Recently, Algeria submitted their application to join the Convention of 5th October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents – otherwise known as the Hague Apostille Convention.
That’s all well and good – but, like, what is it? What does that mean? Does it affect anything? What happens now?
Don’t worry – in this blog, we’ll break down exactly what Algeria joining the Hague Apostille Convention means and how it might affect you.
What is the Hague Apostille Convention?
What is document attestation?
To understand what the Hague Apostille Convention is, you’ll first need to know what document attestation (sometimes known as document legalisation) is.
To put it simply document attestation is where you take a document issued in one country and make it legally recognised in another. It’s a bit like getting a passport for your documents (where the ‘passport’ is a little stamp called an Apostille). The attestation process differs by country and document, and that can make it complicated.
In a lot of cases, the little stamp called an Apostille is not enough. Extra steps are required in order for the document to be recognised. These range from certification to notarisation to translation (and sometimes more). I won’t go into the ins-and-outs in this blog but it’s important to know that when extra steps are required, attestation can quickly become time-consuming, confusing and costly.
That’s where the Hague Apostille Convention comes in.
So what’s the Hague Apostille Convention?
The Hague Apostille Convention is an agreement between member countries to keep attestation as straightforward as possible by doing away with all of the extra steps. Attestation between two member countries is, generally, Apostille only. That keeps the process simple and efficient for everyone involved.
A little disclaimer, though – there are a few member countries that still require an extra step or two. Always double check the requirements for your documents – it’s better to be safe than sorry!
What does that mean for Algeria?
Well, as members of the Hague Apostille Convention, attestation involving Algerian documents is going to get simpler.
Whether you have documents issued in Algeria or you have documents from overseas to be presented there, the process of having them attested is being simplified – at least with (most) other members of the Hague Apostille Convention.
When do they join?
Algeria submitted their application to join on 5th November 2025. They’ll officially join on the 9th July 2026, assuming nothing comes up in the 6 month waiting period.
So, from the 9th July onwards, Algeria should officially be a part of the Hague Apostille Convention and document attestation involving Algerian documents will likely be much simpler.
Quick Recap
Here are the key things to know:
- Algeria submitted their application to join the Hague Apostille Convention on 5th November, 2025
- The Hague Apostille Convention is an agreement between member countries to keep document attestation simple
- There’s a short waiting period, and Algeria should officially join on 9th July 2026
Can you help with my Algerian documents?
Algeria joining the Hague Apostille Convention is going to make attestation simpler, but, if you’re unfamiliar with attestation in general, it can still be quite confusing and overwhelming.
If you don’t fancy trying to navigate the embassy yourself, we can do it for you. All you need to do is send your documents to us, we’ll have them attested on your behalf, and then we’ll send them back to you (or any address you’d prefer, such as an employer). You won’t need to worry about a thing apart from popping your documents to us in the post.
If you’d rather us take care of it for you, get in touch today for a quote. No matter what your specific circumstances are or which documents you need attesting, we can help. Click the button below for a quote, call us on +44 (0)330 088 1142 or drop us an email on sales@vitalconsular.com.