I had not considered getting critical family documents Apostilled in advance. Nor had I considered getting financial docs Apostilled for KYC. I'll check in to how long these are likely to be usable (how often must I do this again). A lot of these docs also would need to be translated, but I take it that could be done "in country" in the new location.
It's not widely known, but the USA will issue a second passport to people who need a spare due to "frequent" visa applications to countries where you must submit your passport for days to months, and still need to travel.
The apostille never expires, and parties to the convention will accept it forever as a certification of the authenticity of the signature and seal being certified.
The underlying document may, of course, lose its significance, depending on the policies of the receiving authorities. Something like a criminal record or police certificate inherently has a shelf life because the subject might have committed a crime later.
For a birth certificate, some countries, such as the US, actually prefer older documents, because they’re seen as more authentic evidence of the original facts and less likely to have had suspect corrections made later. Other countries, such as Italy, prefer more recent documents, and for some transactions require a birth certificate issued within the last 6 months. These countries are more worried that an older document is missing corrections due to facts only recently obtained by the authorities, for example if a legal parent was changed due to a court decision.
For something like a certified copy of a historical tax return, I suspect it again depends on the bureaucratic traditions of the country in question. The US would probably prefer an older copy, while other countries might prefer a newer copy in case the tax return has been amended.
I had not considered getting critical family documents Apostilled in advance. Nor had I considered getting financial docs Apostilled for KYC. I'll check in to how long these are likely to be usable (how often must I do this again). A lot of these docs also would need to be translated, but I take it that could be done "in country" in the new location.
It's not widely known, but the USA will issue a second passport to people who need a spare due to "frequent" visa applications to countries where you must submit your passport for days to months, and still need to travel.
Thanks for the ideas.
The apostille never expires, and parties to the convention will accept it forever as a certification of the authenticity of the signature and seal being certified.
The underlying document may, of course, lose its significance, depending on the policies of the receiving authorities. Something like a criminal record or police certificate inherently has a shelf life because the subject might have committed a crime later.
For a birth certificate, some countries, such as the US, actually prefer older documents, because they’re seen as more authentic evidence of the original facts and less likely to have had suspect corrections made later. Other countries, such as Italy, prefer more recent documents, and for some transactions require a birth certificate issued within the last 6 months. These countries are more worried that an older document is missing corrections due to facts only recently obtained by the authorities, for example if a legal parent was changed due to a court decision.
For something like a certified copy of a historical tax return, I suspect it again depends on the bureaucratic traditions of the country in question. The US would probably prefer an older copy, while other countries might prefer a newer copy in case the tax return has been amended.