Authentication, legalization of German documents for use in Vietnam

Germany is a state member of the Hague Apostille Convention, according to which its public documents are exempted from consular legalization for use in other members of this Convention. However, Vietnam is not such one, as such, all the documents, papers issued in Germany must undergo a full consular legalization process for legal recognition in Vietnam.

👉 See What is Apostille and How different are Apostille and Legalization?

In this post, we will show you all details about consular legalization of German documents, papers for use in Vietnam, consisting of:

• What is Vietnam consular legalization of Germany’s documents?
• Where to legalize German documents to be used in Vietnam?
• How to legalize Germany’s documents for Vietnam?

1. What is Vietnam consular legalization of Germany’s Documents

Vietnam legalization of documents, papers issued in Germany is a process in which the Vietnam’s diplomatic mission in Germany certify stamps, signatures and titles of the officials of Germany’s competent authority on the documents issued in Germany, so that they can be legally used in Vietnam.

2. Where to legalize German documents for Vietnam

To be used in Vietnam, the German documents and papers shall be authenticated/apostilled and then legalized in German according to the procedure described below.

3. How to legalize German documents for use in Vietnam

The full process of legalizing the German documents for Vietnam consists of 3 steps below.

👉Step 1: Certification of Germany’s documents

This step is required for private documents, for example, contracts, employment confirmation, …. In this case, you need to have those documents certified by a notary in Germany to make them become public deeds. You then need to take the notarized documents to the competent court for further certification that the notary’s signature and seal are genuine and that he has the authority to authenticate the document.

This step is not required for public documents.

👉Step 2: Authentication/Apostille of German documents

In this step, you need to prepare required documents and visit the competent authority to get it authenticated. The authority you should visit will depend on your document type as follows:

🎯For Federal Documents, you need to visit:

• Bundesverwaltungsamt (Federal Office of Administration)
  • Address: Referat II B 4, 50728 Köln
  • Tel. 0228-99358 4100
  • E-Mail: [email protected]

Exception: For Federal Patents Court and German Patent Office documents, the Authentication/Apostille is issued by the president of the German Patent Office.

🎯For German State Documents

Responsibility for the apostille or authentication of certificates of German states is not uniformly regulated. As a rule, however, the issuer of the document can provide information on which office is responsible for certification. In case you are unsure which office can issue an Authentication/Apostille in your specific case, please contact your document’s issuer.

Generally speaking, the following bodies are competent authorities:

• Documents of Administrative Authorities (except Judicial Administrative Authorities):
  • Interior ministries (senate departments), regional commissioners, regional administration;
  • in Berlin: State Office for Residence and Regulatory Affairs;
  • in Lower Saxony: Police headquarters in Braunschweig, Göttingen, Hannover, Lüneburg, Oldenburg, and Osnabrück;
  • in Rhineland-Westphalia: Supervisory and service directorate in Kaiserslautern;
  • in Saxony: State directorates in Chemnitz, Dresden, and Leipzig;
  • in Saxony-Anhalt: State administrative office in Magdeburg;
  • in Thuringia: State administrative office in Weimar.
• Documents of Judicial Administrative Authorities, Courts of General Jurisdiction (Civil and Criminal Courts), and Notaries:
  • Justice ministries (senate departments), chief justices of state (administrative) courts.
• Documents of Courts Other Than Those of General Jurisdiction:
  • Interior ministries (senate departments), regional commissioners, regional administration, justice ministries (senate departments), chief justices of state (administrative) courts.

You will get your documents sealed with a German Apostille stamp.

👉Step 3: Consular legalization of German documents by the Vietnam embassy/consulate general in Germany

This step is also called as Vietnam embassy in Germany legalization/authentication. It is carried out at the Vietnam embassy/Consulate General in Germany as follows.

First of all, you need to prepare the required documents as indicated here.

You then visit the office of Embassy or Consulate General of Vietnam in Germany to submit your documents:

• Vietnam’s embassy in Germany:
  • Address: Elsenstraße 3, 12435 Berlin-Treptow
  • Tel: 030-536 30 108 (Tổng đài)
  • Fax: 030-536 30 200
  • E-mail: [email protected]
• Vietnam’s Consulate General in Germany:
  • Kennedyallee 49, 60569 Frankfurt am Main
  • Tel: + 49 -69 – 7953 3650
  • Fax: + 49 – 69 – 7953 36511

After 3 or 5 working days, you will receive your legalized documents which can be than translated into Vietnamese and be ready for use in Vietnam.

4. Service on legalization of German documents for Vietnam

In case you are in Vietnam, whether you have found a new job and need to apply for a work permit Vietnam, or you are following a procedure to get married to a Vietnamese citizen, and you need to legalize your German documents, papers for those purposes, our dedicated team are at your disposal. ​We ensure that all the required procedures will be followed and your German documents are legally recognized in Vietnam.

Our Vietnam consular legalization service for German documents covers:

• Notarization and certification if your documents are non-public ones;
• Document authentication in Germany, &
• Vietnam Embassy legalization for Germany documents;

In case you need a translation into Vietnamese, we will provide you with a high-qualify one.

Common documents we have received from our customers are:

• Birth Certificates
• Marriage Certificates
• Death Certificates
• Divorce Decree
• Single Status Affidavit
• Power of Attorney
• Copy of Passport
• Diplomas, certificate, academic transcript
• Employment confirmation
• Articles of Incorporation
• Certification of Free Sale
• Certification of Origin
• Commercial Invoice

Why our Vietnam legalization service for your

• Quick processing: only 15 calendar days
• Most comprehensive price: only from
• 10+-year experience: We offer our experience to make legalization as simple as it can be.
• Safety: We required no original documents, but scanned ones.