For many American Citizens looking to work abroad in China, the terms Apostille and State Legalizations are confusing. In this article, we have written down what the differences are, and you will know what to do to get your degree and police check authenticated by the Chinese Embassy.
Why do some people say I have to Apostille my degree, while others say I need to state legalize it BEFORE submitting it to the Chinese Embassy for authentication?
This is because every Chinese Embassy in different countries have different requirements on what has to be done on your document prior to Chinese Embassy Authentication. For example in the UK, all documents for use to apply work permit in China needs to be notarized, and then Apostilled by the Foreign Common Wealth Offices in London. Then after, they can get it authenticated by the Chinese Embassy, However, in United States, the Chinese Embassy/Consulate Offices require all documents issued in USA to be Notarized, and the Legalized by the Secretary of State. Then, the Chinese Embassy will Authenticate the degrees, non criminal records check, and the TEFL certificates.
Since our offices are located in Washington DC, we are able to notarize and State Legalize degrees, non criminal records check, and TEFL regardless of which state it was issued in. We can do all the steps involved for $150 per document. All you need to do is send us the color scan of your degree, non criminal record check, and other documents needed to be authenticate. We will print the documents, do the notary, state legalization, and after we will submit to the Chinese Embassy for Authentication. We can do this entire process in just 8 business days.
If I notarized and state legalized the documents, will I be able to save money?
If you decided to do the first two steps on your own, you will actually end up spending more money as well as time because notary agents will charge you $30, and then the State Legalization Fees will be $23. In addition, you will lose time on commuting to your notary public office, as well as lose time on shipping the document to your State Secretary Offices. We have in house staff who visits the Secretary of State offices daily as well as an in house notary officer who can notarize your documents at very low price. Therefore, using our package deal will save you money as well as time.
Furthermore, if you notarize the document yourself, you risk getting the document rejected by either the Foreign Expert Bureau(work permit offices in China) OR the Chinese Consulate/Embassy offices if the notary isn’t done properly. Save yourself the hassle and let us do the work for you while you relax.
Still have any questions?
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