In recent years, there has been a significant increase in the number of people wishing to go abroad for education, residence, or employment.
If this topic interests you, or if you have long dreamed of working in another country, then this article will be useful for you.
If the country you plan to visit has signed the Hague Convention, the procedure for preparing documents is simple. You apostille the documents, translate them if necessary, and you can safely apply for a visa.
However, if you are going to a country that has not joined the Hague Convention, such as China, Canada, or Asian countries, the path of preparing documents will be difficult and thorny, and you will have to deal with consular legalization.
Key aspects of consular legalization
So, you have decided to start the consular legalization procedure on your own.
Document Package
First of all, you should check with the receiving party which documents you need to prepare in your home country to obtain a visa without any issues. This list is usually provided by the university (or agent), employer, or can be found on the embassy's website.
Dates
Decide on the timing. Do not take premature steps and buy tickets in advance without having the complete set of documents for departure. If deadlines are tight, this is the first signal to contact a specialized translation agency. If your processing period coincides with the summer or winter seasons, the long queues at ministries and embassies will simply shock you.
Expenses
The embassies of most foreign states in Ukraine, as well as the ministries, are unfortunately located in Kyiv. Therefore, if you live outside the capital, a trip will be absolutely necessary. Let's calculate the expenses you will incur:
- Round-trip travel costs from 1000 UAH (depending on the region)
- Accommodation in the capital from 600 UAH per night
- Meals from 500 UAH per day
- City transportation from 100 UAH per day
- Other expenses
The document legalization period takes at least two weeks (Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Justice, embassy), so you should be prepared to take a leave of absence. Comparing the expenses of travel and accommodation in Kyiv with the prices for document legalization services at a translation agency, you can understand all the advantages of ordering such a service from a specialized organization.
Self-processing of documents for legalization is acceptable if you live in Kyiv and have enough free time to stand in queues, or if you regularly visit Kyiv on business trips and your company covers travel and accommodation expenses in the capital. In all other cases, the advantages of working with a translation agency are obvious.
We offer you the services of our translation agency for document legalization. Our prices are significantly lower than other translation agencies because we work without intermediaries. You can submit your documents for legalization in any convenient way (in person at the office, by courier, or through Nova Poshta delivery).
