Legalisation of documents from Pakistan for use in the Netherlands
To use a document from Pakistan in the Netherlands, you must first have it legalised by the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Good to know
- Documents in Urdu must be translated for use in the Netherlands.
- Your document must be original and complete. If it refers to other documents or annexes, these must be included.
Step 1: Having your document translated
If your document is in Urdu, you must have it translated into Dutch, English, French or German by a sworn translator.
- Have the document translated by a sworn translator.
- Have the original and the translation legalised.
Go to step 2.
- Have the original document legalised in Pakistan.
- Have the legalised document translated by a sworn translator in the Netherlands. You do not need to have the translation legalised. You can find a sworn translator on the Legal Aid Council website.
Go to step 2.
Step 2: Have your document legalised
Have your document and, if applicable, the translation legalised by the Pakistani Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Islamabad or by one of its ‘camp offices’ in Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar or Quetta.
Once your document has been legalised it is fit for use in the Netherlands.
It is then also fit for use in Aruba, Curaçao, St Maarten, Bonaire, Saba and St Eustatius.
Don’t have the document you need?
Find out below where to obtain a document that you need but do not yet have.
You can get an official copy of a birth certificate through your local union council. The union council can request it online from the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA).
In towns without a union council, you can get this document from the civil status records office (Tehsil Municipal Administration). In cantonments, you can get this document from the military authorities (Cantonment Boards).
Where you can get an official copy of a marriage certificate depends on your religion.
Muslim marriage (nikah nama)
You can get an official copy of a Muslim marriage certificate through the union council that registered the marriage. The union council can request official copies online from the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA).
Muslim marriage between Afghans in Pakistan
A Muslim Family Law Ordinance will not be accepted by all Dutch authorities. Ask the authority that has asked for your marriage certificate whether they will accept this document.
Other religious marriages recognised in Pakistan
Ask the Pakistani authorities where you can get an official copy of your marriage certificate.
Ahmadi marriage
Marriage certificates issued by the Ahmadi administration in Rabwah (near Lahore) have no official status in Pakistan. You can, however, have them legalised.
You can get an official copy of a death certificate from the local registrar.
In most provinces you can get a certificate of unmarried status (no-objection to marry/unmarried certificate) from the union council. Please note that not all union council registers are linked to the National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA). In Sindh province, for example, you cannot get this certificate from the union council.
If you need another type of document, ask the local authorities where you can get this document.
After legalisation
Verification of your document in the Netherlands
Legalisation does not prove the authenticity of a document or the truthfulness of its content. A municipality in the Netherlands, the Immigration and Naturalisation Service (IND) or another authority may decide to verify these things. Legalisation of your document simply means that your document bears the correct signature.
How recently must your document have been issued or legalised
Organisations have different requirements for how recently your document must have been issued and legalised. For more information, contact the organisation in the Netherlands requesting the document.
Contact
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.