Apostille and document attestation between India and Germany

Document route

Indian Embassy or Consulate attestation

Time difference

3.5 to 4.5 hours behind IST

Handled in India at

State authority, MEA and missions

Travel to India

None

How it works from Germany

For documents going to India we work backwards from the office that will receive them. Indian passport holders sign a power of attorney, affidavit or declaration in person before the consular officer, who attests the signature. German citizens, including OCI cardholders, sign before a German notary; the notary's signature is then certified by the president of the regional court, and the Indian mission attests on that basis. We draft the text in English in the form Indian registries accept and send signing instructions for your consulate.

For Indian documents going to Germany, such as birth and marriage certificates for family reunion, naturalisation or a registry office wedding, and degree certificates for a Blue Card, the German authority decides what it needs. Commonly it requests verification through the German Embassy or a consulate in India, which appoints a local agent to check the record at source. We prepare the file so that verification passes the first time: correct registration extracts, consistent spellings, late-registration orders where the birth was registered years afterwards, and sworn German translations.

What is different for NRIs in Germany

• Consular jurisdiction is by federal state. An application to the wrong mission is returned.
• A power of attorney from Germany must be stamped in India within three months of receipt.
• German public documents in German need a certified English translation for Indian courts and sub-registrars.

Step by step from Germany

1. Free review call

   Calls are held in the German morning, while offices in India are open. We read your papers on document legalisation first, so the call is about your options and not a repeat of the facts.

2. Authority from Germany

   Where a representative must act for you in India on document legalisation, you sign before the consular officer at the Indian mission for your federal state, since a German apostille is not accepted in India. We draft the document and send signing instructions.

3. Work in India

   In India, we obtain state authentication and the Ministry of External Affairs stamp, and re-issue or correct the underlying certificate where needed. Updates for clients in Germany go by email and WhatsApp with scans of whatever is filed.

4. Result and handover

   At the end you receive the legalised originals by courier, with scans in advance. Originals are couriered to your address in Germany if you need them.

The law in full

This page covers what changes when you handle document legalisation from Germany. For the Indian law, the complete document checklist, common mistakes and more questions, read our main page on Apostille & Document Attestation. For other matters, see all legal services for NRIs in Germany or the Inheritance, Wills & Documents practice area.

Questions from NRIs in Germany