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Which documents
- The Embassy can only legalize official Philippine documents drafted and signed by local authorities in the Philippines. All documents for legalization must be apostilled (gold certificate) by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), then translated into one of the official Belgian languages by an accredited translator, before being submitted to the Embassy. The document must not be issued more than six months ago.
- Civil Documents such as Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Death Certificates, CENOMAR or others should be officially registered with the Civil Registration Service of the PSA (Philippines Statistics Authority – former NSO) main office in Quezon City. These documents should be printed in Security Paper (yellow-green paper). The Local Civil Registry format (white paper) will NOT be accepted.
- Philippine diplomas or program study certification meanwhile must be first recognized by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED) before being apostilled by DFA.
- You can also have your own signature legalized on a private document only if you are registered with us and if you come in person to sign the document at the Embassy.
- Any document drafted abroad CANNOT be accepted for legalization by the Embassy. Belgian documents can only be legalized by the FPS Foreign Affairs in Brussels
Translation
- The Embassy has accredited translators (see below) for the official Belgian languages.
- You may choose the Belgian language of your preference for documents that will be submitted to the Embassy (civil status, nationality files, etc.). If you will use the document in Belgium, you must use the language of the municipality where the certificate will be executed.
- Any translation done in the Philippines needs to be legalized by this Embassy.
- If you choose to translate your documents in Belgium, which is possible but may take longer and be more expensive, a list of sworn translators can be obtained from the clerk of the court of first instance of the jurisdiction of the municipality where the document will be used. Any translation done in Belgium needs to be legalized by FPS Foreign Affairs in Brussels
Recurrent problems with Filipino certificates
One of the main reasons for complications in visa, civil status, or nationality files is the fact that Civil Registry Certificates (birth, marriage, CENOMAR…) may contain mistakes in the names, place, dates or information about the applicant. We strongly recommend you double-check those certificates the moment they are first issued. It is indeed the responsibility of the applicant to pay attention to details and eventually requests for corrections.
On the other hand, those certificates must reflect the truth always and no blank CENOMAR will be accepted if the applicant is indeed still married.
If serious doubt exists on the authenticity or the content of the documents, a more thorough investigation will be requested. Any expenses related to this investigation has to be borne by the applicant.
