Schmidt & Schmidt provides services for the retrieval of civil status documents, as well as obtaining duplicates of lost or damaged documents in Belarus with their subsequent legalization and translation.

If your personal documents are lost or damaged or you need to obtain current copies of documents it is necessary to request duplicates of documents. Often, those who have left Belarus face difficulties in this procedure. Our service allows you to request documents in Belarus remotely and we can carry out courier delivery of the document to anywhere in the world.

Validity of civil status documents in Belarus

Civil status documents issued in Belarus usually have an unlimited validity period. An exception to this rule are certificates of no criminal record, they are valid for no more than 3 months, after which they must be replaced with new ones containing up-to-date data. In addition, the receiving party may make requirements for the terms, so this must be clarified at the place where the documents are requested.

A duplicate birth certificate, marriage certificate, name change certificate, divorce certificate, criminal record certificate or death certificate may be required to register a marriage abroad, a newborn child, citizenship, inheritance, data verification for pension applications, opening bank accounts, employment and other bureaucratic issues.

What documents can be requested in Belarus:

• Birth certificate
• Marriage certificate
• Certificate of change of surname
• Divorce certificate
• Death certificate
• Certificates of good conduct
• Educational documents
• Other civil status documents

Required documents for document procurement

Since civil status documents are personal documents containing personal data, they can only be requested by their owners or persons authorized by them. That is, first of all, to request documents, we will need a signed power of attorney from the owner of the document. Additionally:

• Copy of passport
• Birth data and name and surname change
• Data on the place of registration of civil status records

Responsible authorities

Obtaining civil status documents is possible at the civil registry offices of Belarus.

Apostille and legalization of documents in Belarus

The Republic of Belarus is a party to the Hague Convention of October 5, 1961, which allows for a simplified procedure for the legalization of documents through apostille. Belarus joined the Hague Convention on Simplified Legalization of Documents in 1992. Based on the Hague Convention, documents issued by government agencies of one of the countries participating in the Convention are valid in another country participating in the Convention without consular legalization, provided that they are affixed with an apostille. You can order an apostille for copies and duplicates of documents from Belarus from us. As a rule, certifying documents with an apostille takes about two weeks.

If the document is to be used in a country that does not recognize the Hague Convention, such as the UAE or other countries not included in the list, then such a document is subject to consular legalization.

Deadlines for requesting documents in Belarus

Requesting documents usually takes about two weeks, in some cases, depending on the processing time of the application by local authorities, the time may differ.

Requesting certified copies of educational documents takes about two weeks.

This period does not include the time required for legalization of documents and their translation.

Notarized translation of documents from Belarus

Copies and duplicates of civil status documents can be translated into any language by a sworn translator in Belarus or the translation can be done in the destination country. We provide notarized translation services for civil status documents with their subsequent certification. The cost of work is calculated based on the volume of a specific document.