Apostille or Legalisation for Hong Kong From Australia

Australian documents for Hong Kong go to DFAT for an apostille where one is needed, with no Chinese consulate step: as of our last check, the Convention has applied to Hong Kong since 25 April 1965 and continued after 1997. Check the HCCH status table on the day. Some Hong Kong procedures, such as marriage notices, ask only for a notary.

Key takeaways

• Hong Kong was covered by the Apostille Convention long before mainland China joined, and the Chinese embassy and consulates in Australia have no part in a Hong Kong document.
• The chain is an Australian notary (private documents and copies), then a DFAT apostille, but only if the Hong Kong office asks for one.
• To marry in Hong Kong while living in Australia, the Notice of Intended Marriage can be signed here and authenticated by a notary public of the country where you live. A Justice of the Peace is not a notary.
• Hong Kong works in English and Chinese, so an English document does not need translating.
• Hong Kong solicitors, banks and courts each decide what they need. Follow the written request.

Hong Kong and the Apostille Convention

Hong Kong sits under China's entry on the HCCH status table, with its own notifications. The HCCH records that the Convention entered into force for Hong Kong on 25 April 1965, when the United Kingdom extended it there. In June 1997 China notified the depositary that the Convention would continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from 1 July 1997, and named Hong Kong's own competent authorities: the Administrative Secretary and the registrars of the High Court. Confirm the position on the table the day you start.

China's own accession, in force for the mainland from 7 November 2023, changed things for the mainland. It did not change Hong Kong, which was already covered, and China's declaration keeps Hong Kong's earlier arrangements in effect. Do not assume one answer covers both: see apostille for China for the mainland.

An apostille is a certificate from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) confirming the signature and seal on an Australian public document. It says nothing about the contents. Only DFAT issues apostilles in Australia; a notary cannot.

The chain, and the word "if"

1. Notarise in Australia, if the document is private (a power of attorney, a declaration, a notice form) or you are sending a copy.
2. DFAT apostille, if the Hong Kong office asks for one.
3. Send it to the Hong Kong office, solicitor, bank or court that asked for it.

The "if" matters more for Hong Kong than for most places. Several Hong Kong procedures ask for a notary and say nothing about an apostille. Adding one costs time and a DFAT fee, so ask first. Where an apostille is wanted, Australian registry certificates and court documents usually go to DFAT directly: DFAT's page on documents it can legalise lists birth, marriage and death certificates, court documents including divorce certificates, and national police checks. DFAT refuses laminated certificates and ceremonial marriage certificates.

Hong Kong works in English and Chinese, so an Australian document in English does not need translating. The Immigration Department, for example, asks for certified translations only of documents in neither language.

Marrying in Hong Kong while living in Australia

Hong Kong's Immigration Department runs marriage registration. Its questions and answers say there are no residential requirements and the parties may be of any nationality. For a couple living outside Hong Kong who cannot give notice in person, the notice can be signed abroad.

The Immigration Department has set out the process for a couple living outside Hong Kong:

• Write to the Marriage Registration and Records Office for the Notice of Intended Marriage form and the information sheet.
• Sign the notice form and have it authenticated by a notary public of the country where you live.
• If you live in different countries, only the person giving notice needs a notary, in the country where that person lives.
• Post the authenticated notice, the information sheet and supporting documents to Hong Kong.
• Both of you then attend the office in Hong Kong with your travel documents and the originals of what you sent, and make an affidavit before the Registrar or a civil celebrant.

The notice must be given within set time limits before the wedding, including a minimum period during which it is displayed, so check the current timing with the office before you book flights or a venue.

This is one of the few places where the Hong Kong Government names a notary for someone overseas, and an Australian notary public is the person who does it. A Justice of the Peace is not a notary public, and a JP-witnessed form does not meet the requirement. The notary checks your identity and witnesses your signature on the form; the notary does not decide whether you are free to marry.

The Immigration Department's guidance does not say the notarised notice also needs an apostille. Ask the Marriage Registration and Records Office before you add one. If it wants one, DFAT can apostille the notary's certificate. See document notarisation for the service.

If either of you has been divorced

The guidance asks for proof that the earlier marriage was dissolved by decree of a competent court, and a sealed certified copy of the final decree before the marriage. For a divorce granted outside Hong Kong, it asks for proof of domicile in the country where the divorce took place or, failing that, a declaration of your nationality and residence at the time of the divorce, made before a Registrar or civil celebrant. For an Australian divorce, the document is the court's divorce order, sometimes called the divorce certificate. Ask the office exactly which Australian document it will take as the "sealed certified copy", and whether it wants an apostille on it.

Other Hong Kong uses

Situation	Who decides	What usually works
Buying, selling or mortgaging property	The Hong Kong solicitor	Their draft power of attorney or deed, signed before an Australian notary; apostille if they ask
Opening a bank account, company records	The bank or company secretary	Notarised copies of identity or ASIC documents; follow the written request
Court proceedings or an estate	The Hong Kong court or solicitor	An affidavit sworn in Australia with their jurat wording
Marriage notice	Marriage Registration and Records Office	Notarised notice form; ask about an apostille

• Property. Hong Kong solicitors handle conveyancing, and they will tell you the form they need, including whether a notary must witness your signature and whether the document needs an apostille. Get the draft from them before you book a notary. See power of attorney and legal declarations.
• Banks and companies. Hong Kong banks and company secretaries often ask for notarised copies of identity documents or company records. The request sometimes specifies an apostille and sometimes does not.
• Courts and estates. A Hong Kong court or solicitor may ask for an affidavit or declaration sworn in Australia. Ask them in advance for the jurat wording, the closing statement recording where, when and before whom it was sworn, and whether an apostille is needed.

In each case the receiving party decides. The Hong Kong Government's own guidance, where we found it, asks for a notary and leaves the apostille unmentioned. That is a reason to ask, not a reason to assume either way. The notary's side of Hong Kong documents is covered in notarising Hong Kong documents in Australia.

Coming the other way

A Hong Kong document for use in Australia is apostilled in Hong Kong, by the High Court registry, not by DFAT. For an Australian visa, Home Affairs usually wants a certified copy rather than an apostille, and a Hong Kong document already in English needs no translation. See documents from overseas for use in Australia.

What does not work for Hong Kong

• A Justice of the Peace for the marriage notice. The Immigration Department asks for a notary public.
• Asking the Chinese embassy or a consulate in Australia to legalise a document for Hong Kong. It has no role in this.
• Treating Hong Kong and the mainland as one. Their positions under the Convention have different histories and rules.
• A laminated or ceremonial certificate, if an apostille is wanted. DFAT refuses both.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A couple in Sydney, one a Hong Kong permanent resident who grew up there, want to marry in Hong Kong next year. They write to the Marriage Registration and Records Office for the notice form and information sheet. The partner giving notice signs the form before an Australian notary public, and the office confirms by email that no apostille is needed. They post the notice with copies of their passports, then fly to Hong Kong, attend the office with the originals and make the affidavit before the ceremony.

In short

Hong Kong has been covered by the Apostille Convention since 1965, on our last check, and the Chinese consulate plays no part. Many Hong Kong requests name a notary and not an apostille, so ask before adding one. To marry there from Australia, sign the notice before an Australian notary public. More on the Australian steps is at apostille and authentication.

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Sending documents to Hong Kong? Send us what the Hong Kong office asked for, and we will explain each step before you book.