In order for your documentation issued in Ukraine to be used in another country in the world, including Mexico, you need to put an apostille stamp on it. An apostille confirms the authenticity of the issued document. Papers can be certified with an apostille only in the country of the world where they were issued, and only in a certain government department of that country, based on the type of document.
An apostille does not have a validity period, but the document itself has the right to have one. If you are going to move to live in Mexico, work, marry a Mexican, or give birth to a child here, we advise you to apostille all the documents that you may need before leaving, even for the future. It will be quite difficult to apostille documentation while outside Ukraine. Consulates do not apostille documentation.
Which authorities certify which documents with an apostille?
Ministry of Justice of Ukraine:
- Birth certificate,
- Marriage certificate,
- Other certificates and extracts from civil status acts (divorce, death),
- Notarized powers of attorney,
- Court decisions.
Ministry of Education of Ukraine:
- Certificates and diplomas of education,
- Certificates of awarding academic degrees,
- Other documents from educational authorities.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine:
- Papers issued by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine (about a criminal record, health status, place of residence, payment of taxes, receipt of a pension, etc.),
- Papers of a commercial nature, say, the conclusion of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
An apostille cannot be placed on:
- all documentation that can be considered identification documents: passport, driver’s license, work book, professional IDs, etc.,
- papers issued by Ukrainian consulates,
- administrative papers relating to commercial or customs transactions, such as a customs declaration.
Ministry of Justice
You should contact the territorial offices, which are in each region of Ukraine (the Central regions are responsible for the state registration of civil assets). Contacts are allowed to be foundHere. Reception of documentation — on weekdays from 9:00 to 12:00, delivery — from Monday to Thursday from 16:00 to 17:00, on Friday - from 16:00 to 16:30.
Any person who has the original document can submit a document for apostille. You must have your passport with you. Submission is only in person; documents by mail are not accepted.
Set of documentation for submission:
- the original document or its notarized copy, which must be apostilled,
- receipt for payment for services — 51 hryvnia.
An application requesting apostille certification is completed and signed on the spot.
Deadline for affixing an apostille — up to 2 business days. The period may be increased to 20 working days if additional verification of the document requires it.
Ministry of Education
You should contact the State Enterprise «Information and Image Center». Address: Kyiv, st. Vyacheslav Chernovola, 25, tel. (044) 484 64 45, (044) 484 64 95. Papers for apostille are accepted from Monday to Thursday from 9:30 to 13:00. Websitecenter
Any person who has the original document can submit a document for apostille. You need to have your passport with you. In addition, it is possible to send documentation for apostille and back by mail or courier service. Set of documentation for submission (put in a transparent file):
- original document,
- 2 photocopies,
- an application for the processing of personal data (both from the owner and from the one submitting the document!), in addition it is required to list the registration numbers of the submitted documentation,
- receipt for payment of services. The price is from 180 hryvnia for issuance as usual (30 days) and up to 990 hryvnia (will be issued in 2 hours).
The usual period for affixing an apostille — up to 40 working days, depending on the type of document.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Contact the Department of Consular Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, department of apostille, notary and iscriteria. Address: Kyiv, st. Bolshaya Zhitomirskaya 2 (entrance No. 2), tel. (, (. Submission on weekdays from 09:00 to 12:00, issuance of certified papers from 16:00 to 17:00, on Friday - from 16:00 to 16:30.
Any person who has the original document can submit a document for apostille. You need to have your passport with you. Set of documents for submission:
- statement — written on the spot
- original document,
- receipt for payment for services — 150 hryvnia.
Deadline for affixing an apostille — up to 5 working days. If the document is submitted by the owner and there is enough information on the document, the apostille stamp can be placed on the same day. If there is insufficient information, the period may be extended to 20 working days.
USSR documents
In Ukraine, original documents issued in the USSR are not apostilled. Such papers must either be obtained anew, for example, in the form of a duplicate, or their notarized copies or copies with translation must be apostilled. If the document was in Russian, it should be translated into Ukrainian, otherwise the apostille will not be issued.
The same applies to original papers that are damaged or of poor quality. In some cases, the seal ink may have faded, requiring the document to be replaced before it can be apostilled.
In Mexico
Before using an apostilled document in Mexico, it must be translated into Spanish by a jurortranslator. Such a translator not only translates the document, but also certifies his translation. Only after translation does the apostilled document take on full legal force.
Some state and municipal authorities in Mexico have a bad habit of taking away the original document with the apostille, and not just the translated copy. Try to convince the official that this cannot be done. Just in case, we advise you to have another apostilled copy or duplicate. In other words, first a copy of the document is certified by a notary, and then an apostille is affixed to it. Upon arrival in Mexico, a copy is translated.