Apostille and Legalization Between Georgia, the Netherlands and Flanders - Courts, eLegalization, Sequence and Timing

Apostille replaces legalization between Georgia, the Netherlands and Belgium

The Netherlands has been a Hague Apostille member since 1965, Belgium since 1976 and Georgia since 2007, so a public document from any of the three is recognized in the others once apostilled by the issuing country's competent authority. The Dutch Embassy in Tbilisi does not legalize Georgian documents and does not need to; nor does the Georgian embassy in The Hague legalize Dutch ones. What the embassies handle is the MVV, consular registrations and the registration of their citizens' marriages and births abroad, which is separate from the apostille and presupposes apostilled originals.

Whether the translation must also be apostilled is rarely the question in the Netherlands, because Dutch offices look at who certified the translation - a beëdigd vertaler, or a translator for English - rather than at a foreign apostille on it; the IND and gemeenten do, however, insist on the apostille on the Georgian original. We apostille the notarized translation only where an office specifically asks. Georgian offices require a Georgian notarized translation and an apostille on the Dutch or Belgian original.

Where Dutch and Belgian documents get their apostille for Georgia

In the Netherlands, apostilles are issued by the rechtbanken (district courts) - any rechtbank can apostille any Dutch public document regardless of where it was issued - at the court's balie or by post, usually the same day. BRP uittreksels and geboorte- and huwelijksakten from gemeenten, the VOG from Justis, diploma's (after DUO or the institution authenticates them where required), KVK uittreksels, court decisions and notarial volmachten are apostilled at the rechtbank. In Belgium, apostilles are issued by the FOD Buitenlandse Zaken through the eLegalization platform, mostly electronically, on documents whose signatures have been registered by the issuing authority; Belgian gemeente documents, diplomas, court and notarial documents are apostilled this way and can be verified online. Dutch and Belgian citizens already in Georgia can obtain apostilles through a relative, a lawyer with a volmacht, or, for Belgium, remotely. We confirm the route for each document.

Apostille on Georgian documents for the Netherlands and Flanders

Georgian documents going to the Netherlands or Belgium are apostilled here, and this part we handle entirely. Civil status certificates and Public Service Hall extracts are apostilled through the Public Service Development Agency; notarial acts and court documents through the Ministry of Justice route; diplomas and school certificates through the education verification route, which is the slowest at up to five business days. You bring the original to Agmashenebeli 117 once, or a relative brings it, and we submit, track and collect the apostille, then translate the bundle into Dutch or English, notarize it, and arrange beëdigd vertaler re-certification in the Netherlands or Belgium where the receiving office requires it. Clients in the Netherlands receive the finished set by courier within two to three days.

Documents most often apostilled between Georgia, the Netherlands and Flanders

• IND family reunification and MVV: Georgian marriage certificate, children's birth certificates, proof of relationship documents, marital status certificate.
• Gemeente registration and marriage: Georgian birth certificate, marital status certificate, divorce decisions, for the BRP and the huwelijk.
• Nuffic, DUO, NARIC-Vlaanderen and university enrollment: Georgian diplomas, supplements, school leaving certificates with national exam results.
• Kennismigrant and researcher permits: diplomas where the employer or university asks, though the IND itself rarely requires them.
• For Georgian residence permits: Dutch VOG, BRP uittreksels, geboorte- and huwelijksakten, diploma's; Belgian uittreksels uit het strafregister and gemeente documents.
• For company registration in Georgia: Dutch KVK uittreksels, statuten and volmachten; Belgian Kruispuntbank uittreksels and statuten.
• Succession and property: Georgian death certificates and inheritance certificates for Dutch and Belgian notarissen, Dutch verklaringen van erfrecht for Georgian notaries.

The sequence for Dutch and Flemish files

• Step 1: the Georgian original is apostilled by the competent Georgian authority.
• Step 2: we translate the document and its apostille into Dutch or English and the translation is notarized.
• Step 3a (IND, most universities, many gemeenten): the certified English or Dutch translation is submitted as is.
• Step 3b (strict gemeenten, courts, notarissen, Belgian authorities): the Dutch text is re-certified by a partner beëdigd vertaler in the Netherlands or Belgium, with Belgian eLegalization where required.
• Step 4: the bundle is kept stapled as issued, scanned as one file for online submissions, and shipped where paper is needed.

Translating before apostilling leaves the apostille certificate untranslated and the file is returned; choosing English for a gemeente that insists on Dutch costs a second visit. We confirm the sequence in the first reply based on the receiving office.

Timing, validity and common errors

Apostilles on Georgian civil status documents usually take one to three business days; notarial acts and court documents about the same; education documents up to five. Add 1-2 hours for the translation and a few days for beëdigd vertaler re-certification where required. Dutch rechtbank apostilles are typically same-day; Belgian eLegalization a few days. Dutch gemeenten want civil status documents recently issued, and the VOG and the Georgian conviction certificate are accepted for a limited period, so timing matters. The errors we correct most often are an untranslated apostille certificate, a translation in English sent to a gemeente that insists on Dutch, a marital status certificate obtained too early, a Georgian document in a maiden name that differs from the passport, a Belgian document presented without its electronic legalization reference, and a bundle unstapled for scanning, which Dutch and Belgian offices treat as invalid. Send photos of both sides of every page and we run this check before submitting.

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