Hello,
I need a document notarized with a Hague convention Apostille. I never had to do anything like that, so I’m a bit confused. I was hoping someone here could help.
This is the situation:
I am a Polish citizen living with my Japanese wife in Japan. We have a son, and would like for our son to get a Polish passport. In order to get a Polish passport, the Polish government requires written permission from the parents of the child. So, my wife needs to give permission in writing for our son to get a Polish passport. This permission needs to be notarized with an apostille.
I read that Japanese ministry of foreign affairs gives apostilles for Japanese documents. But what about this private, simple permission slip? Will a regular notary be able to provide an apostille?
5 comments
No, apostilles are only authorized through the relevant government organization dealing with foreign affairs. From my experience in getting apostilles (different government non-polish), I usually have to have the private document notarized first, then apostilled afterwards.
I hired a 行政書士 to get apostille because I was so confused with the whole process.
Notaries in Japan (at least in Tokyo) are very familiar with the process and will get the apostille for you from the Ministry of Justice. Just inform the notary in advance and they may even obtain the apostille ahead of time, speeding up the process.
You will need to notarize a private document to make it public, then have it appostilled. Depending on where you are there may be “One-stop Shops” where they can notarize and apostille it in one place. Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and Fukuoka have one I believe. Otherwise, ask a notary to notarize it first then send to MOFA. Since it is not used in Japan, there are not too many notaries but there should be some in major cities.
Thank you all for your help, I appreciate it!