Legalising documents for use in Iraq: What’s the process?

Starting a new life in Iraq? Before you can make the move, you'll need to get through the document legalisation process.

If you’re moving to Iraq to start a new career, I’m sure you’ve already got loads on your plate. Sorting out where you’re going to live, dealing with family arrangements, preparing to start your new job. It’s a lot, isn’t it?

And then, all of a sudden, you get thrown a massive curveball – document legalisation. The chances are that you’ve never even heard of it. No one know it’s even a thing until they find out they need to do it. Then, out of nowhere, it becomes a massive obstacle complicating your move overseas.

Don’t worry, though. We’ve got you covered. We’ve been dealing with document legalisation for over a decade, and we can help you make your move to Iraq seamless. Have a look at our About Us page to see what we can do for you.

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Iraqi document legalisation: A quick overview

I won’t go into all the ins-and-outs of legalisation now. I’d bore you to death and I’d be typing for hours. It’s a lengthy, complicated process. Different documents have different requirements for different countries. Oh, and, to complicate things further, some documents have extra steps.

But don’t worry about that. All you really need to know is that document legalisation, sometimes called attestation, is the process of taking a document issued in one country and making it legally recognised in another. It’s how your employers in Iraq, and official Iraqi bodies, can be certain that any documents you present to them are legitimate.

Iraqi Embassy in London: Document legalisation

There are generally 4 steps to the Iraqi legalisation process:

  1. Certification – you might need to have your document certified by an FCDO-approved solicitor.
  2. Apostille – you’ll need to send your document to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO) for an Apostille.
  3. Cultural Attaché – you might need to send your document to the Iraqi Cultural Attaché in London for a stamp. You’ll also need an Authorisation Form.
  4. Consular Stamp – finally, you’ll need to send your document to the Iraqi Embassy in London for a stamp.

Whether you’ll need your documents certified or not, or whether you’ll need to take them to the Iraqi Cultural Attaché, depends on the document type.

Now, you’ve got two choices when it comes to getting your Iraqi documents legalised. You could try to work it out yourself, or you could just get us to do it for you.

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Why use Vital Consular?

If you use us, all you need to do is pop your envelopes in the post. Seriously. We’ll receive your documents, legalise them, and send them back ready for use. No stress, no hassle, no fuss.

No time spent googling what the Cultural Attaché actually is, or waiting on hold for hours to the Iraqi Embassy in London (seriously, go have a read of their reviews. While you’re there, check out ours – we’ve got a lot of happy customers!), or even trying to find out what an Apostille is and why you need one. If you use us, you don’t need to worry about any of that.

We take what’s otherwise a complicated process and make it really, really simple. As I said at the start, moving abroad is always a pretty stressful time. Let us take some of that stress away for you.

While you’re here, why not keep up to date with all the latest comings and goings by following us on social media?

Declan Ramsden
Declan Ramsden

Declan is a Content Creator at Vital Consular. He studied English Literature for 4 years before joining the company. Outside of work, he enjoys listening to retro music and reading classic novels – particularly Charles Dickens!

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