Apostille for Georgia residence permit applications

What it is

A certificate attached to a public document by the authority of the issuing country, confirming the signature and seal on it are genuine. Georgia accepts apostilled documents under the Hague Convention. Documents from countries outside the convention go through full consular legalisation instead, which is slower.

Apostille for Georgia residence permit files: which documents

Birth certificates, marriage certificates, police clearance, diplomas, company registry extracts: anything issued by a foreign authority that your permit ground relies on. Documents issued inside Georgia need nothing of the kind.

The ordering mistake

Translate after apostilling, never before. The apostille is part of the document, so a translation made before it does not cover it, and the counter sends you back. People lose a fortnight to this reliably.

Timing

Apostille turnaround is weeks in some countries and days in others, and it is entirely outside Georgian control. Order the apostille first, book the flight second. If a police certificate has to be fresh when you file, work backwards from that date rather than from your arrival.

One thing worth checking

Whether the document needs to be a recent original. An apostille does not expire, but a civil-status extract from four years ago may be refused on its own age, and apostilling an old document does not make it current.