On January 11, 2024, Canada acceded to the Convention Abolishing Requirements for the Legalization of Foreign Public Documents, concluded at The Hague on October 5, 1961.

Canada has become the 125th country to officially accede to the Apostille Convention. Until now, in order to legalize documents issued by official bodies of Canada, or for the use of foreign documents on its territory, it was necessary to go through a complex multi-stage consular legalization procedure. However, from January 11, 2024, when the 1961 Hague Convention comes into force for Canada, when legalizing a document, it will be enough to simply affix an apostille.

The entry into force of the provisions of the Hague Convention for Canada means that the authenticity of Canadian government documents such as birth and marriage certificates, as well as educational documents, export and corporate papers will be confirmed by an apostille stamp, the form of which is approved by the Convention.

At the same time, documents that have undergone full consular legalization will retain their legal force after 01/11/2024, since affixing an apostille, according to the Hague Convention, is a simplification of the full procedure, the full legalization procedure will still be valid and can be applied.