Legalization of documents in Hong Kong generally requires several steps and can take anywhere from 3 to 14 days, depending upon the nature of the document concerned, the country of issue thereof, and the country of receipt amongst other specific legalization requirements. The process commences with the preparation of the document, whereby some documents will need to be notarized by a recognized notary public of Hong Kong. This step can take about 1-3 working days to have the document verified for further steps of legalization of documents.
Because Hong Kong is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, the next step in countries that are parties to the Apostille Convention requires obtaining an apostille from the High Court of Hong Kong. This usually takes one to two business days and authenticates the document for international use. However, if the document is addressed to a country that is not a party to the Hague Convention, then it shall be legalized by a relevant consulate or embassy in Hong Kong. This will lengthen the process, as legalization by a consulate may take anything from 5-10 business days, depending on the policies of the embassy and workload of applications received.
Other factors that can affect the time taken for the legalization of documents could be the number of documents in process, whether or not translations are needed, or even additional verifications that need to be done. Sometimes, these processes make it take a little longer.
Businesses dealing internationally need to be absolutely certain that their various documents are legalized with due speed for different regulatory and compliance issues in foreign countries. Undue delays can be evaded only if appropriate planning, coupled with early submission, is done to ensure the legalization of documents is completed in time for business operations. A general idea regarding how the entire process works and how long it could take helps businesses take better care to handle the complexities involved for smooth international transactions.