1.On March 8, 2023, China acceded to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as the Convention). On November 7, 2023, the Convention will enter into force between China and Azerbaijan. The Convention will continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of China and the Macao Special Administrative Region of China.

2. Starting from November 7, public documents within the scope of the Convention issued by Azerbaijan only need to apply for a Azerbaijan apostille before they can be sent to Chinese mainland for use. There is no need to apply for legalization by Azerbaijan and the Chinese Embassy in Azerbaijan.

Public documents within the scope of the Convention sent from China to Azerbaijan for use will no longer require legalization by China and Embassy of Azerbaijan in China, but will instead require apostilles. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China is the competent authority to issue apostilles for public documents executed within Chinese territory. Entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China, the foreign affairs offices of relevant local governments (refer to the Appendix) in China can issue apostilles for public documents executed within their respective administrative regions. Apostilles can be verified online by visiting this website: https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/. For specific procedures and requirements for applying for apostilles, please log on to the Chinese Consular Service website (http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/) or the websites of relevant local Foreign Affairs Offices.

3. Starting from November 7, the Chinese Embassy in Azerbaijan will cease consular legalization services. For documents issued by Azerbaijan intended to be sent to Chinese mainland, please apply for apostilles from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Ministry of Justice of Azerbaijan.

4. According to the provisions of the Convention, an apostille issued by a country is used to prove the authenticity of the signature on the public document, the identity of the signatory of the document at the time of signing, and to confirm the authenticity of the seal on the document when necessary. The completion of the apostille of Azerbaijan does not guarantee the acceptance of the public document by the relevant user in China. It is recommended to check in advance with the relevant party in China about specific requirements for format, content, time limit, translation, etc. before going through the relevant procedures.

Appendix

List of Foreign Affairs Offices of Local Governments issuing apostilles

(31 in total)

Anhui Province, Chongqing City, Fujian Province, Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guizhou Province, Henan Province, Heilongjiang Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Hainan Province, Jilin Province, Jiangsu Province, Jiangxi Province, Liaoning Province, Sichuan Province, Shandong Province, Shanghai City, Shaanxi Province, Yunnan Province, Zhejiang Province, Gansu Province, Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Changchun City, Harbin City, Ningbo City, Jinan City, Qingdao City, Shenzhen City