Did you know Guyana is the only South American country that uses English as an official language? That fun fact comes in handy for travelers from the United States. After all, you don’t have to translate your documents because you can still use them as is in Guyana. However, you must authenticate your documents by getting a Guyana apostille. We explain the apostille process, what you need to apostille, and how to go about it in three simple steps.
Commonly Apostilled Documents for Travel to Guyana
What do people apostille, and why do they apostille their documents? Before we can get to what you can apostille, let us look at why the apostille exists. And we will do this by using an illustration.
Assume you want to get married in Guyana. You get there, and you claim that you are a single person. And in doing so, you present a divorce decree or a single status affidavit. The officials receiving your documents will either have to trust you or disregard the documents. After all, they must determine whether the signatures, stamps and seals are authentic or fabricated.
This challenge has existed ever since international trade started. So, countries addressed it by using authentication and legalization procedures. Documents originating from a country would first get certified by competent authorities in that country. Then they would be legalized by the embassy of the foreign country the traveler wished to visit. The document would then get a legalization stamp that would be valid in the following country, allowing the traveler to use that document for foreign transactions. As you can see, the processes were tedious.
In 1961 during the Hague Convention, countries resolved to abolish the legalization procedures and replace them with an apostille. An apostille is a certification in the form of a document that validates the signatures, stamps and seals on an official document. Besides these, it also serves the following purposes:
- It shows the country of origin of the document,
- It shows who signed the documents.
- It explains the authority of the person who signed the document, and
- It shows when and where you got an apostille.
So, even where language is a barrier, authorities can trace the origin and integrity of a document. And that brings us to what you can authenticate. The following official documents are eligible for a Guyana apostille:
- Documents issued by the state: State-issued documents like birth certificates and death certificates can get a Guyana apostille. To qualify for an apostille, they should have raised or stamped seals from the Department of vital records or the courts.
- Documents issued by the Federal Government: Such documents must be on agency letterhead and must have been executed by a US federal Agency. An example would be a trademark.
- Documents issued by institutions recognized by the U.S. government: Examples of such documents are articles of incorporation, school transcripts, and diplomas. These documents must get certified before they are presented for apostille processes.
While most documents are eligible for a Guyana apostille, competent authorities will not issue one for documents with misleading or legal information. You can always consult our team if you need clarification on what you can apostille.
How to Get an Apostille for Your U.S. Documents for Travel to Guyana
The apostille process requires you to follow the following steps in order:
- Choosing the right competent authority: You can get a Guyana apostille from the Secretary of State or the U.S. Department of State. Your eligibility depends on who issued the document. If your document is state-issued, you will get an apostille from the Secretary of State or an authority given the mandate to issue an apostille from the Secretary of State. Kindly note that you can only apostille a document in the state where it was issued. So, if your birth certificate is from New York, you cannot get an apostille from California. The U.S. Department of State handles apostilles for documents that were issued by the Federal Government. It cannot apostille a document issued by the state. If you send your document for an apostille to the wrong competent authority, the process will not go through, and you will have to start again and pay the application cost again.
- Getting your documents notarized: The U.S. Department of State and the Secretary of State will only apostille documents with correct notarization. Lack of notarization also disqualifies your request.
- Having your documents certified: Only true certified copies are eligible for an apostille process. Certification of state-issued documents can take place before a notary public. But the certification of federal and court documents should only take place at the Secretary of State.
- Submitting your documents: You can present your documents for a Guyana apostille to the competent authority via mail or in person.
The Guyana apostille process takes about five weeks to complete. But it can take longer when there are many applications.
Travel to Guyana with Confidence – Apostille Your Crucial Documents
Travel Visa Pro offers Guyana apostille services across 50 states. And you can count on us for the following perks:
- Professionalism: Apostille processes are complex and slight errors can result in the disqualification of a request. As a result, hiring professionals to handle the process takes the bulk of the work out of your hands and eliminates the chance of errors.
- Speed: We offer rush and standard processing periods, which only take days to complete.
- Simplicity: The Guyana apostille process involves several complexities that can hamper or delay your travel plans. We solve this by presenting you with a 3-step solution as follows:
- You submit your order and let us know the documents type you want to apostille and where you will use it,
- Our team will review the order and get back to you on where to send your documents, and
- You will receive a Guyana apostille at your preferred address within days of making the order.
And just like that, you will have what you need to engage in official transactions in Guyana.