On 07 November 2023, the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (Apostille Convention) takes effect in China. As a result, once a document is apostilled by the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA), there is no longer a need for legalization by the relevant foreign embassy or consulate if the destination of the apostilled documents is also a State Party to the Apostille Convention, such as China. This also means that a document that has already been apostilled by the Chinese Foreign Affairs Office (FAO) does not need to undergo further authentication or legalization by the Philippine Embassy or Consulate to be used in the Philippines.

For documents originating from the Philippines, only the DFA can perform the apostille. For more details about the apostille procedures, visit https://www.apostille.gov.ph/.

Likewise, documents issued in China that are to be used in the Philippines must go through a Chinese Notary Public for notarization and then to the Chinese Foreign Affairs Office for apostille.