Information on the legalization procedure of documents to be used in Hungary

Important notice! Starting from 25th of March, 2019 – in order to facilitate the procedure, especially the submission of the application - it is possible to submit documents for diplomatic legalization directly to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China or Foreign Affairs Offices. For more information, please visit the following website: http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/, or contact: +10-6588 9761。                                                         

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In accordance with 15.§ (1) of Act XLVI. of 2001 on Consular Protection, if the necessary signature and stamp samples are available in the register of the Embassy of Hungary in Beijing, for the purpose of use the document in Hungary, the consul legalizes signatures and seals appearing on documents issued by Chinese central administrative bodies, public bodies, personnel or bodies authorized to exercise public executive powers by law or by Government Decree.

The People’s Republic of China has not joined the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents, therefore all documents (to be used in Hungary) issued by the respected authorities in the People’s Republic of China shall be legalized by the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and further legalized (Diplomatic legalization) by the accredited mission of Hungary.

Until now, the diplomatic legalization procedure consisted of 3 steps:

  1. Pre-step: Notary Office (any local notary office, as – in accordance with the requirements of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China – a document to be legalized should be incorporated into a ’notary certificate’ format) 
  2. Legalization: Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China or Foreign Affairs Office, in person or by an authorized person.
  3. Diplomatic legalization: Consular Section of the Embassy of Hungary, in person

Starting from 25th of March, 2019, instead of the above-mentioned 3 steps, it is possible to achieve the diplomatic legalization in 2 easy steps:

  1. Pre-step: Notary Office
  2. Legalization + Diplomatic Legalization in one step: Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China or Foreign Affairs Office

Starting from 25th of March, 2019 - in order to facilitate and harmonize the diplomatic legalization procedure – it is possible to submit applications for diplomatic legalization directly to the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China or to the Foreign Affairs Offices, without prior appointment. The Ministry takes charge of transmitting the documents to the Embassy of Hungary in Beijing through an authorized courier. The courier then collects the documents with diplomatic legalization and returns them to the client. The fee of the diplomatic legalization procedure remains the same, however, regarding the costs of the above-mentioned authorized courier service, please contact the Consular Section of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.

The application for diplomatic legalization – after booking an appointment in advance - may be submitted to the Consular Section of the Embassy of Hungary in Beijing as well.

The above-mentioned changes contribute to the flexibility and efficiency of the diplomatic legalization procedure.