After authenticating documents at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nigeria, you may also be required to legalize the documents at the embassy of the country where you intend to use them. The procedures, requirements and costs for legalization of documents in Nigeria varies from one embassy to the other.
For example, a person who intends to use her Nigerian marriage certificate to process residency permit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), must first authenticate the marriage certificate at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Abuja, after which he or she will take the document to the UAE Embassy also in Abuja for legalization.
To make things easier for you, Antarch Consulting provides all the needed clarification on the procedures for legalization of documents at some of the embassies we have had experience with. This will help you know what to expect when you take your authenticated documents for legalization at the embassy in Nigeria of the country you are planning to travel to.
Regardless of the embassy in question or the country you are travelling to, the first requirement is always to first authenticate your documents at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before such documents can be accepted by the embassy. Kindly bear in mind that the legalization costs for each embassy are subject to change without notice, and often fluctuate based on current Forex exchange rates or inflationary trends.
Document Legalization at the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Embassy in Nigeria
For those travelling to Dubai or Abu Dhabi, legalization at the UAE embassy in Abuja Nigeria, as of February 2020, attracts a legalization fee of approximately N72,215 Naira for each document page for personal documents, and N510, 000 each for corporate documents. However, these fees change almost daily, due to the current unstable foreign exchange situation in Nigeria. Typically, the UAE embassy only legalizes original documents rather than photocopies or print outs, except for the digital Police Character Certificate.
That means if you need to legalize your results, birth certificates, marriage certificates or other documents, you must have authenticated the originals of such documents at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before taking the documents to the embassy for legalization.
For academic results specifically, you must also provide a letter of eligibility from the Ministry of Education in addition to the already authenticated result you need to legalize.
The processing time for legalization at the UAE embassy is typically about two or three days, though it could take longer whenever they experience intermittent network issues or surges in applicant numbers. See below for an example of a document legalized at the UAE embassy.
Document legalized by UAE Embassy
Document Legalization at the Qatar Embassy in Nigeria
The Qatar embassy in Abuja, Nigeria requires you to notarize your document in addition to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs authentication before presenting it for legalization at the embassy. You also have to present the original document.
The Qatar embassy entertains legalization matters only on Mondays and Wednesdays, and as of January 2024, their official legalization fee is approximately N53,000 Naira for each document, but this may be significantly higher now due to the foreign exchange situation. The processing time is about 3 to 7 days on average. After the legalization is completed, you may have to pick it up on the next operation day (Monday or Wednesday). See below for an example of a document legalized by the Qatar Embassy.
A document legalized by the Qatar Embassy
Legalization receipt issued by the Qatar Embassy
Document Legalization at the Embassy of Poland in Nigeria
Legalization of documents at the Polish Embassy in Abuja is arguably one of the most stringent, expensive. difficult and time consuming we have experienced.
First, like the UAE embassy, the Polish embassy insists on legalizing the original document itself, rather than photocopies. This means that their legalization stamp would be appended on your original document (at the back of the document). For academic results, you also need to obtain and present a letter of eligibility from the Ministry of Education.
If you wish to send someone else to represent you at the embassy, you need to prepare a letter of authorization stating the person’s name and authorizing him or her to represent you as regards the legalization matter at the Polish embassy.
How the process works at the Poland Embassy is that you have to book a legalization appointment through agents at the embassy. This alone unofficially costs about N30,000 Naira or more (as of January 2022). After booking the appointment, on the appointed date, you would have to pay the official Poland Embassy legalization fee of 30 Euros as of January 2022, or approximately N51,000 Naira (depending on current exchange rates) for each document (via bank payment) and then you can submit the document and wait for collection. All of this process takes roughly one month or much longer! See an example of a document legalized by the Embassy of Poland.
Document legalized by the Poland Embassy
Legalization of Documents at the Portugal Embassy in Nigeria
Legalization at the Portuguese embassy in Abuja, Nigeria is now done only on Tuesdays (for submissions) and Thursdays (for collections) as of January 2024, between the hours of 9.am and 12. noon. However, since January 2024, the Portugal embassy mandates that document legalization is done by online appointment.
