Apostille

What is an “Apostille”?

Effective 16 March 1995, Australia has become party to the “Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents”. Legalisation or authentication of Australian public documents (e.g. birth, death and marriage certificates, notarial act) by German Missions is no longer required for presentation of said documents to German authorities.
Instead, an Apostille issued by the Australian “Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade” according to the above mentioned agreement is sufficient for German authorities. In return, German certificates are recognized by Australian authorities if they are provided with an Apostille of the competent German authority.

Obtaining an Apostille for Australian documents

You can find information on how and where to get an Apostille for Australian documents on the website of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade:
Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Obtaining an Apostille for German documents

A list of the competent authorities issuing an Apostille for German documents can be found here:
Information about legalization and Apostille of the Foreign Office

Certification of signature and copies

General information

By certifying a signature, the consular officer confirms that the person indicated in the document was physically present and signed it in front of him or her. It is a simple form of authenticating a signature.

By certifying a copy, the consular officer confirms that a document is a true and correct copy of the original. It does, however, not verifiy the content of this document.

Following a change in the law, the German missions will no longer be able to carry out identity checks in connection with opening a bank account, taking out a loan and similar purposes. Please ask your bank for further information. The legalisation department is only allowed to certify your signature if you are a student applying for a visa for Germany and need to open a blocked account.
Certifications of signatures and photocopies of documents are carried out during counter opening hours. Please make an appointment if you wish to get a signature of copy certified.

Make an appointment

Certification of a signature

Please bring the following documents to your appointment:

• your valid passport
• the document to be signed (for declarations of appoval: a copy of the contract, signed by representative)
• if you are not acting on your own behalf, but on behalf of a company, a ward, etc: provide a document stating your power of attorney (original or certified copy)

Following the amendment of the German Money Laundering Act the German missions abroad can no longer notarize signatures or perform identity verification for the opening of a bank account, loan applications or other similar cases. This also applies to credit card applications.

Fees:

The fee for the signature certification is 56,43 EUR. The fee is converted into AUD according to the daily exchange rate.

Please read our general information about fees and methods of payment

Certification of copies

Please bring the following documents to your appointment:

• the original documents,
• fee

Fees:

The current fee for the certification of a photocopy of one document is the AUD equivalent of 24,26 EUR (Embassy Canberra) / 24,83 EUR (Consulate General Sydney and all Honorary Consuls). No fee is charged for state pension-related certifications (please bring the letter from the pension authority along), applications for acceptance into German universities or in citizenship matters.

The fee is converted into AUD according to the daily exchange rate.

Please read our general information about fees and methods of payment

Identity verifications

Revised procedures for ID checks for German banks:

Following the amendment of the German Money Laundering Act the German missions abroad can no longer notarize signatures or perform identity verification for the opening of a bank account, loan applications or other similar cases. This also applies to credit card applications.

Please contact the bank that sent you the documents on how to proceed.

Exempt from this new ruling are blocked accounts for foreign students who must apply for a student visa before entering Germany and who need to open an account in Germany in order to prove sufficient financial means for their stay in Germany. In these cases only, the German missions abroad are allowed to notarize signatures.

In Australia, the following institutions can verify your identity: Lawyer; Notary Public; Banks

Honorary Consul

Signature certifications can be done at the competent German mission or by a German Honorary Consul. In some cases they can also be done by an Australian notary public. Please check in advance with the respective German authority that demands the signature certification whether they will accept a certification done by an Australian notary public. Authorities in Germany may request an apostille in addition to the signature certification done by an Australian notary public.

Find your consulate

Police Clearance Certificate / Certificate of Conduct

The certificate of conduct, sometimes referred to as a “police check” or “criminal records check”, is issued by the Bundesamt für Justiz in Germany. The required application form as well as information about the application process can be found on the website of the Bundesamt für Justiz

Please note: You must bring the application form to your appointment.

You can apply for a certificate of conduct via the online portal of the Bundesamt für Justiz, if you have an electronic German ID card (elektronischer Personalausweis) or an electronic residence permit as well as the AusweisApp2 or a card reader.

Otherwise you have to apply for it at the Bundesamt für Jusitz in writing (either in person or via postal mail, not via e-mail or fax).

The application has to contain complete personal data (especially the current family name as well as the birth name, if applicable) and has to be personally signed by the applicant.

The personal data and the signature must be officially confirmed. Such official confirmation can be issued by an Australian Notary Public, any Australian police station or any German diplomatic or consular representation (including Honorary Consuls).

The Bundesamt für Justiz needs the original application with the official confirmation. The application can therefore not be sent by e-mail or fax.

