Taipei Representative Office in Finland

Authentication Services

Why do my documents need to be legalized?

Legalization (also known as authentication) services are legal processes. The laws in most countries require a foreign document to be legalized in its originating country or a signature on a document to be witnessed and relevant procedures applied before the document can be used.

What documents do I need to legalize?

The Taiwanese government and Taiwanese organisations may require documents originating in Finland to be legalized before they will accept them. The Taipei Representative Office in Finland provides legalization services for cases where the documents are Finnish or English in origin and intended for use in Taiwan.

Please check with the relevant government departments or organisations in Taiwan to find out which documents (if any) require legalization. This advice can only be provided by the specific government department(s) or organisation(s) you are dealing with; our Office does not possess information relating to the different requirements in different departments. The Office staff cannot provide advice on specific legal requirements, including which documents need to be signed or certified.

What documents can the Office legalize?

Finnish Birth/ Death/ Marriage/ Non Impediment/ Police (Non-criminal records)/ Medical Certificates, Government issued/ Court/ Business/ Educational Documents etc.

Before submitting your application:

Documents issued by the local authorities in Finland such as General Register Offices (Maistraatti) or any Finnish Public Officials have to be legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland.

Other non-governmental certificates and documents have to be certified, signed and dated either by  a notary public in Finland before being sent to the MOFA, Finland for legalization. Please log on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Finland website (http://formin.finland.fi/) for further information.

Requirements for sending an application:

--Power of Attorney or Letter Authorization: if the application is submitted by an agent, agent must present a power of attorney or letter of authorization signed by the document owner (Company or Individual) and notarized by a Finland Notary Public or ROC overseas missions. The authorization period can be for certain amount of time or one time use only.

--A fully filled out application form: the form can be downloaded below,

Note 1: Applicant can be an individual, a company or an organisation.

Note 2: If the Applicant is using an agent to submit the application, please fill out the agent’s details in the appointed section.

--Original document(s) which have been legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland ; and an additional copy of the document(s), including the apostille.

--A copy of Proof of Identity: The Office only accepts the document owner’s Certificate of Incorporation, passport or Finnish driving license as proof of identity.

--Copy of Agent’s ID: If submitting by the agent, please provide agent’s certificate of incorporation or passport or Finnish driving license.

Note : If applying in person, please present the original ID and a photocopy. The original ID will be returned to you after inspection by the staff.

Chinese Translation:

If the Taiwanese government departments or organisations request you to present a Chinese translation or an English translation of the Finnish document for use in Taiwan, you can submit the Chinese translation with the original Finnish document together for legalization to the Office.

Translation can be done by the applicant, a family member, friend or certified translator. The Office DOES NOT provide translation services.

The following remark must be included at the end of the translation: “I hereby certify that the foregoing is a true and correct Chinese translation of the Finnish original document.“

1. In the case of the translator residing within Finland, the Chinese or English translation must be signed by the translator in person at the Consular Division in front of assigned personnel. Please do not sign it beforehand.
2. If the translator cannot present the document in person at the Consular Division, please have the Chinese or English Translation certified by Notary Public and then legalized by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland before submitting it with the English document together for authentication by the Office.
3. In the case of the translator residing in Taiwan, you may request a Notary Public or District Court in Taiwan to certify your signature on the Chinese translation along with the original Finnish Document which has been authenticated by the Office first.

Power of Attorney:

An officer is able to witness signatures for Power of Attorney. You must present in person to have a signature witnessed. Please fill in the application form and bring your photo-card identification e.g. passport or Finnish ID Card or driving licence.

It is the applicant’s responsibility to complete the document to be serviced in the correct form, and by the instructions of government departments or organisations in Taiwan.

Submission of Application:

We provide a walk-in service during opening hours. It is not necessary to make an appointment in advance.

1. You can submit the application in person, or
2. You can send in by an agent (or a friend/family member), or
3. You can send it by post.

What we authenticate:

Once the signature on the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland Apostille of the document requiring legalization has been verified, the Office issues a certificate attached to the document confirming that we have verified that the signature on the Apostille is genuine. We do not review or approve a document’s content.

Fee and Process Time:

€14 per document.

Process Time: 7-10 working days

Counter Service Hours:

09:00 to 12:00 and 13:00 to 15:00, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays).

Collection of Documents:

1. In person or by agent (during the opening hours with the receipt)
2. By post:

Note 1: Applicants who reside in Finland must provide a self-addressed and stamped return envelope.

Note 2: Our office is not provide any post service and responsible for mail's lost or damage.

Note 3: Applicants who reside outside of Finland must arrange their own mail delivery service.

3. By DHL or FedEx express service: With self-addressed envelope and  payment by receiver, the Office may arrange the service on applicant’s behalf.

Method of Payment:

The legalization fee should be paid in advance and the receipt of the payment should be enclosed with the document(s).

Please notice that:

1. It is the applicant’s responsibility to ensure that ALL requirements as specified above have been fulfilled and submitted together.
2. Any incomplete application will be returned to the applicant without processing.
3. We DO NOT accept applications sent separately from the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland and the applicant.
4. We do not shoulder responsibility for any service not provided by the Office, such as those by the post office.

Contact Information:

Address:

Consular Division

World Trade Center Helsinki
Aleksanterinkatu 17, 4th Floor
00100 Helsinki, Finland
Tel: (358-9) 68293800
Fax: (358-9) 68293806
E-mail: fin@mofa.gov.tw

Download：

• Application Form for Legalization(doc)
• Application Form for Legalization(pdf)
• Application Form for Legalization(odt)