1. On 8 March 2023, China acceded to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents (hereinafter referred to as the Convention). The Convention shall enter into force between China and Botswana on 7 November 2023. The Convention shall continue to apply to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region.
2. Effective from 7 November 2023, the public documents as referred to in the Convention that are executed in Botswana, and have to be produced in Chinese mainland shall apply for Apostilles by the Ministry of Foreign Affair of Botswana, instead of applying for legalisation by Chinese Embassy in Botswana.
The public documents as referred to in the Convention that are executed in Chinese mainland, and have to be produced in Botswana shall be exempted from legalisation by the Chinese side and Botswana Embassy in China. Instead, Apostilles shall be issued onto the documents. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China is the designated authority to issue Apostilles onto the public documents executed in Chinese mainland. Besides, certain Foreign Affairs Offices entrusted by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of China can also issue Apostilles onto the public documents executed within their own administrative jurisdiction (See Annex 1 for the list). The website https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/ enables online verification of the Apostilles issued in Chinese mainland. For the procedures and requirements for applying for Apostilles in Chinese mainland, please visit http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/ or the official websites of relevant Foreign Affairs Offices.
3. Effective from 7 November 2023, the legalisation business at Chinese Embassy in Botswana will be ceased. For the public documents that are executed in Botswana, and have to be produced in Chinese mainland, please apply for Apostilles from the Ministry of Foreign Affair of Botswana (See Annex 2 for relevant information).
4. According to the Convention, the Apostille issued by a state is to certify the authenticity of the signature, the capacity in which the person signing the document has acted and, where appropriate, the identity of the seal or stamp which it bears. The public documents with Apostilles onto them are not necessarily accepted by the relevant Chinese authorities. Applicants shall check the format, content, time limit, translation and other specific requirements of foreign public documents with the Chinese authority where the documents are to be used before going through the relevant procedures.
Annex 1: List of Foreign Affairs Offices that may Issue Apostilles
List of Foreign Affairs Offices that may Issue Apostilles
(31 in total)
Hebei Province, Shanxi Province, Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, Liaoning Province, Jilin Province, Heilongjiang Province, Shanghai Municipality, Jiangsu Province, Zhejiang Province, Anhui Province, Fujian Province, Jiangxi Province, Shandong Province, Henan Province, Hubei Province, Hunan Province, Guangdong Province, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, Hainan Province, Chongqing Municipality, Sichuan Province, Guizhou Province, Yunnan Province, Shaanxi Province, Gansu Province, Changchun City, Harbin City, Ningbo City, Jinan City, Qingdao City and Shenzhen City
Annex 2: Information on Applying for Apostille in Botswana
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Botswana is responsible for issuing Apostilles onto the public documents executed in Botswana (Tel:3600843, 3600736）.
The Chinese Embassy in Botswana
24th October, 2023