Document Ratification

All accompanying documents submitted as part of applications must be properly certified or officially verified. If it’s copies of documents, those copies must also be certified in the same way.

Document languages and translations:

All documents submitted with the application must be in Greek or English. If they are in another language, you must include an official translation into Greek or English. This translation must be done by a sworn translator, the consulate of the country that issued the document, or a government office from that country.

Apostille certifications of public documents:

All accompanying public documents from countries that have signed the Hague Apostille Convention must have an Apostille stamp to prove they are official. In Cyprus, the Ministry of Justice and Public Order handles this process. Hague Apostille Convention must have an Apostille stam
Below is a list of countries belonging to the Hague Convention which means that they require Apostille. Countries not on the list do not recognise Apostille.
  • Albania
  • Andorra
  • Antigua and Barbuda
  • Argentina
  • Armenia
  • Australia
  • Austria
  • Azerbaijan
  • Bahamas
  • Bahrain
  • Barbados
  • Belarus
  • Belgium
  • Belize
  • Bolivia
  • Bosnia and
    Herzegovina
  • Botswana
  • Brazil
  • Brunei Darussalam
  • Bulgaria
  • Burundi
  • Canada
  • Cape Verde
  • Chile
  • China, People’s
    Republic of (Including
    Hong Kong & Macao Special
    Administrative Regions)
  • Colombia
  • Cook Islands
  • Costa Rica
  • Croatia
  • Cyprus
  • Czech Republic
  • Denmark
  • Dominica
  • Dominican Republic
  • Ecuador
  • El Salvador
  • Estonia
  • Fiji
  • Finland
  • France
  • Georgia
  • Germany
  • Greece
  • Grenada
  • Guatemala
  • Guyana
  • Honduras
  • Hungary
  • Iceland
  • India
  • Indonesia
  • Ireland
  • Israel
  • Italy
  • Japan
  • Jamaica
  • Kazakhstan
  • Korea, Republic of
  • Kosovo
  • Kyrgyzstan
  • Latvia
  • Lesotho
  • Liberia
  • Liechtenstein
  • Lithuania
  • Luxembourg
  • Malawi
  • Malta
  • Marshall Islands
  • Mauritius
  • Mexico
  • Moldova, Republic of
  • Monaco
  • Mongolia
  • Montenegro
  • Morocco
  • Namibia
  • Netherlands
  • New Zealand
  • Nicaragua
  • Niue
  • North Macedonia, Republic of
  • Norway
  • Oman
  • Pakistan
  • Palau
  • Panama
  • Paraguay
  • Peru
  • Philippines
  • Poland
  • Portugal
  • Romania
  • Russian Federation
  • Rwanda
  • Saint Kitts and Nevis
  • Saint Lucia
  • Saint Vincent and the Grenadinem
  • Samoa
  • San Marino
  • Sao Tome and
    Principe
  • Saudi Arabia
  • Senegal
  • Serbia
  • Seychelles
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • Serbia
  • Seychelles
  • Singapore
  • Slovakia
  • Slovenia
  • South Africa
  • Spain
  • Suriname
  • Swaziland
  • Sweden
  • Switzerland
  • Tajikistan
  • Tonga
  • Trinidad and Tobago
  • Tunisia
  • Turkey
  • Ukraine
  • United Kingdom of
    Great Britain and
    Northern Ireland
  • Uruguay
  • Uzbekistan
  • Vanuatu
  • Venezuela

Diplomatic certification of public documents:

If a document comes from a country that has not signed the Hague Apostille Convention, it must go through diplomatic certification. There are two possible processes, depending on whether Cyprus has an embassy or consulate in that country:
A

If Cyprus has an embassy or consulate in that country:

  • The document is first certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country that issued it.
  • Then, the Cypriot embassy or consulate in that country certifies the signature from that ministry.
  • Finally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus certifies the signature from the Cypriot embassy or
    consulate.
B

If Cyprus does not have an embassy or consulate in that country:

  • The document is certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the issuing country.
  • Then, a diplomatic office of that country located in another (third) country certifies the signature.
  • Next, the Cypriot embassy or consulate in that third country certifies the signature from the foreign
    diplomatic office.
  • Finally, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Cyprus certifies the signature from the Cypriot embassy or
    consulate.

Certification of non-public documents:

If the accompanying documents are non public documents (like private or personal documents) from another country, they must be certified by an official authority in that country (such as a certifying officer).

Documents exempted from the obligation of any certification/ authentication:

Documents from Russia or Serbia do not need any extra certification or authentication, as long as they are properly signed and have the official seal of the government authority that issued them. This is because of bilateral state agreements made between these countries and Cyprus.

Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 exempting certain public documents from authentication and notarization (Apostille):

Since February 16, 2019, under EU Regulation 2016/1191, some public documents and their certified copies do not need authentication or an Apostille when used within the EU. For certain documents, people can request a multilingual standard form to help with translation. If they use this form, they don t need to provide an official translation of the document.
This exemption only applies to documents and certified copies that are issued by public authorities in one EU country and sent to public authorities in another EU country.

These include:

Court documents

Government issued administrative documents

Notarial acts (official legal certifications)

Official certificates added to private documents

Diplomatic and/or consular documents.

The exemption only applies if the document proves one or more of the areas listed below. Items in bold show which documents are issued in Cyprus and have a multilingual standard form available. Keep in mind that not all EU countries provide these forms for every type of document.

Birth

Death

A person being alive

Name

Marriage, including capacity to marry and marital status

Divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment

Registered partnership, including capacity to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status

Dissolution of a registered partnership, legal separation or annulment of a registered partnership

Parenthood

Adoption

Domicile and/or residence

Nationality

Absence of a criminal record

The right to vote and stand as a candidate in municipal elections and elections to the European Parliament.

What is a Multilingual Standard Form?

It s a translation aid you can request for some of the above documents. If you use it, you don’t need an official translation.
Note
It must be used together with the original document and only in another EU country.

Certified Copies:

If an EU country allows a certified copy instead of an original, they must accept certified copies from the country where the document was first issued.
BUT when there are reasonable doubts:

If the receiving country questions whether a public document or certified copy is real, it will:

  • Check the sample documents in the Internal Market Information (IMI) system
  • If still unsure, they will submit an information request to the issuing authority through IMI.
  • A separate section will be created in the IMI system where anonymized fake public documents, once
    identified, will be shared with other EU countries for awareness.