Important: Turkmenistan does not accept apostilles
An apostille is not valid for documents intended for official use in Turkmenistan, as the country has not joined the Hague Convention. Instead, documents from the UK must go through full consular legalisation. This means your paper follows a longer path that includes the UK Foreign Office and ends at the Turkmenistan Embassy in London. If you send a document with only an apostille to Turkmenistan, it will not be recognised, and you will need to start the process again with the correct certification. The steps below outline the complete route your document must take to be properly legalised.
For the legalisation for Turkmenistan, your original document must first be certified by a solicitor or notary public in the UK. The solicitor must attach a certified copy if the document cannot be separated from its original. The paper is then sent to the Legalisation Office of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office for authentication. After that, it must be submitted to the Embassy of Turkmenistan in London for the final seal. This sequence ensures that every signature and stamp is verified in the correct order, making your document acceptable to authorities in Turkmenistan.
The Leeds to Turkmenistan document route
Begin by obtaining the correct version of your document for your specific case. If you need a certified copy of a birth, marriage, or death certificate, Leeds Register Office at 2 Great George Street can issue this for you without risking your original. Order a fresh certified copy rather than sending the only original you have, as it cannot be replaced if lost in transit. The office works by post or in person if you call ahead for an appointment.
An apostille from the United Kingdom to Turkmenistan might sound like the next logical step, but remember that Turkmenistan does not accept them. After obtaining any required notarisation, you must instead have the document authenticated by the UK Foreign Office's Legalisation Office. The office in Milton Keynes handles all submissions by post, and you can use the standard or premium service. Include the correct fee and complete any forms they require, ensuring all signatures and seals are clear and legible for the Turkmenistan authorities.
What you need for an apostille for Turkmenistan substitute
Although an apostille is not valid, preparing your document follows similar initial steps. You will need the original document or a certified copy from an official source like Leeds Register Office. The Turkmenistan Embassy requires all papers to be in English or have a certified translation into Russian or Turkmen. Some document types may also need additional certification, but you should check with the specific authority in Turkmenistan that will receive them to confirm their exact requirements.
The process of document legalisation for Turkmenistan involves multiple stages of verification. First, your document must be notarised or certified by a UK solicitor. Next, it moves to the UK's Legalisation Office for official authentication. The final step is submission to the Embassy of Turkmenistan in London, where consular officials will apply their stamp. Each stage must be completed in order, and skipping any step can result in rejection, forcing you to restart the entire process.