Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the Kingdom of Belgium and the European Union and Permanent Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

Consulaire legalisatie / Légalisation consulaire / Consular legalisation

Introduction :

In principle, any official document (e.g. school diploma, criminal record, employment certificate etc.) issued in Belgium and Luxembourg that needs to be recognised in Korea is subject to an apostille via the relevant authorities of each respective country as these countries are all member states of the Apostille convention.

What is the meaning of apostille? : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apostille_Convention / https://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/legalisation-documents

-Apostille Belgium: https://diplomatie.belgium.be/en/legalisation-documents/legalisation-more-detailed-information/e-apostille-e-legalisation

-Apostille Luxembourg: https://guichet.public.lu/fr/citoyens/citoyennete/certificat-casier-judiciaire/certificat-copie/legalisation-actes.html

In most of cases, the apostille service is provided by the ministry of foreign affairs of each country.

Depending on the type of document to be apostilled, some documents must first be processed by other relevant authorities before finally being apostilled by the ministry of foreign affairs.

Common examples:

1)     School diploma: by the ministry of education

  *Hoe Belgische documenten legaliseren voor gebruik in het buitenland? / Comment légaliser des documents belges pour usage à l’étranger? → https://diplomatie.belgium.be/nl/legalisatie-van-documenten

 *Legalisatie van Vlaamse getuigschriften en diploma's (Voor vlaamse diploma's)→ https://www.vlaanderen.be/legalisatie-van-vlaamse-getuigschriften-en-diplomas

 *LÉGALISATION DES DIPLÔMES ET DES CERTIFICATS (Pour des diplômes wallons) → http://www.enseignement.be/index.php?page=24202&navi=94 

  2)     Medical certificate: by the ministry of health

      https://www.health.belgium.be/en/node/34747

If a document is issued by a private or non-governmental institution (e.g. bank, private company, etc.), the document first needs to be legalised by a notary public in Belgium/Luxembourg, then apostilled by the relevant authority.

However, for the purpose of efficiency and convenience, certain types of documents can be legalised directly by the embassy:

1)     Secondary school diploma, transcript etc. issued by an accredited institution in Belgium/Luxembourg (for enrollment in a university based in Korea)

2)     Employment contract, certificate issued by a company registered in Belgium/Luxembourg (for employment at a company registered in Korea)

3)   Translated document, power of attorney, signature authentication

All other types of document (university degree, bank statement, technical certificate, etc.) CANNOT be legalised by the embassy, and must be done either by the relevant authority or by a notary public as mentioned above.

If you need to have an eligible document legalised by our embassy, you need to present the original copy (a photocopy version is not accepted) along with a valid form of ID (ID card or passport) to our office after making an appointment (CLICK): (3.60 euros per document to be legalised).