Legalisation of documents from Saudi Arabia for use in the Netherlands
To use a document from Saudi Arabia in the Netherlands, you must have it legalised by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This is done with an apostille. This is a simplified form of legalisation which allows you to use your documents in the Netherlands.
Good to know
- Documents in Arabic 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 Arabic, 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 Saudi Arabia.
- 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: Legalisation of your document
Have your document and, if applicable, the translation legalised with an apostille by the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
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 from the Civil Affairs Registrar’s Office, which is part of the Saudi Ministry of Interior.
You can show that you are unmarried in one of 2 ways:
- You have a family ID card.
You can use your family ID card to show that you are not married. - You do not have a family ID card.
You can get proof of your marital status from the government website Absher (website only accessible from Saudi Arabia).
Declaration of unmarried status for Dutch nationals
If you are a Dutch national you can get a declaration of marital status from the Dutch embassy in Riyadh. The declaration is valid for the period in which you live or lived in Saudi Arabia.
You can get an official copy of a marriage certificate or divorce certificate as follows:
- First make a photocopy of the original certificate.
- Then have the photocopy certified by the local court that issued the original certificate.
- The court will certify that the contents of the photocopy are the same as in the original.
The deceased person is a Saudi national
You can get an official copy of a death certificate from the Civil Affairs Registrar’s Office.
The deceased person is a Dutch national
The original certificate is drawn up by the Civil Affairs Registrar’s Office. You can get an official copy of the certificate from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This can take up to 9 months.
If you need to obtain another type of document, find out from the local authorities where you can do that.
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.