If you are a family member of an EU/EEA citizen and need to register or apply for a residence card, the documents you hand in must be certified by the proper authority.
Choose the country your document is from to check how you need to certify your document.
There are two ways you can get your documents certified:
- You can get an apostille stamp from the authorities in the country where the documents are issued.
- You can get the documents legalised by the foreign authority in the country where they are issued.
Apostille or legalisation means that the authorities authenticate the original documents in the country where they are issued. It confirms the authenticity of the signature and the official stamp and that the person who signed the document is a public servant.
Whether you need to get an apostille stamp on your document, or you need to get your document legalised, depends on which country your document is from. You will get an answer to what you need to do with your document by choosing which country the document is issued in.