Indians travelling abroad, searching for greener pastures has become so common these days that there were over 17.5 million Indians living in foreign nations in the year 2019. Be it travel for work, studies, residence or whatever reason, this number is set to climb even higher. One process that makes this possible is MEA attestation. This is a mandatory step in the legalization of your personal, educational, or even commercial documents that are required while travelling abroad.
What is MEA?
The MEA stands for the Ministry of External Affairs. It is the central government organization for all the foreign affairs of India. They are responsible for all of India’s international affairs including the representation at the United Nations. As a result, in order to legalize a document to be used in foreign nationals, it is necessary for it to possess an MEA stamp.
What is MEA attestation?
When you apply for a study visa, work visa, or even a resident visa, you are required to provide a number of official documents. These documents are classified as personal documents, educational documents, and commercial documents. Now, since these documents are issued by a number of different organizations, it is necessary to validate their authenticity when they have to be used abroad. This is where attestation comes to help. Since the MEA is the Indian authority that deals with India’s foreign affairs, they have the power to legalize the documents. This process is known as the Ministry of External Affairs attestation.
MEA Attestation Procedure
The process of obtaining an MEA attestation is a long and complex process. In a nutshell, the legalization has to be done at 3 different levels, namely -
- Regional level - In this, the certificates are authenticated regionally by a notary, university/board, or a chamber of commerce, as per the type of the document. This is the first stage in the process.
Educational Documents
The process of getting an MEA stamp on educational documents such as a degree certificate attestation, transcripts, etc will depend on the place of issuance of the document.
This is explained as follows -
- For documents outside Maharashtra
Here, the first level of authentication at the regional level is done by a notary. After this, the document must be verified by the Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM). Once this is done, it is then stamped by the MEA.
Where to get an MEA Attestation?
Though the final stamp or sticker is done by the MEA, there are a few other levels of authentication required for the process. As a result, it can be a painstaking effort to individually visit the different departments involved in the hierarchy. Read More...….
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