1) Introduction
Legalization means the authentication of a signature of seal/stamp appearing on a document. To have documents which originate in Finland accepted in the People's Republic of China, you shall go to the Legalization Office of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland to authenticate the signatures or seals of local notary publics. Then you may come to the Chinese Embassy to legalize the signatures of the officials of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland.
Please be advised that the legalization only confirms that the signature and seals of the officials of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland on your document are genuine. It dose NOT mean that the contents of the document are correct or the Chinese Embassy approves of the contents. If the content of a document is deemed to be illegal, detrimental or immoral in China, legalization will be rejected.
2) Application Material Requirements
a) The document(s) to be legalized shall be authenticated by the local Notary public office (in the Maistraatti) and the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland before they are submitted to the Chinese Embassy. If the document(s) consist of two(2) or more pages, they must be binded by an official seal, stamp, or stapling which can not be opened. If the document(s) are modified, altered, or unfastened, the application is not acceptable.
b) An application form (click here to download) must be neatly completed and signed before you submit the application for legalization.
c) A photocopy of each document that has been authenticated by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland is required by the Chinese Embassy for archive.
d) A photocopy of the applicant's ID (e.g. passport or ID card) in the case of civil/personal documents.
In the case of commercial/business document of company, a photocopy of the ID or passport of the legal representative of the company must be provided, in addition to documents that prove the status of the legal representative.
If the application is delivered via an agent, a photocopy of the agent's ID (e.g. passport or ID card) must be provided in addition to the applicant's ID copy.
Note: Please have the photocopies above mentioned ready in advance. Otherwise your application is not acceptable.
3) Application Processing & Fees
a) No appointment for submission of application is required.
Application should be delivered to the consular office from 09:00-11:30, Monday - Friday. Application by mail is not acceptable.
The applicant will be given a pick-up form with which he/she may pick up the documents. Please keep the form and present it upon collection. Mail service is not available.
b) Standard processing time is four (4) working days, with a fee of €20 for each civil/personal document(s), and €40 for each commercial/business document(s).
Rush processing time is two (2) working day, available for collection the following working day. This must be requested upon submission of the application. The additional fee for each document is €21.
Extra Urgent Processing on the same working day is available only under urgent circumstances and is at the discretion of the consular officers, the additional fee is €31 per document.
c) Payment is to be made upon collection, by Visa, Mastercard, or Visa Electron. Cash or personal checks are not acceptable.
4) Appendix
• Address of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs:
Kanavakatu 3B, floor 2, 00160 HELSINKI
Telephone: +358 295 16001
Office Hours: 09:00 - 12:00 Monday - Wednesday
• Address of the Notary Public Office in Helsinki:
Lintulahdenkuja 2, floor 2, 00530 HELSINKI
Telephone: +358 29 553 6412
Office Hours: 09:00 - 16:15 Monday - Friday
• The address of other Notary Public Offices can be found at this webpage (http://www.maistraatti.fi/en/)
