Latest update on Saudi Arabia joining the HCCH Apostille Convention

Many western expats from different parts of the world often consider to moving to Saudi due to the industry they belong to. For instance: Saudi is huge in the petrochemical industry which explains why many expats move to cities like Dammam. It is also ideal place for those expats who have a family or looking to start one.

In this article; we shed light on what is means for Saudi to join the HCCH Apostille convention and how expat couples can benefit from this new law.

What does Saudi joining the HCCH Apostille Convention mean?

Previously, any foreign document received from courts, notaries or public authorities needed special scrutiny and legalization from higher authorities in Saudi. This made the whole process of legalization time consuming and long.

Keep in mind with the changing times and to address this issue, Saudi Arabia has now signed the Hague Apostille Convention Abolishing the Legalization Requirement for Foreign Public Documents (“Convention”). This means that a apostille stamp issued by an foreign country would be considered as a sufficient proof for legalization and use in any other convention member countries.

Concluding on Saudi joining the Apostille Convention

With Saudi Arabia’s upcoming association agreement, this means that the convention applies between the two Apostille countries involved. An apostille is sufficient to certify the validity of a document, eliminating the need for double-certification, first by the origin country and then by the recipient countries. This update is likely to reduce difficulty, deliverability, and possibly cost for Saudi Arabia.

Currently we do not have much information on what this could mean for couples looking to marry outside Saudi Arabia in Apostille countries. However, once we have more updates, we shall disclose the same.