Embassy Legalization for Non-Hague Countries — UAE, China, Vietnam
If your destination country isn't a Hague Apostille member, you need the old two-step legalization: MFA Bangkok + destination embassy in Bangkok. Here's the timeline and cost per country.
Published 2026-04-08 Updated 2026-05-28 8 min readBy NYC Legal Team
Ribbon-bound certified document set with an official seal awaiting consular legalisation or Apostille
TL;DR
Non-Hague destinations: UAE, Saudi, Qatar, China, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Lao, Cambodia, Myanmar
Step 2: Destination embassy in Bangkok (1–10 days, ฿1,500–5,000)
Total: 5–15 business days, ฿3,000–8,000 per document via NYC
Which countries still need dual legalization
Despite Thailand joining the Apostille Convention in 2024, the following commonly-used destinations are NOT Hague members and still require the old dual legalization workflow:
Middle East: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan
ASEAN: Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar
East Asia: China, Taiwan (special handling)
Africa: Most countries except South Africa, Morocco
We handle the entire chain: sworn translation → notarisation → MFA Bangkok → destination embassy → secure courier to your address abroad. Single point of contact, single invoice. 99.6% acceptance rate.
Yes in principle, but in practice most foreign embassies in Bangkok require Thai-language submission forms, accept only Thai nationals or authorised POA holders as submitters, and operate appointment-only counters with limited weekly windows. NYC's runners visit every major embassy in Bangkok (US, UK, China, Vietnam, India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Japan, Korea) on fixed daily rotations.
Does the order matter?
Yes — strictly. The Thai MFA legalisation stamp MUST be applied BEFORE the document is submitted to the destination country's embassy in Bangkok. Embassies will reject any document that does not already carry the MFA seal, and MFA will not legalise a document that already carries an embassy stamp. Reversed-order submissions are rejected outright and require restarting the chain.
Is express service available?
Express handling depends on the embassy. The Chinese and Vietnamese embassies in Bangkok offer reliable next-business-day express for roughly double the standard fee. The UAE, Saudi, and Indian embassies do not offer formal express service — turnaround is fixed at 3–7 business days. NYC tracks each embassy's current calendar weekly and can advise the realistic best-case timeline.
Our team has over 15 years of experience in translation, certification, and filings with Thai and overseas authorities. We advise on choosing the correct certification route, sequencing your documents, and repairing files that were previously refused.
A case review before work begins, so you only prepare the documents that are genuinely required
The correct order of steps from day one, reducing the risk of a refusal and a restart
A plain explanation of the destination authority's stated requirements as published at the time of advice
If you would rather not handle it yourself, we run the full process end to end and return the finished file
