When an official document needs to be used overseas, it is usually necessary to first obtain apostilles/authentication at the place where the document is issued. If the country or region issuing the document and the overseas country or region where the document is to be used are both signatories to the Convention on the Exemption of the Requirement of Consular Authentication for Foreign Public Documents (Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents) (referred to as the “Hague Convention”), then after the official document has been authenticated by the competent authorities of the contracting parties to the Convention, the authenticity and validity of the document can be verified, and it can be used in all the Hague Convention countries and has legal effect. Apostilles or authentication is widely accepted by the international community and is currently recognized by 120 countries or regions around the world.
More than 100 countries around the world have signed the Hague Convention. Hong Kong and Macau are members of the Hague Convention. But Canada is not a signatory to the Hague Convention. Therefore, Canadian documents may not be recognized simply after being authenticated or have apostilled.
As a result, official documents in Canada, such as death certificates, court documents, or even documents signed by a Canadian notary public, may not necessarily be available directly overseas.
For example, if a death certificate issued by the Canadian government needs to be used in Hong Kong, in addition to being authenticated (apostille) by the Canadian government, it also needs to be sent to the Chinese consulate for legalization. For some commercial documents, such as sale and purchase of company shares, shares transfer, or property sale, or land title transfer documents, if they are signed in front of a Canadian notary, the signed documents also need to be authenticated and then legalized by the Chinese consulate. Due to the pandemic, the Chinese consulate in Toronto has been closed so far. All legalization applications in Ontario need to be sent to Ottawa for processing. As a result, the documents also have to send to Global Affairs Canada office in Ottawa for authentication as well. The processing time of the GAC office was about 20 odd working days initially. It has now been increased to 65 working days, and it may be further extended. In addition, there is also some processing time of the Chinese consulate. Currently both GAC office and Chinese consulate do not offer any express service. Therefore, it may take 5 or 6 months to get the documents back.
If you need to handle inheritance matter of your relative’s assets in Hong Kong, you should send the death certificate for authentication and legalization as soon as possible. Note: it has to be a death certificate issued by the Canadian government, not by the funeral home. As for commercial documents such as sale and purchase of company shares, shares transfer, or property sale, or land title transfer documents, they can be signed before Katherine Lam. Since she is a practicing lawyer in Hong Kong, the signed documents can be sent back to Hong Kong for use immediately (Please refer to the article How to sell a Hong Kong property without travelling there?).
If you would like to arrange for the authentication and legalization of a death certificate; or if you want to know whether the documents you need to use in Hong Kong need to be authenticated and legalized, or can be signed before Katherine Lam and sent back to Hong Kong for use immediately for use, you can call 437.900 .1688 or email to klam@lamlawfirm.ca for enquiries with Lam Law Firm.
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Disclaimer: The information contained in this article is general in nature and does not constitute legal advice. Please contact Lam Law Firm Professional Corporation for legal advice.
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