Documents in Canada only need to obtain an Apostille before they can be sent to Chinese mainland for use

On November 7, 2023 and January 11, 2024, the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as the Convention) comes into effect respectively in China and Canada. The Hong Kong Special Administration Region and the Macao Special Administration Region of China acceded to the Convention previously, the Convention will continue to apply to the two regions.

Starting from January 11, 2024, public documents within the scope of the Convention executed in Canada only need to obtain an Apostille issued by Canadian competent authorities (see the attachment for detailed procedures) before they can be sent to Chinese mainland for use, authentication by Canadian competent authorities and the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in Canada are no longer required.

On the same day, authentication services at the Chinese Embassy and Consulates-General in Canada will no longer be provided.

According to the provisions of the Convention, an Apostille issued by a country is used to certify the authenticity of the signature on the public documents, the identity of the signatory of the document at the time of signing, and to confirm the authenticity of the seal on the document when necessary. The completion of an Apostille issued in Canada does not guarantee the acceptance of the public documents by the relevant user in China. Applicants are suggested to check in advance with the relevant party in China about specific requirements for format, content, time limit, translation, and other specific requirements before proceeding with the relevant Apostille application.