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To use a document from the Philippines in the Netherlands, you must have it legalised by the Philippine Department 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.
Attention: If you want to use a Dutch document in the Philippines, see Legalisation of Dutch documents for use abroad.
Good to know
- Documents in Filipino 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.
Legalisation of documents in Filipino is a two-step process.
Step 1: Having your document translated
If your document is in Filipino, 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 with an apostille.
Go to step 2.
- Have the original document legalised with an apostille in the Philippines.
- 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.
Your document was issued in Spanish by the Philippine consulate in Oranjestad (Aruba):
- Have the document translated into Dutch, English, French or German by a sworn translator.
- If you have the document translated by a sworn translator in Aruba, have the translation legalised.
- If you have the 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.
You can get an apostille from the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs. See the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) website for contact details.
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.
Attention: Documents issued by the Philippine consulate do not get an apostille but are legalised in a different way. Find out below how to arrange that.
Your document was issued by the Philippine consulate in Oranjestad (Aruba):
- Have the document and, if applicable, the translation legalised by the Department of Legislation and Legal Affairs (DWJZ) in Oranjestad.
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 civil status records from the websites of the Philippine government organisations Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) (formerly the National Statistics Office, NSO) and e-Census. You will receive your certificate printed on security paper with a barcode.
You can request official copies of:
- birth certificates
- marriage certificates
- divorce certificates
- death certificates
You can get a certificate of unmarried status, referred to as a certificate of no marriage record (CENOMAR), from the website of the Philippine government organisation Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), (formerly the National Statistics Office, NSO). You will receive your certificate printed on security paper with a barcode.
Additional declaration for data from the PSA
Information held by the PSA may not be completely up to date. If this is the case, you will receive a CENOMAR for a period up to a specific date, stating that you do not appear in the marriage register up to that date.
What about the period after that?
You will then need to have an affidavit drawn up for the period following the date on the certificate. An affidavit is a declaration that you make under oath in the presence of a notary. You will need to show a copy of your birth certificate for this. Have the affidavit legalised by the Regional Trial Court. Then take your documents to the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs.
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 assist Dutch nationals with obtaining documents and having them legalised in the Philippines.
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.
More about legalisation
- What is legalisation?
- Converting foreign official documents into Dutch official documents
- What is legalisation by apostille?
- Countries that are party to the Apostille Convention
- Countries where the Consular Service Centre can assist with obtaining documents and having them legalised
- Help with obtaining documents and having them legalised
