1. On 8th March 2023, China acceded to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as the Convention). On 7th November 2023, the Convention will enter into force between China and Romania. The Convention shall continue to apply to the Hong Kong SAR of China and the Macao SAR of China.
2. Starting on 7th November 2023, any public document within the scope of the Convention (hereinafter referred to as public documents) and properly executed in Romania, can be sent to Chinese mainland for use with the APOSTILLE issued by the competent authority of Romania, and the consular legalisation from the Romanian side and the Chinese Embassy in Romania are no longer required.
All public documents sent from China to Romania will no longer require consular legalisation by Chinese side and the Romanian Embassy/consulate in China, but will be subject to APOSTILLE. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China is the competent authority to issue the Apostille for public documents issued in Chinese mainland. As authorized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China, some local Foreign Affairs Offices (refer to Appendix 1 for the list of the offices) can issue the Apostille for public documents emanated within the respective administrative jurisdiction.
The authenticity of an Apostille can be verified online (https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/). For specific procedures and requirements of Apostille application in Chinese mainland, please log on to the China Consular Service website (http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/) or websites of the local Foreign Affairs Offices.
3. Starting from 7th November 2023, the Chinese embassy will terminate consular legalisation services. For documents produced in Romania that are to be used in Chinese mainland, please apply for Apostille at the Romanian competent authorities (refer to Appendix 2 for further details).
4. According to the provisions of the Convention, an Apostille issued by a country is used to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the signatory has acted, and, where appropriate, the authenticity of the seal which the document bears. The completion of the Romanian Apostille does not guarantee the acceptance by relevant Chinese authorities. It is recommended to check in advance with the relevant party in China about specific requirements for format, content, time limit, translation, etc. of foreign public documents before going through the relevant procedures.
Appendix:
1 - List of authorized local foreign affairs offices for issuing APOSTILLE in Chinese mainland.pdf
2 - Information of APOSTILLE competent authorities in Romania.pdf