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 Jamaica, Belize and Cayman Island on 7 November 2023. The Convention shall continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region.
2. From 7 November 2023, for all the public documents as referred to in the Convention from Jamaica, Belize or Cayman Island, which need to be used in the Chinese Mainland, an apostille shall be done by the competent authorities in Jamaica, Belize or Cayman (see the list at point 6), instead of applying for legalisation by Chinese Embassy in Jamaica.
The public documents as referred to in the Convention from the Chinese Mainland, and have to be used in Jamaica, Belize or Cayman Island shall be exempted from legalisation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China and Jamaican or UK Embassy and Consulates in China. Instead, an Apostille shall be issued onto the public documents. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China is the designated authority to issue an Apostille certificate onto the public documents executed in the Chinese Mainland. Furthermore, certain Foreign Affairs Offices entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China can also issue an Apostille onto 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 the Chinese Mainland. For the procedures and requirements for applying for an Apostille in the 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 at Chinese Embassy in Jamaica will be ceased. For the public documents from Jamaica, Belize or Cayman Island, and have to be used in the Chinese Mainland, please apply for an Apostille at the competent authorities in Jamaica, Belize or Cayman.
4. According to the Convention, the Apostille issued by a state is to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears. The public documents with an Apostille onto 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 public documents are to be used before going through the relevant procedures.
5. List of Foreign Affairs Offices in China that May Issue Apostille(31 in total): Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Heilongjiang Province, Shanghai Municipality, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Anhui Province, Fujian Province, Jiangxi Province, Shandong Province, Henan Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hainan Province, Chongqing Municipality, Sichuan Province, Guizhou Province, Yunnan Province, Shaanxi Province, Gansu Province, Changchun City, Harbin City, Ningbo City, Jinan City, Qingdao City and Shenzhen City.
6. The competent authorities:
(1)The competent authority responsible for issuing the Apostille in Jamaica is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the email address: info@mfaft.gov.jm or authentications@mfaft.gov.jm. For more information, please visit：https://mfaft.gov.jm/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/UPDATED-2022-Obtaining-an-apostille-in-Jamaica.pdf
(2)The competent authority responsible for issuing the Apostille in Belize is the Registrar General , the contact number: +501-227-2053 or +501-227-7377，fax: +501-227-0181
(3)The competent authority responsible for issuing the Apostille in Cayman Island. For more information, please visit：https://support.gov.ky/hc/en-gb/articles/15325379584397-How-to-obtain-an-Apostilled-document-from-General-Registry