Notarial and documentary services in Hong Kong and Macao

Overview

The British Consulate General in Hong Kong provides a limited range of notarial and documentary services for British nationals in Hong Kong and Macao.

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YouFor notarial acts in Hong Kong, you must make an appointment for each service and your personal attendance is required. UsePlease use the links after each service to make an appointment. When you make an appointment, we will ask you to provide proof that this service must be provided by the British Consulate (for example a formal requirement from the authorities of a 3rd country or a UK court requirement). If you cannot provide such evidence, you should use a local notary or lawyer.

It is essential that you check with the authority who is requesting the notarial document that a document from us will be accepted by them. Where you need a document for a country other than the United Kingdom or China, you must give us satisfactory evidence that the notarial document will be recognised by the jurisdiction of that country. Only the relevant authority can tell you which service you will require. This information cannot be verified by the British Consulate General. We will not give you a refund if your certificates or notarial services are not accepted by the requesting authority.

For notarial acts in Macao, you do not need to make an appointment. See Services we provide in Macao.

Services we cannot provide at the British Consulate

We are not able to authenticate, notarise, verify or legalise any document. This includes UK birth, marriage and death certificates (these can be obtained from the relevant General Register Office in the UK) and UK education certificates. You can find information here on how to get a UK document legalised abroad; and see Information Note: Dual Nationality (PDF, 63 KB, 1 page) on how to get a UK document authenticated for the purposes of obtaining a Chinese visa and Foreign Expert Certificate.

We cannot provide certified copies of documents for use in relation to banking in the UK or in relation to mortgages in the UK. In these cases, you should use a local notary or lawyer.

Please note that, under Hong Kong Law (Section 10 of the Consular Relations Ordinance), consular staff in Hong Kong are not permitted to undertake notarial acts for use in Hong Kong.

The British Consulate Hong Kong cannot issue letters confirming the validity of a foreign marriage in the United Kingdom. You can download a free copy of an Information Note below which may serve in place of such a letter.

If you can’t find the service you are looking for on this page, please see other services provided by the British Consulate General in Hong Kong.

What to bring to your appointment

See the individual services below for details of any additional supporting documents you need to present. For all appointments for notarial services you will need to bring:

• acceptable proof of your identity. We accept a valid British passport as proof of identity

• proof of address. We accept utility bills, bank statements, rental contracts or tax bills as proof of your address

• proof that there is a specific requirement for this service to be provided by the British Consulate General (for example a formal requirement from the authorities of a 3rd country or a UK court requirement)

Payment

We accept payment by Visa or MasterCard. See the full list of consular fees.

Services we provide in Hong Kong and Macao

For information about documents relating to marriage, such as a certificate of no impediment (CNI) and affirmations or affidavits of marital status, please see getting married abroad.

Administer an oath, affirmation or affidavit

This service is for people who need to swear an oath, make an affirmation or make an affidavit in front of a consular officer.

The Consulateconsulate will not draft documents for you. CheckFirst firstcheck with the Consulateconsulate what format isthey requiredneed beforeand then have the document is drawn up or checked by a professional.

WeOnce you have booked an appointment, a consular officer will contact you to request a copy of your documentdocument, inso orderthat towe can confirm that this service can be provided to you.

What you will need to bring with you:

• the oath, affirmation or affidavit that you will swear or affirm

• evidence of the contents mentioned in the oath, affirmation or affidavit

• the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options

• proof of identity/address – see what we will accept as proof

• proof that there is a specific requirement for this service to be provided by the British Consulate General (for example a formal requirement from the authorities of a 3rd country or a UK court requirement). If you cannot provide such evidence, you should use a local notary or lawyer

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Make a certified copy of a document

This service is for customers who need certified photocopies of their valid British passportspassports, Home Office registration/naturalisation certificates and British driving licences.

We arecannot unable to provide certified true copies of passports for use in relation to banking or mortgages in the UK. In these cases, you should use a local notary or lawyer.

We are unable to provide certified photocopies of any other documents,documents. including those issued by Hong Kong authorities, e.g. local birth, marriage or death certificates. This also includes:

• UK birth, adoption, death, marriage orand civildeath partnershipcertificates: certificate,these which can be obtained from the General Register Office in the UK

• UK educational certificates: Thesee onlyInformation authorityNote: permittedDual toNationality provide(PDF, this63 serviceKB, is1 the Legalisation Office in the UKpage)

WePlease note that we do not verify the authenticity of documents. We only provide a photocopy of the original document and state that this is a copy of an original document which was presented to us.

The certified copy of a British passport we provide does not verify your identity or nationality. If you require such a document, you should contact a lawyer or notary public in the UK.

ThePlease note that, as the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency no longer issues paper counterparts to driving licences, as a result staff in Hong Kong cannot make certified copies of paper counterpart licences. The only exception to this is where your licence was issued before 1998, meaning you only hold a paper driving licence.

What you will need to bring with you:

• the document to be copied

• proof of identity/address – see what we will accept as proof

• the correct fee – see the list of fees and payment options

• proof that there is a specific requirement for this service to be provided by the British Consulate General (for example a formal requirement from the authorities of a 3rd country or a UK court requirement). If you cannot provide such evidence, you should use a local notary or lawyer

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Legalisation of UK documents

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Legalisation of foreign documents

The British Consulate Hong Kong is unable to legalise foreign documents because the UK does not require foreign documents to be legalised for use in the UK. If the document is to be used in another country, you should contact the legalisation authorities of the country where the document will be used for advice.

Passport numbers change upon renewal or name change

The British Consulate Hong Kong cannot issue letters confirming the change of passport numbers upon renewal or name change. This is because we are not the passport issuing authority. You can download a free copy of an Information Note here which may serve in place of such a letter.

If you need a letter providing details of multiple passports belonging to you, you can request information under the Freedom of Information Act by submitting a Subject Access Request to HM Passport Office, asking for confirmation that you were the holder of your previous passport(s). Please visit HM Passport Office for further information and contact details. The British Consulate in Hong Kong cannot answer any queries on this subject or the application process.

Life certificates to claim State Pension abroad

The British Consulate Hong Kong cannot witness signatures on your life certificate if you are claiming a British pension abroad, including those required by the Department of Work and Pensions. Please refer to the list of professionalspeople whoworking canin witness a liferecognised certificateprofession.They dowho notcan needwitness toyour livelife in the UK, or have a British passport.certificate.

Nationality:

Nationality confirmation– Confirmation of British Nationality and Dual Nationality

Please note the Consulateconsulate can no longer issue letters confirming British nationality. Instead you can download a free copy of an Information Note: Nationality - Confirmation of British Nationality (PDF, 147 KB, 1 page) which may serve in place of the letter. Alternatively, you can submit an application to the Home Office for confirmation of your British nationality status.

For letterletters related to dual nationality, you can download a free copy of an Information Note – Dual Nationality.

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Recognition or validity of marriage

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Data protection

The Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office holds and uses data for purposes notified to the Information Commissioner under the Data Protection Act 1998. Such personal data may be disclosed to other UK government departments and public authorities.

Disclaimer

This information is provided as a general guide and is based upon information provided to the embassy / consulate by the relevant authorities and may be subject to change at any time with little or no notice. Accordingly the FCDO and the British embassy / consulate will not be liable for any inaccuracies in this information. For all notarial and legalisation services it is the responsibility of the customer to ascertain the precise requirements of the person requesting the notarial or legalisation service and to satisfy themselves that the service provided by the embassy/consulate will be accepted.