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Last updated on
Legalisation procedure
Important update
Note while booking appointments:
1. One appointment per applicant. The appointment must be booked using the name of the applicant.
2. Documents submitted that don’t correspond with the name booked on the appointment will not be attended to.
3. We will cancel any appointment booked with an agent’s name.
Procedure
Legalization of documents takes place over the counter at the embassy of Belgium in Abuja.
Days for submission of documents for legalization will be Wednesdays and Thursdays from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.
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Book an appointment slot via e-Appointment
Print out the appointment confirmation and come with it on the day of the appointment. -
Come with the documents to be legalized and the filled-in legalization form which you will find online here legalisation form EN (PDF, 87.46 KB)
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Come with the proof of payment of the legalization fee. Cost for each document to be legalized is 30.000 NGN (as from 14/02/2025) (only payable through the below mentioned bank account – No cash accepted.
Account Name: Embassy of the Kingdom of Belgium
Account No: 10 16 39 13 28
Banker: UBA, Abuja -
Come with return prepaid courier service envelope if you wish for the legalized documents to be sent back to you via a courier.
Note:
- This process is strictly by appointment. Come 5 minutes before your time to avoid missing your appointment.
- Processing time for documents takes a minimum of 7 working days after submission of your complete file.
- Pickup of legalized documents - Every Friday from 10.00 am to 12 noon. You are expected to come for pickup only after you have received a confirmation email that reads “document treated and closed”.
Following the electronic signature the applicant receives on paper and by email a receipt to be kept with a file number and a closing date with which he/she can consult and download the legalisation on LegalWeb. When submitting your legalised documents as part of a procedure (e.g. visa application) copy of this receipt has to be added to the original documents.
Basic requirements for documents to be legalised:
All documents to be legalized must first be authenticated by the Nigerian Ministry of foreign affairs.
To legalize any of the following documents, please note:
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Birth/Death certificate:
From the 01/01/2025, the new procedure for verifying Birth certificates, death certificates and attestation of birth from the National Population Commission will take effect
Find below the steps
1. Visit the NPC website National Population Commission
2. Click request certificate verification
3. Select certificate module you will like to verify (birth certificate, death certificate etc.)
4. Enter certificate number
5. Choose the Embassy (Embassy of Belgium)
6. Enter reason for verification and click next
7. Input your email address and check your email for OTP to validate it
8. Proceed to make payment either with (payment reference to continue your verification or a fresh payment)
9. Submit application – After which you will receive a letter of verification with a unique verification token in your email
10. Print the verification email that contains the token and present it alongside your documents to be legalized at the embassy.
Note:
Each token is document and Embassy specific (One document token can only be used at an Embassy per time)
Documents to submit:
-Original attestation of Birth
- letter of verification with a unique verification token
-The original statutory declaration of age.
-A clear coloured copy (front & back sections) of the declarant’s valid identity card. (NIN slip is not accepted)
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Academic documents:
All academic certificates and transcripts must be authenticated at the Ministry of Education.
All academic transcripts must be an official copy issued by the institution, students’ copies are not acceptable.
For senior secondary school results (WASSC & NECO), online print outs should not be submitted.
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Affidavits:
All affidavit must be accompanied by a clear coloured copy (front & back sections) of the declarant’s valid identity card (NIN slip is not accepted).
For affidavit of change of name, name confirmation/re-arrangement: the public notice of name change (i.e. newspaper publication) should have been published for at least 21 days prior to the submission of the documents for legalisation.
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Parental authorisation/Parental consent (for family reunion & indefinite stay of minors abroad):
This consent can only be filled and signed by the parent at the Embassy of Belgium in Abuja.
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Annex 32 (Student Sponsorship):
The form can only be filled and signed by the sponsor at the Embassy of Belgium in Abuja.
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Police character:
Only the new digital police character certificate is accepted. The police character certificate has a validity period of 3 months only.
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Marriage certificate:
All marriage certificates NOT obtained from the Federal marriage registry must be confirmed by the Ministry of interior before submission for legalization. (Come with the proof of confirmation from the Ministry of Interior).
Other notes
- A new legalisation cannot be done on a document with an existing legalisation sticker. Where you wish to legalise a document that has been legalised in the past, you are to obtain (and submit to us) a certified true copy of that document with other supporting documents (if applicable).
- A document can only be certified as a true copy by the same institution that issued its original. Thus, photocopy of a document that has not been certified as a true copy, or that was certified by a body/office other than the issuing institution is not acceptable.
- All documents (original or certified true copy) to be legalised must be authenticated at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This authentication by MFA officers has a validity period of six months only.
We strongly advise that you ensure all your documents meet the conditions stipulated above before making payments or submitting them for legalisation.
For other enquires on legalization kindly send an email to abuja.legalisation@diplobel.fed.be
General information
A document that is official and legal in one country is not necessarily official and legal in another. Many documents must therefore be legalised if you wish to use them abroad.
The legalisation process involves checking the origin of the relevant document. Legalisation is official confirmation that the signature of the civil servant that has signed a document, or the seal or stamp on the document, is legitimate.
It is not only the signature of the person that has issued the document that is legalised, the process can also legalise the signature of the legalising registrar. Every signature, every seal and every stamp will be legalised by the person authorised to do so and who is familiar with each signature, seal or stamp. This explains why various legalisations are sometimes required, in a specific order.
A country may have signed up to a legalisation treaty that encompasses agreements about how countries accept one another's official documents. Many countries have signed up to the "Apostille Convention" of The Hague of 5 October 1961. With this, just 1 legalisation is required via an apostille stamp.
Questions and answers about the legalisation of documents
For legalisation from abroad, you can also consult the website of our representative at the location concerned, i.e. Belgian embassies and consulates
In order to further refine your question, you can also use the Search criteria