Coronavirus (COVID-19) Information and Updates

Updated: 03/04/2020 - APOSTILLE SERVICES RESUME

The Apostille Service is open and we are legalising documents. Most orders are being completed in just 2 to 3 working days,

The FCO will be opening the apostille service to business customers from Tuesday 7 April 2020. We are ready to get processing orders and to assist new customers.

You can only get an apostille from Apostille.Org.UK and other similar registered UK Apostille Services. The public cannot submit documents directly to the FCO until further notice. Only a registered apostille service can issue the apostille. We provide a quick apostille for all UK documents. Let us handle your documents in just a few days for the best prices in the UK.

Following the recent FCO closures we are now clearing the backlog of orders. Moving forward, the FCO are limiting the number of documents we can submit. Therefore, we will be ordering documents on date of arrival or payment and submitting new apostille orders as soon as possible. This may take a few days to complete so your understanding is appreciated.

The FCO sent the following message-

Any customers who wish to submit an application should do so through one of the existing agents registered with the service. Agents can be found by searching online for ‘UK Legalisation services’ or ‘UK Apostille services’, but please ensure that they are registered with the Legalisation Office as a business customer.

Apostille.org.uk is one of the UKs longest standing business customers. We have worked with the FCO for over 20 years legalising UK documents with the apostille.

Apostille Orders

NORMAL SERVICE. We aim to complete all orders as quickly as possible.

Embassy Attestation

We are seeing some delays to embassy orders as many embassies are working reduced hours. All documents requiring embassy attestation must have the apostille issued first. We then submit them to the embassy for attestation.

There are a few embassies that are currently closed for attestation. That includes-

  • Qatar
  • Saudi Arabia
  • China
  • Thailand
  • UAE
  • Egypt

We are storing all documents securely at our office until the embassies resume attesting documents. We will update our blog and web pages when the situation changes.

Updated: 24/03/2020 - APOSTILLE SERVICES SUSPENDED THROUGHOUT THE UK

Following the UK governments announcement requesting that people only travel for essential business, we are now working remotely.

What does this mean?

We can access all phone calls and emails to assist with customer questions. It is impossible to get a UK apostille from any apostille services in the UK until further notice. The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office are not issuing apostilles and have issued the following statement:

 

 

 

 
What are exceptional circumstances? The FCO urgent legalisation service is being managed primarily by FCO staff working from home, who are responding to all enquiries sent to urgentlegalisation@fco.gov.uk and establishing if a document requires an apostille urgently. The criteria for this is under daily review pending staffing availability within the FCO and analysis of the patterns of requests received. At present, the legalisation office is accepting any document that is required in order to facilitate repatriation, urgent travel to prevent deportation/arrest or to abide by government orders, and trade documents specifically relating to medical supplies. As they cannot guarantee a consistent service through this channel, they are prioritising documents that will assist those who are most vulnerable.

 

Apostille Orders

NO APOSTILLES IN THE UK until further notice. It is now impossible to obtain an apostille in the UK.

Embassy Attestation

NO EMBASSY ORDERS until further notice. All documents requiring embassy attestation must have the apostille issued first. With no apostilles being issued we cannot provide embassy legalisation services.

Any documents currently being legalised or that you have sent to our office will be handled on return to normal working practices.

Office Visits

For the foreseeable future we are asking that customers do not visit the office. We are happy to assist by phone, email, online chat, online orders and postal applications. It is essential we manage the offices effectively to protect our customers and employees.

Updates

If there is any change to the current situation we will update this page with the latest situation on processing orders. Please be assured that we have robust systems in place to manage any events and to ensure we can still support our customers during the current period.

Thank you for choosing our service.

About the Author

The Apostille Service are pleased to provide advice on a wide range of document legalisation matters. Our team of advisors contribute to the blog.