You need to book an online appointment with the Portugal embassy to get a submission date assigned to you for the legalization of your document.
The Portugal Embassy website for booking an appointment for the legalization of documents is: https://portaldascomunidades.mne.gov.pt/pt/agendamento-online-de-atos-consulares. The website is in Portuguese language, so it is advised to access it with a browser that supports translation to English.
You would be required to go to the bank and pay the official Portuguese embassy legalization fee of approximately N16, 500 per document (as of August 15, 2023), and then present the payment receipt along with the document to be legalized. Note that fees change constantly due to variations in the exchange rate, so the current legalization fee may be significantly higher.
You (or your representative at the embassy) would then be asked to fill a form (see form below) and provide a copy of your International Passport data page before you submit the document you want to legalize. The procedure may take weeks to finalize. You would be issued a receipt along with the legalized document.
It is important to note that legalization at the Portugal embassy is now particularly exceedingly stressful, difficult and expensive all-round. Since they only open on Thursdays, there’s usually a large crowd of applicants who begin to mass up at the embassy as early as 4.am. The embassy only attends to about 30 legalization applications per day, so it is a challenge to make it through the hundreds of applicants you would have to contend with.
Besides, for documents such as marriage certificate, birth certificate and police character certificate, the Portugal embassy carries out a verification procedure before proceeding with legalization of the documents. You would need to pay significant fees to their designated consultants for this verification procedure which can take between several weeks, before you then pay the official embassy legalization fee for your documents.
In the case of degree certificates, the pre-legalization verification required by the Portugal embassy can take an exceedingly long time to complete – even up to two months, as your degree certificate and similar academic results would join a pile of results sent to the Nigerian Universities Commission (NUC) for verification, after which you will then be required to book an appointment for a submission date for the actual legalization.
All of these hurdles and delays make legalization at the Portugal Embassy a thankless affair, which we will suggest to avoid if possible or to brace up if necessary.
See example of document legalized by the Embassy of Portugal in Nigeria, along with form and receipt).
Document legalized by the Portugal Embassy (note the legalization stamps at the top left), plus official receipt and legalization form
Legalization of Documents at the China Embassy
The Chinese Embassy in Nigeria (located in Lagos) requires that you must notarize the document in addition to the standard authentication by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before you can present it for legalization.
The China Embassy accepts authenticated and notarized photocopies of documents such as academic results and marriage certificates (except for documents such as Police Character Certificate). However, you must present the original of the documents to be authenticated for sighting and confirmation purposes.
The embassy also requires that you provide a letter stating the reason why you want to legalize the document and the purpose of your intended travel to China. A copy of your international passport data page is also required to be submitted in addition to the documents that need to be legalized.
The official legalization fee for the Chinese Embassy is approximately N10,000 Naira as of January 2022, and the processing time can range from 2 to 5 working days. Note that the fees may be significantly higher now due to the current exchange rate situation and general increase in prices.
N.B. In case you are not sure what a notarized document looks like, see an example below:
Example of Notarized and Authenticated Document (the red circular seal and stamp beside it indicates notarization by a Notary Public, while the signatures below are authentication signatures issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Legalization of Documents in Italian Embassy in Nigeria
The Italian embassy is located in Lagos, and that is where all activities pertaining to legalization of documents meant for Italy will take place. As part of the legalization requirements for the Italian Embassy in Nigeria, you are expected to provide the official authentication receipt issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in addition to the authenticated documents. Without this receipt, the Italian Embassy will not legalize your documents.
Agency Assistance By Antarch Consulting
If you need expert assistance with authentication of documents by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and subsequent legalization of documents in Nigeria (at the embassy of the country you intend to travel to), kindly contact us.
Please note that our interventions for embassy legalization is conditional, as we are not always able to undertake the legalization process at every embassy. However, if within our ability, we will be glad to advise you on the best way forward and possibly assist you for a fair service fee.
