Apostille and Legalization Between Georgia and Finland - DVV, Sequence and Timing

Apostille replaces legalization between Georgia and Finland

Finland has been a Hague Apostille member since 1985 and Georgia since 2007, so a public document from either country is recognized in the other once apostilled by the issuing country's competent authority. Finland's diplomatic representation for Georgia does not legalize Georgian documents, and the Georgian embassy in Helsinki does not legalize Finnish ones; what the missions handle is passports, consular registration and the identification step of Migri applications.

Which Finnish authority wants an apostille differs. DVV requires apostilles on civil status documents for population registration, for registration of foreign marriages and for the marriage impediment examination; Migri requires them on civil status documents for family reunification but generally not for work and study permits; Opetushallitus and Valvira require them on diplomas; courts require them on everything. Whether the translation itself must be apostilled is asked by DVV for some countries and by courts; we apostille the notarized translation where the office asks. Georgian offices require a Georgian notarized translation and an apostille on the Finnish original.

Where Finnish documents get their apostille: DVV

Finland has a single apostille authority since 2020: the Digital and Population Data Services Agency (Digi- ja väestötietovirasto, DVV), which took over from the local register offices (maistraatit), and which apostilles documents issued by Finnish public authorities - its own virkatodistukset and väestötietojärjestelmä extracts, vihkitodistukset, rikosrekisteriotteet from the Legal Register Centre, tutkintotodistukset from universities and schools, kaupparekisteriotteet from PRH, documents from Kela, Vero and municipalities, court documents, and documents certified by a julkinen notaari - at its service locations across Finland, in person or by post, usually within a few days; DVV's notaries publici also certify signatures and copies for use abroad. Documents from private bodies must first be certified by a julkinen notaari before DVV apostilles them. Finnish citizens already in Georgia can obtain apostilles through a relative, a lawyer with a valtakirja, or by post to DVV. Åland's documents are apostilled by the State Department of Åland. We confirm the route for each document.

Apostille on Georgian documents for Finland

Georgian documents going to Finland are apostilled here, and this part we handle entirely. Civil status certificates and Public Service Hall extracts - the marital status certificate DVV needs for the marriage impediment examination above all - 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; the conviction certificate through the Ministry of Internal Affairs route. 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 Finnish or English and notarize it, and apostille the notarized translation or arrange authorized re-certification in Helsinki where the receiving office asks. Clients in Finland receive a digitally signed scan the same day the apostille is collected and the paper set by courier within two to three days.

Documents most often apostilled between Georgia and Finland

• Marriage in Finland and DVV registration: Georgian certificate of marital status, birth certificate, divorce decisions; Georgian marriage certificates for registration.
• Migri family reunification: Georgian marriage and birth certificates.
• Opetushallitus recognition and university enrollment: Georgian diplomas, supplements, school leaving certificates.
• Valvira authorization: medical, dental and nursing diplomas, curricula, practice records, the Georgian conviction certificate.
• For Georgian residence permits: Finnish rikosrekisteriote, virkatodistus, vihkitodistus, tutkintotodistus.
• For company registration in Georgia: Finnish kaupparekisteriotteet, yhtiöjärjestykset and valtakirjat.
• Finnish schools and teachers in Georgia: teaching qualifications and rikosrekisteriotteet for work permits.
• Succession and property: Georgian death and inheritance certificates for Finnish perunkirjoitus; Finnish perukirjat and testamentit for Georgian notaries.

The sequence for Finnish files

• Step 1: the Georgian original is apostilled by the competent Georgian authority, where the receiving Finnish office requires it.
• Step 2: we translate the document and its apostille into Finnish or English and the translation is notarized.
• Step 3 (where asked): the notarized translation is apostilled, or re-certified by a partner authorized translator in Helsinki.
• Step 4: the bundle is kept stapled as issued, scanned as one file for Enter Finland and DVV's online services, and shipped where paper is needed.

Translating before apostilling leaves the apostille certificate untranslated; a marital status certificate obtained too early expires before DVV's examination. We confirm the sequence and the timing 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 authorized re-certification where required. DVV apostilles take a few days by post and are often same-day in person. DVV expects civil status documents to be recent and its esteettömyystodistus is valid for four months, and Georgian offices accept the rikosrekisteriote and the conviction certificate for a limited period, so timing matters. The errors we correct most often are an untranslated apostille certificate, a marital status certificate obtained too early, a divorce decision without proof of finality, a virkatodistus of the wrong type, a Georgian document in a maiden name that differs from the passport, ä and ö or double letters transliterated inconsistently into Georgian, and a bundle unstapled for scanning. Send photos of both sides of every page and we run this check before submitting.

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