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22 July 2024

Notarise school documents for use abroad

People with children who are planning on moving abroad should be aware that they may need to get their children’s school documents notarised. Find out more, and learn how we can help, in our blog.

Estimated reading time: 4 minutes

Lately, we have had a few clients who wanted us to arrange for the notarisation of their children’s school documents or their own documents as they plan to move abroad to places such as Dubai in the UAE.

There are many things you will need to consider if you are moving abroad to study at a university, or if you have children and plan to move abroad. You will need to choose the best university for yourself, or find your children a place at a good school. However, just like in the UK, you will not be able to apply without providing some documents first.

Before you apply to an educational institution, you should be aware of the several documents that you may need to provide to the school before your child can get a place. Additionally, these documents may also need to be notarised and legalised before you move, which is something we can assist you with.

Read on to find out what documents you may need to provide, and why you will need the help of a Notary Public.

What school documents do I need to provide?

Some of the main documents that you will need to give the university you want to go to, or to the school that you want to move your children to abroad include the following examples:

Proof of attendance – shows your child does not miss school very often
Letter of good character – proves the pupil is well-behaved
School report – shows how well your child is performing
GCSE certificates – evidence of grades achieved in secondary education, if required
University degree certificate – evidence you achieved your grade; this is used for a master’s degree application abroad

These documents can be supplied by your current school’s administrative department upon request.

GCSE certificates may only be necessary if your child has completed their GCSEs, and you are moving to a country where they plan on starting the next stage of their education, or if they are required to stay in school until 18.

Please note that these are not the only documents that you will be asked to provide, and that you will not necessarily be asked for all of them either. The school or university that you are applying to will tell you what you need to provide.

Why do school documents need to be notarised?

Like other important documents that you want to use abroad, your educational documents will first need to be notarised by a Notary Public of England and Wales.

Documents need to be notarised so that they are recognised as legitimate and authentic, which in turn proves that they are not fake.

There are different notarisation processes depending on the documents. For example, documents such as letters of enrolment will require the notary to contact the educational institution to ensure that they issued the letter. This is known as independent verification.

If you are having the copy of a document notarised, the notary will need to certify the document as a true copy by first seeing the original school document.

Legalising your school documents

In addition to notarisation, your documents will also need to be legalised before they are accepted in another country.

Legalisation verifies that the seal and signature of the notary you used is authentic, and also gives your school documents equal legal value as documents issued in the country that you are going to.

There are two different ways of legalising documents that will depend on which country you plan on going to. You will either need to get an apostille for your school documents, or go through embassy legalisation.

Most countries accept apostilles from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO). These countries are signatories to the Apostille Hague Convention, which introduced a faster way of legalising documents for citizens of member countries. Apostilles are a quick and convenient way of legalising documents for your destination country.

For countries that do not just accept apostilles, you will have to put your school documents through the much lengthier embassy and consulate legalisation process. One example of a country that requires this process is the UAE, which is a popular location for our clients.

The embassy legalisation process can vary slightly depending on the individual country you want to go to, so you should be aware of what you will be required to do. For example, some countries do still require an apostille as part of the embassy legalisation process. If you are unsure about the process, then you should get help; the expert assistance of a notary can be crucial for your documents to be successfully legalised.

Translating your school documents

For your documents to be suitable for use in countries that do not use English, your documents will have to be translated into the local language.

You can either get them translated whilst you are already in the UK, or get them translated in the country you are going to when you get there. Doing it when you get there is usually the cheaper option, and also guarantees that your translated documents will be accepted, as the company doing them is likely to be a recognised translator in that country.

How we can help

Our Notary Public of England and Wales, Nathan Woodcock, can assist you with all of your notary and legalisation needs for your children’s school documents. Just get in touch with us today to discuss your issues with a member of our helpful team.

After you have contacted us, you can book an appointment with Nathan at one of our offices in London, Manchester, or Sheffield, or a suitable time and place of your own choosing by using our mobile notary service.

For our apostilles, you can use our standard or fast-track apostille services in which we manage the process of getting an apostille from the FCDO, for you.

Additionally, we can also manage the long-winded process of embassy legalisation for you, so you have more time to focus on other things.

Finally, we can even assist you with translating your documents if you plan on going to Spain.

Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you with your children’s school documents.

READY FOR ASSISTANCE?

If you have any questions about our notary, apostille or consular services,
contact Woodcock Notary Public today.

Call us on 0800 049 2471 (free to call) or email info@woodcocknotarypublic.com.

If you have any questions about our notary, apostille or consular services, contact Woodcock Notary Public today.