I. Background Information

On March 9 and November 7, 2023, Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as “the Apostille Convention”) (Appendix 1) came into effect in Pakistan and China respectively. Pursuant to the provisions of the Apostille Convention, within the scope of the Convention, documents issued by China and Pakistan relevant authorities now only require an “Apostille” from the issuing country, and can be used directly in the other country, without the need for consular attestation or legalization any more.

Please be noted that both the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region in China have previously acceded to the Apostille Convention before. As such, the Apostille Convention continues to apply to Hong Kong and Macao in China.

II. Procedure for Obtaining an Apostille Issued by China

Documents, which are issued by China within the scope of the Apostille Convention and intended for use in Pakistan, must be apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China (hereinafter referred to as “MFA of  China”) in Beijing or by some authorized Foreign Affairs Offices of  local government in China (hereinafter referred to as “FAOs”). The name list of FAOs can be found in Appendix 2.  

MFA of China is the competent authority responsible for issuing the Chinese Apostille for documents issued by China. In addition, the authorized FAOs will issue the Chinese Apostille for documents according to their respective administrative regions. For an example of the Chinese Apostille, please refer to Appendix 3.

Please click here for detailed information regarding the procedures and requirements of applying for the Chinese Apostille. You may also click here to verify the authenticity of the Chinese Apostille online.  

III. Procedure for Obtaining an Apostille Issued by Pakistan

Documents, which are issued by Pakistan within the scope of the Apostille Convention and intended for use in China, must be apostilled by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ((hereinafter referred to as “MOFA”) in Islamabad or by authorized MOFA Liaison Offices.  

MOFA is the competent authority responsible for issuing Pakistani Apostilles for documents issued by Pakistan. For an example of the Pakistani Apostille, please refer to Appendix 4. Furthermore, authorized Liaison Offices by MOFA will issue Apostilles for documents within their respective administrative regions.  

Please click here for further details of how to submit an Apostille application in Pakistan and other relevant information,. You may also click here to verify the authenticity of the Pakistan Apostille online.  

IV. Kind Reminder

(I) The issuance of an Apostille on a document by China or Pakistan does not automatically guarantee that the document will be accepted for use in the destination country. To ensure the smooth acceptance of the Apostille in the destination country, applicants are advised to get familiar with the specific requirements for the document’s use. The requirements usually include the document’s format, content, timing, and translation prior to submitting the Apostille application.

(II) Currently, only MOFA and its authorized Liaison Offices can issue the Apostille, and consular attestation remains the primary service nationwide. In this regard, the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan continues to carry out consular legalization for the attested documents by Pakistani authorities. Once Pakistan government is able to issue the Apostille nationwide in the future, the Chinese Embassy will cease providing consular legalization service by publicizing this change on the Embassy official website.

Appendix:

1. Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents

2. List of Agencies for Consulate Apostillisation in China

3. Example of the Chinese Apostille

4. Example of the Pakistani Apostille