Only if the German Embassy in Canberra or the Consulate General in Sydney issue the confirmation, they can send the application directly via e-mail. They cannot, however, forward applications which have been confirmed by the police or a notary public.

In order to get a confirmation from one of the German missions in Australia you have to book an appointment. If there is no appointment available, please try again later. There are no special appointments available on request. At the appointment you have to submit a completed application form and an ID document (usually a passport, alternatively a German Personalausweis or for non-German applicants an Australian driver's licence).

For certification by the German missions in Australia a fee of € 34.07 applies.

Please read our general information about fees and methods of payment

Power of attorney / Declaration of Consent

In order to buy or sell property in Germany, a German notary public must be instructed to handle the legal formalities. Normally, both parties must sign the contract in the presence of the notary. If one party cannot be present, a representative can sign on his or her behalf. The representative must be authorised either before the transaction by a power of attorney (‘Vollmacht’) or after it by a declaration of consent (‘Genehmigungserklärung’ or ‘Vollmachtsbestätigung’), which the notary public can draw up for you.
Your signature on the power of attorney or declaration of consent can be certified at the German Missions in Australia
Please bring the following documents:

• your valid passport
• the power of attorney or declaration of consent, drawn up by your notary public in Germany
• a copy of the contract itself
• fee

Fees:

The fee for the signature certification is 56,43 EUR and is converted into AUD according to the daily exchange rate.

Please read our general information about fees and methods of payment

Life certificates for recipients of German old age pensions

Once every year you are requested by your German pension authority to submit a life certificate. If you do not present the certificate in time, your pension payments may be suspended. It is therefore important that you fill in the life certificate form completely and always remember to sign it.

More information here.

Transportation of a corpse or urn to Germany

This information is mainly addressed to funeral homes. Private persons are encouraged to seek professional assistance by an Australian funeral home for information on how to transport a deceased loved one to Germany.

Germany has very strict laws on how to handle human remains. As a general rule, all coffins and urns have to be buried in specially licensed graveyards. Private persons are not allowed to have urns in their possession. Therefore, any transport in Germany has to be handled by a licensed funeral home.

Coffins and urns are best shipped by the Australian funeral home to a funeral home in Germany directly. Please clarify with the carrier what type of coffin is acceptable for transportation with them. No customs are charged for the import of a coffin/urn which contains the remains of the deceased person into Germany.

You can obtain a corpse or urn transport permit at the German Embassy in Canberra, the Consulate General in Sydney or our Honorary Consuls.

Corpse Transport Permit

Please submit the following documents (as originals, all documents will be returned to you):

• Death Certificate from the Registrar-General
• If available, original passport of the deceased person, otherwise copy
• medical certificate stating the cause of death
• certificate from the Coroner stating that the deceased did not die of contagious or communicable diseases
• certificate from the funeral director stating that the body was placed in the coffin in accordance with the German requirements (see below)

Fee

The fee for the Corpse Transport Permit amounts to the equivalent of 64,07 EUR, payable in AUD at the current exchange rate.

Please read our general information about fees and methods of payment

Physical handling of the body

• Floor covering of the coffin must consist of a 5 cm thick layer of acid-absorbing material (i. e. sawdust) in addition to which an antiseptic material has to be added
• If death was caused by a contagious or communicable disease the body must be wrapped in a cloth drained with an antiseptic liquid

Composition of coffin, linking of the two coffins

• Body must be placed in a metal airtight coffin
• Metal coffin must be placed in a wooden coffin in such a way that it cannot be moved
• Wooden coffin must fulfill the following requirements
  • approx. 3 cm thick
  • the joining parts must be waterproof and closed with screws (not more than 20 cm apart)
  • wooden coffin must be closed and secured with metal bands

Urn Transport Permit

An urn transport permit may be needed to send an urn to Germany. Please verify that such a permit is necessary with your airline and receiving funeral home in Germany. In case you want to ship a metal urn, please verify with the carrier if this is acceptable for shipment, seeing as the screening might cause problems. The urn has to be sealed by the funeral home in Australia.

Please submit the following documents (as originals, all documents will be returned to you):

• a Death Certificate and
• a Cremation Certificate (confirming that the urn contains the ashes of the deceased Person). Urn should be sealed and numbered. Cremation certificate should indicate which number appears on the urn.
• If available, original passport of the deceased person, otherwise copy

Fee

The fee for the Urn Transport Permit amounts to the equivalent of 64,07 EUR, payable in AUD at the current exchange rate.

Please read our general information about fees and methods of payment