How to legalize docs in the UK
In our practice we need to use here in Bulgaria, documents concerning your case, that are initially issued within the UK.For example:
- Power of attorney
- Grant of probate
- Birth certificate
- Death certificate
- Bank statements
- Companies House documents
- Marriage certificate
- Wills
- Declarations etc.
It is important to know that these documents are subject of official authentification in order to be used in another country – Bulgaria, because these are issued in English language which is not a primary in our country, and an official Authority at the country of issuing the document, should certify the signatures, i.e. the author, so the document could be considered as genuwine when used later in Bulgaria.
If you live in the UK and have to provide to us documents issued initially there, then please choose one of the 2 available options to get the document witnessed / legalized, depending of which one is more convenient for you:
OPTION 1
1. You should print out the documents previously forwarded by us to you. With these printed documents, and holding your passport, you should visit the nearest practicing solicitor or notary public in your area, and sign the printed out documents before the practitioner. He will only have to witness your signature, namely to write down "witnessed by me" and verify that the passport data in the documents is correct by signing stamping the documents, where putting their name and practicing address/ business stamp. There should be verification of the signatures on the documents only .
2. After the have been signed by you and the solicitor/notary, you should scan them and send them to one of our emails in order us to verify that everything is correct (alternatively you could fax copies of them to 00359 52 655668).
3. The documents then should be posted to the Foreign an Commonwealth Office in London with request for additional legalization (this is a specialized authentification procedure which will allow the documents to be used abroad, according the requirements of the Hague Convention of 5th October 1961 abolishing the requirement of legalisation for foreign public documents); what they do, is to confirm that a signature, seal or stamp on a UK public document is genuwine. Simple and precise instructions how to provide the documents to them and to pay their fees, are enclosed at the web site, written below: How to apply?
Basically they require genuwine witnessing, payment (via online payment, postal order, bankers draft or business cheque) of their fees (30 Sterling per apostile), filling of their application and posting the documents to their address: Legalisation Office, Norfolk House West, 437 Silbury Blvd, Milton Keynes, MK9 2AH
4. Once they have returned to you the legalized documents with apostil, please post the original to our office.
OPTION 2
1. You should print out the documents we have forwarded to you, and hodling your passport with you, then you should visit the Bulgarian embassy in London in order to sign the documents before the Bulgarian consul in the Embassy of Bulgaria in London, the UK (below we have enclosed their full contact details). What you should do is appoint a meeting at least one day before the visit with request for verification of your signature, You should sign the documents before the Bulgarian consul, who will witness your signature as entitled to do this kind of verifications against small standard fee. The documents we have forwarded to you are prepared also in Bulgarian so no further translation is need. Witnessing the documents by our Consul is the end of the legalization process and no further authentication of the documents is needed, i.e. once done, these can be used directly in Bulgaria.
Embassy of the Republic of Bulgaria: United Kingdom, London - 186-188 Queen's Gate London SW7 5HL, Tel.: (central) - code 0044 / 2075849400 , Fax: – code 0044 / 2075844948
Consular services – code 0044 / 2075849379
E-mail: consul@bulgarianembassy.org.uk
Consular Section Phones:
24 Hour Automated Booking System: tel. 090 6554 0750 (calls cost GBP 1/min)
24 Hour Visa Information Service: tel. 090 6550 8950 (calls cost GBP 1/min)
24 Hour Fax on Demand Visa Application Form Service: tel. 090 6554 0819 (calls cost GBP 1/min)
Consular Section Admission Hours:
09.30 - 12.30, Monday to Friday (with an appointment)
12:30 - 14:00, Monday to Friday (without an appointment)
2. Once you have signed the documents in front of the Bulgarian consul, please post the originals of these to our office.