NetherlandsWorldwide

Legalisation of documents from Uganda for use in the Netherlands

To use a document from Uganda in the Netherlands, you must first have it legalised by the Ugandan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Attention: If you want to use a Dutch document in Uganda, see Legalisation of Dutch documents for use abroad.

Good to know

  • Documents in Swahili or Luganda must be translated for use in the Netherlands. Documents in English do not have to be translated.
  • 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 Swahili or Luganda, you must have it translated into Dutch, English, French or German by a sworn translator.

  1. Have the document translated by a sworn translator.
  2. Have the original and the translation legalised.

Go to step 2.

  1. Have the original document legalised in Uganda.
  2. 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 by the Ugandan 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 request an official copy of a birth certificate or death certificate on the website of the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA).

You can request an official copy of a marriage certificate on the website of the Uganda Registration Services Bureau.

You can get an official copy of a divorce certificate from the registrar of the High Court in Kampala.

You can request a certificate of unmarried status on the website of the Uganda Registration Services Bureau.

If you need another type of document, ask the local authorities where you can get this document.

Help with obtaining documents and having them legalised

The Consular Service Centre can only assist Dutch nationals with obtaining documents and having them legalised if the original certificate is registered with the central government authorities in Kampala.

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.