1. On 8 March 2023, China acceded to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as the Convention). The Convention shall enter into force between China and The Bahamas on 7 November 2023. The Convention shall continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region of China.

2. From 7 November 2023, the public documents as referred to in the Convention that are executed in The Bahamas and to be used in the Chinese mainland shall be exempted from Consular Legalization by the Bahamian authorities and the Embassy of China in The Bahamas. Instead, an Apostille issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Bahamas shall be completed before the public documents are sent to and used in the Chinese mainland.

The public documents as referred to in the Convention that are executed in the Chinese mainland and to be used in The Bahamas shall be exempted from legalisation by the Chinese side and the Bahamian Embassy in China. Instead, an Apostille shall be issued on the documents. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China is the designated authority to issue an Apostille on public documents executed in the Chinese mainland. Besides, certain Foreign Affairs Offices entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China can also issue an Apostille on the public documents executed within their own administrative jurisdiction (the list is enclosed). The website https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/ enables online verification of the Apostilles issued in Chinese mainland. For the procedures and requirements for applying for an Apostille in Chinese mainland, please visit http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/ or the official websites of relevant Foreign Affairs Offices.

3. From 7 November 2023, the legalisation business at the Chinese Embassy in The Bahamas will be ceased. For the public documents that are executed in The Bahamas and to be used in the Chinese mainland, please apply for an Apostille from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The Bahamas.

4. According to the Convention, the Apostille issued by a state is to certify the signature’s authenticity, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp it bears. The public documents with an Apostille on them aren’t necessarily accepted by the relevant Chinese authorities. Applicants shall check the format, content, time limit, translation,  and other specific requirements of foreign public documents with the Chinese authority where the documents are to be used before going through the relevant procedures.

Annex 1: List of Foreign Affairs Offices that May Issue Apostille

Annex 2: Information on Applying for Apostille in The Bahamas