Apostille Countries List — Where a Singapore Apostille Is Accepted

Countries that accept the Singapore apostille

For these Convention members, SAL's apostille is the complete authentication. "In force" is the date the Convention took effect for that country.

Singapore itself has been a member since 16 September 2021. Country-specific requirements are on our pages for China, India, South Korea, Spain and Vietnam.

Countries that still need embassy legalisation

These destinations are not parties to the Convention. SAL still attaches its apostille, but the destination's embassy, high commission or representative office in Singapore must then legalise the document, sometimes followed by the foreign ministry in that country.

• Gulf and Middle East: United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Egypt, Jordan, Iraq
• South and Southeast Asia: Malaysia, Thailand (until 28 Feb 2027), Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Sri Lanka, Nepal
• East Asia: Taiwan
• Africa: Nigeria, