine Embassy legalisation will depend on the package chosen by you. The standard package ensures that the process is completed within 6 business days, while the express package offers to complete the process within 2 business days. If you reside outside the UK, you can send us all your documents via DHL or UPS international delivery and we will return the documents to you through the same route.
Conclusion
Although the Philippines was not in the list of the initial signatories of The Hague Apostille Convention, they joined the convention in September 2018. The Philippines further announced that starting May 14, 2019, apostilled documents do not require any additional legalisation by the Philippines Embassy for authentication before they are recognised as official records.
All UK-issued documents required for use in the Philippines for work, business or legal matters, need only an apostille certificate, issued by the UK FCO. There is no requirement of submitting the apostilled documents to the Philippine Embassy in London for legalisation.
The documents that need an apostille certificate from the UK FCO include personal documents, such as birth and marriage certificates, educational certificates and diplomas, certificates of professional qualifications and work experience, company documents, etc. Other documents, stating your financial status and criminal record, also need apostille certification. Some of these documents will require attestation, verification and ratification by a Notary Public or registered solicitor.
The experienced team at Legalisations.org.uk can help you with all your document legalisation needs in a timely manner. Please email all your requirements and queries to info@legalisations.org.uk or call us at 0845 224 9482. You can also fill our online order form for all your document legalisation requirements. Deliver the documents to our office via courier or through a personal visit and we will get the entire process completed seamlessly on our behalf.
The Most Common Documents We Legalise
Standard Personal Documents
- Birth, Marriage, Death Certificates
- HMRC letters
- ACPO, ACRO, Police Letters
- No Impediment Certificate
- Court Documents
Corporate Business Documents
- Incorporation Certificate
- Appointment Reports
- Mem & Arts
- Company Letters
- Companies House Certs
- Minutes & Resolutions
Educational Documents
- Degree, Masters, Diploma
- GCSE, CSE, O Level
- Professional Qualifications
- Training Certificates
- Transcripts & Reports
- School Letters
Frequently Asked Questions
The expert team at Legalisations.org.uk is well acquainted with the process document legalisation of UK-issued documents for use in the Philippines. Our consultants have been assisting individuals as well as corporate clients with the attestation, ratification and verification of documents to meet the legalisation requirements in various countries across the world. We have the necessary expertise to check your documents before getting them notarised by a Notary Public or a solicitor and then submitting them to the UK FCO for the apostille certification.
Since the Philippines is a signatory member to The Hague Apostille Convention, UK documents only require the FCO apostille certification before their presentation in the Asian nation. These documents are not required to be submitted to the Philippines Embassy in London for legalisation, meaning that you do not need to visit the consulate.
When you choose our services, we will book the appointment with the FCO office in Milton Keynes and submit the documents at the appointed time. We will also retrieve the documents after the apostille certificate has been attached. This means that you will not need to visit any government or consular offices to complete the legalisation process.
The cost of legalising documents by the Philippines Embassy in London will depend on the number of documents, their nature and how soon you require them. Our service package for Philippine Embassy legalisation includes the cost of pre-checking your documents to ensure that they comply with all FCO and embassy regulations, notarising documents, if required, submitting documents to the FCO UK for apostille certification and courier fees for delivering the documents back to you safely.
Since there is no requirement for submitting the apostilled documents to the Philippine Embassy in London, we will return your documents to you after the apostille certification. The cost for legalisation of your documents will be £95 plus VAT for our standard package, which completes the process within 6 business days. For the express package, the cost is £135 plus VAT and the process is completed within 2 business days.
The standard processing time for documents legalisation for the Philippines is one to two days, if your documents are in the proper order and format. The expert team at Legalisations.org.uk will pre-check your documents for their conformity with the requirements for apostille certification. The processing time for legalisation of your documents includes the time taken to pre-check your documents, attestation by a Notary Public or registered solicitor, where needed, and then submitting them for apostille certification.
We will also collect the apostilled documents from the FCO office in Milton Keynes and send them back to you. However, additional time will be needed if your documents require translation into Filipino, the official language of the Philippines. There is no longer a requirement for submitting your documents to the Philippines Embassy in London for legalisation.
If you require urgent legalisation of your documents for the Philippines, you can opt for our Express service, wherein the whole process is completed within 24 hours.
All foreign nationals seeking a work visa for the Philippines will need to submit documents proving their identity, financial status, and educational and professional qualifications. All these documents will require apostille certification by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office or the FCO, before they can be submitted to the Philippines Embassy. Police certificates verifying that you have no criminal record also need to be apostilled before submission to the Philippines authorities. Since the Philippines has signed the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention in 2018, apostilled documents are no longer required to be submitted to the Philippines Embassy in London for legalisation.
The list of documents that require apostille certification for use in the Philippines is as follows:
- Personal documents, such as birth, marriage and death certificates
- Health certificates
- ACPO, ACRO and Police Letters
- No Impediment Certificate
- Court Documents
- Corporate business documents, such as certificate of incorporation, appointment reports, company letters, etc.
- Educational and professional certificates, plus any other certificate related to your work experience.
You can also ask your prospective employer in Manila about the requirement for apostille certification of any other documents or the need for translation of any documents before they can be used in the Asian nation.
Different countries have different rules for the submission of documents for work and business applications and legal matters. In the case of the Philippines, all documents being submitted have to be either in English or Filipino, the official language of the Asian nation.
In the case of the UK, since all documents are in English, no translation is required. You can, however, still check with your prospective employer in Manila or other Philippine cities, whether they need any document to be translated into Filipino.
Legalisations.org.uk offers certified translation services for all types of documents. Our expert translators belong to the Institute of Translators and Interpreters as well as the Institute of Linguists, which ensures that the translation is correct. The translated copies are certified for their authenticity before being submitted for the apostille certificate. The need to submit documents for Philippines Embassy legalisation no longer exists, since the Philippines has become a signatory member of The Hague Apostille Convention.
The address of the Philippines Embassy in London is:
6-11 Suffolk Street,
London SW1Y 4HG
As previously mentioned it is not a requirement to have your documents submitted and legalised by the Philippines Embassy in London. The documents only require a FCO Apostille as the Philippines is a member of the Hague Convention.
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