Apostille
What is an Apostille?
Apostille is a faster and easier alternative to authenticate your documents for use in the Philippines without having to travel to Brasilia. All countries and territories under the Embassy’s jurisdiction, Brazil, Guyana and Suriname, are members of the Apostille Convention. This means that a document bearing an apostille certificate from these countries will be recognized in the Philippines.
While the Philippine Embassy can only notarize private documents, your local competent authority can issue apostille certificates for private documents, government-issued documents, and business-related documents.
What are the requirements?
Requirements vary from country to country, and in Brazil, from state to state, but in general, the process for private documents goes like this:
Step 1: Have your document notarized by a local notary public
Step 2: Submit the document to the Competent Authority to get an apostille
Step 3: Use the document in the Philippines for its intended purpose
Where to get the Apostille?
Brazil
The list of notary offices authorized to perform the apostille process can also be found on the CNJ website (Brazil).
Guyana
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation in Guyana legalizes documents via Apostille.
Suriname
You must visit the Registrar of the Court of Justice, which is the sole designated competent authority in Suriname.
After getting your apostille certificate from the designated competent authority, you can now use your document in the Philippines.