In 2023, Canada joins the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents, which enters into force on 11.01.2024.
Upon entering into force, all documents issued by Canadian authorities are subject to apostille certification by Global Affairs Canada. The most common documents for translation and apostille certification are:
⁃ Birth certificate;
⁃ Civil status certificate;
⁃ Educational documents;
⁃ Criminal record certificate.
With the translation and apostille certification of documents from Canada, the documents are fully valid and can be used in the 124 member states of the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents.
Each year, more than 200,000 public documents issued by Canada are subject to legalization, which will be significantly eased both in time and financially with Canada’s accession to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (information from Global Affairs Canada https://www.canada.ca/en/global-affairs/news/2023/05/canada-joins-apostille-convention-to-facilitate-use-of-public-documents-abroad.html ).
Also, from June 2025, online verification of documents certified with an apostille issued by Global Affairs Canada and the provinces of British Columbia, Alberta, and Saskatchewan is possible. Introducing real-time verification of apostilled documents provides users with security and reduces the risk of irregularities and attempts at fraud. Verification of documents apostilled by Canada can be performed at: https://apostille-gac.powerappsportals.com/en/eregister-eregistre/
After the document is certified with an apostille, it is necessary to carry out a translation from English and/or French by a sworn translator, and it must also be notarized by the translator who performed the translation. More information about translation from English into Bulgarian and translation from French into Bulgarian can be found in the “Translation of documents” section.
The reverse use of the documents is similar, i. e. when the documents are issued in Bulgaria and will be used in Canada. Again, the documents must be certified with an apostille and the document must be translated from Bulgarian into English or French.
According to the documents most often subject to legalization or apostille certification, the institutions in Bulgaria that certify with an apostille are as follows:
⁃ For a birth certificate, civil status certificate - Regional Administration;
⁃ For educational documents - National Centre for Information and Documentation;
⁃ For a criminal record certificate - Ministry of Justice.
Again, the final step is to perform a translation from Bulgarian into English or French by a sworn translator, and this time the translation is certified in the Directorate “Consular Relations” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.