1. On 8 March 2023, China acceded to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as the Convention). The Convention shall enter into force between China and Seychelles on 7 November 2023. The Convention shall continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region.
2. From 7 November 2023, the public documents as referred to in the Convention that are executed in Seychelles only need to apply for an Apostille by Judiciary of the Seychelles and can be used in Chinese mainland, there is no need to apply for Legalisation by the Chinese Embassy in Seychelles.
The public documents as referred to in the Convention that are executed in Chinese mainland, and have to be produced in Seychelles shall be exempted from Legalisation by the Chinese side and Seychelles Embassy in China. Instead, an Apostille shall be issued onto the documents. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China is the designated authority to issue an Apostille certificate onto the public documents executed in Chinese mainland. Besides, certain Foreign Affairs Offices of Provinces and Municipalities of China (see attached below) entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China can also issue an Apostille onto the public documents executed within their own administrative jurisdiction. The Apostille support online verification, for details, please log onto the website https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/. For the specific procedures and requirements for applying for the Apostille in Chinese mainland, please visit http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/ or the official websites of relevant Foreign Affairs Offices.
3. From 7 November 2023, Legalisation at Chinese Embassy in Seychelles will be ceased. For the public documents that are executed in Seychelles, and have to be used in Chinese mainland, please apply for an Apostille from Judiciary of the Seychelles.
4. According to the Convention, the Apostille issued by a state is to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears. The public documents with an Apostille onto them are not necessarily accepted by the relevant Chinese authorities. Applicants shall check the format, content, time limit, translation and other specific requirements of foreign public documents with the Chinese authority or entity where the documents are to be used before going through the relevant procedures.