Apostille or Embassy Legalisation: What Pakistan Requires

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026. Country requirements change. This page is re-checked periodically, and nothing on it replaces confirming the position with the Pakistani body that will receive your document.

Pakistan changed recently. For years, Australian documents for Pakistan went through DFAT authentication and then attestation by a Pakistani mission in Australia. Pakistan has since joined the Apostille Convention, and between Australia and Pakistan an apostille should now be enough for documents within its scope. But the old route has not vanished: the Pakistani consulate in Sydney still publishes a counter-attestation service for Australian documents, and some Pakistani bodies still ask for it. Knowing both saves you from paying twice.

Check the current position before acting on this or any other page. Convention membership is a live fact. Confirm Pakistan's status against the HCCH status table for the Apostille Convention on the day you start.

What the HCCH records show

The HCCH status table lists Pakistan's accession, with the Convention entering into force for Pakistan on 9 March 2023. Two details on the record matter:

• Some countries objected. Under the Convention, a country can object to a new member's accession, and the Convention then does not operate between the two. Several European countries, including Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Finland, Poland, Denmark, Greece and the Czech Republic, objected to Pakistan's accession. Australia is not among the objectors listed. So between Australia and Pakistan, the apostille route applies. That is also why advice written for Germany or the Netherlands, where the old route still applies to Pakistani documents, does not carry over to Australia.
• Pakistan said it would honour apostilles from the start. In a notification recorded by the HCCH in March 2023, Pakistan said it was still setting up its own apostille issuing process but that its authorities would honour apostilles issued by other contracting states from 9 March 2023.

The usual chain now

1. Notarise in Australia, if the document is a private one (a power of attorney, an affidavit, a notarised copy)
2. DFAT apostille
3. Urdu translation, only if the receiving body asks for one

Australian public documents such as birth and marriage certificates and university degrees may be able to go to DFAT directly without a notary. Confirm with DFAT.

If a Pakistani body still asks for consulate attestation

The Consulate-General of Pakistan in Sydney publishes an attestation service for Australian public documents such as birth certificates, marriage certificates and degrees. It says prior attestation by DFAT is mandatory, and it will not counter-attest an Australian document that DFAT has not dealt with first.

If a Pakistani university, employer, registry or court tells you it wants the consulate's attestation as well as, or instead of, an apostille:

• Ask for it in writing, naming the certificate it wants from DFAT.
• Ask the consulate whether it will counter-attest an apostille or needs a DFAT authentication instead. Its page refers to DFAT "attestation" without saying which.
• Get it right first time. Getting the wrong DFAT certificate means going back to DFAT.

Powers of attorney: the consulate route for Pakistani nationals

For Pakistani citizens and holders of a NICOP or Pakistan Origin Card, the consulate handles powers of attorney, affidavits and authority letters itself. Its guidance says:

• Personal appearance is mandatory. These are the documents it says it will not take by post.
• Bring your Pakistani identity document, a CNIC, NICOP, POC or Pakistani passport.
• Bring the text printed but unsigned. You sign in front of the consular officer.

For property, inheritance or family matters in Pakistan, ask your lawyer there whether a consular power of attorney or an Australian notarised one with a DFAT apostille is what the Pakistani registry, bank or court will accept. The consular route may be what the Pakistani side expects.

Documents the consulate will not attest

The consulate lists documents it will not attest. The list includes identity cards and their translations, papers for the registry and sale or purchase of land, wills disposing of property, IELTS and other international certificates, applications of all kinds and reference letters. If your document is on that list, ask the Pakistani receiving body what it will accept instead.

For divorce, it says Pakistani divorce certificates are issued by the chairman of the arbitration council or secretary of the union council, and that the spouses attest divorce papers themselves. Someone living abroad may authorise a relative or friend in Pakistan by a power of attorney signed before an officer at a Pakistani embassy or consulate.

Pakistani documents for use in Australia

For the reverse direction, the consulate says a Pakistani public document must first be attested by Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Islamabad or at one of its camp offices. An Australian notary cannot vouch for a Pakistani registry's document. For Australian immigration, check first whether a certified copy and a NAATI translation are all the Department of Home Affairs needs.

Frequently asked questions

Does my apostilled document also need the Pakistan High Commission? It should not for a document within the Convention's scope, but some Pakistani bodies still ask. Get their requirement in writing.

Can I post my power of attorney to the consulate? No. The consulate says powers of attorney, affidavits and authority letters need personal appearance.

How long does it take? It depends on DFAT processing and, where it applies, the consulate. Do not plan to a figure quoted on a blog, including this one.