A Comprehensive Guide to Legalizing Foreign Documents in Georgia

Some 20,000 people visit the Georgian House of Justice every day, many foreign nationals, to obtain residence permits, register a marriage or real estate, or start a business. For each, documents issued in the expats’ home country are needed. But the Georgian government doesn’t just accept them the way they are, so you’ll want to think about getting them legalized first.

Why legalization is a thing and the different types

195 countries exist (officially), and each has its own laws, so documents issued in one country do not automatically have legal force abroad. And that’s pretty much it: to confirm the authenticity of a specific document and make it valid in another jurisdiction.

At the same time, many international treaties facilitate the cross-border exchange of documents. So when you’re getting your documents ready for the Georgian authorities, you’ll want to be on the lookout for one of three situations, depending on your country of citizenship:

1. You don’t need legalization at all
2. You need an apostille
3. You need consular legalization—the most complex

When no action is required

Not the most common. The Convention on Legal Aid and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Cases dated January 22,1993, otherwise known as the Minsk Convention, has eliminated some unnecessary bureaucracy. It was originally signed by the CIS, from which Georgia has withdrawn, but Georgia continues to comply with its provisions.

Under the convention, Georgia waives the requirements for legalization and apostille for documents issued in any of the 10 states of (in no particular order) Russia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. This means that Georgian government agencies accept such documents in their original form. The only requirement is that they be translated into Georgian and the translation be notarized.

What you need to know about apostille

An apostille is a stamp on a document that confirms its origin and gives it legal validity abroad.

As a simplified method of legalization, apostille is valid only among countries that have signed the 1961 Hague Convention, to which there are currently 125 signatories, including Georgia—a complete list of participants can be found on the official HCCH.net website.

Apostille is needed for citizens and residents of the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, European countries, China (including Hong Kong), India, Japan, South Korea, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Malaysia, Thailand, Australia, and dozens of other countries, and the list continues to grow: Vietnam, Algeria, and Bangladesh joined in 2025.

What to keep in mind:

• An apostille is issued exclusively in the country of origin at the applicant’s request. The apostilled document must then be translated into the official language of the country where it will be used and notarized.
• There is no single agency responsible for issuing apostilles. For some documents, the Ministry of the Interior issues the apostille, for others, the Ministry of Justice, and for others still, the Ministry of Education, and so on. You can also check the list of agencies authorized to issue apostilles in each country on the HCCH.net website.
• Some countries allow for the use of online services with an electronic apostille. Although not all signatories to the Hague Convention accept the e-Apostille, Georgia is a convenient jurisdiction in this regard and recognizes electronic apostilles.
• A power of attorney is generally not required for third parties to affix an apostille to a document belonging to someone else (with rare exceptions). The reason is that this stamp is tied to a specific document, not to a person’s identity. However, procedures may vary by country.

Who needs consular legalization

A document issued in a country that is not party to the Hague Convention, such as the UAE, Qatar, Egypt, Pakistan, Nigeria, and several other countries in Africa and the Middle East, requires consular legalization.

There are several steps, generally as follows (though it may vary by jurisdiction):

1. First, you obtain the original document in the issuing country with the official agency’s seal. If necessary, you can make a copy and have it notarized. Notarization is also required for private documents (such as a power of attorney), regardless of whether it is a copy or the original.
2. Next, the document must be translated into the language of the country for which it is intended, and the translation must be notarized.
3. Next, the document must undergo internal authentication by an authorized body (one or more)—usually, though not exclusively, the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and another stamp is affixed to the document.
4. Finally, the document must be taken to the Georgian embassy or consulate in the country where the document was issued. Diplomatic mission staff will verify the authenticity of the stamps and affix another one for consular legalization to make it valid in Georgia.

What to you need to know about notarization

Let us emphasize once again: regardless of whether the document has been apostilled, consularly legalized, or does not require legalization at all (as is the case for countries party to the Minsk Convention), foreign documents in Georgia must be translated into Georgian.

The translation must be done by a professional translator and notarized in Georgia, otherwise the House of Justice, courts, and other government agencies will not accept the document, even if it is properly executed in the country of origin.

Documents requiring apostille and legalization

Georgian authorities typically require an apostille and legalization from foreign nationals for:

• Documents from the Civil Registry Office for birth, death, marriage, divorce, or changes of name
• Criminal record checks issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs
• Court documents and certificates, including writs of execution
• High school and university diplomas
• Business registration certificates, company charters, extracts from the commercial register, and so on
• Documents confirming assets, such as a certificate of real estate ownership
• Notarized documents: powers of attorney, applications, and consents

How to authenticate Georgian documents abroad

If you have a reverse request—to have documents issued in Georgia recognized in other jurisdictions—follow the same guidelines:

• If the document is needed for a country that is a party to the Minsk Convention, it is sufficient to translate it into the language of the destination country and have the translation notarized.
• If you are preparing documents for countries that are parties to the Hague Convention, request an apostilled version of the document directly in Georgia. This version must also be translated and certified.
• If you are preparing documents for countries that are not parties to the conventions, you must authenticate them with the Georgian Ministry of Justice and legalize them at the consulate of the relevant country in Georgia (as well as having them translated and notarized).

Takeaways

There is no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of how a foreigner should prepare documents for use in other jurisdictions: much depends on the expat’s country of citizenship. Almost nothing is required of citizens of former CIS countries, whereas citizens of the UAE or Egypt have to pass through several agencies as part of the consular legalization process. More often than not, however, you will encounter a procedure of intermediate complexity—apostille certification.

If you need help with document processing in Georgia or clarification on specific aspects of the law, PB Services will be happy to assist you!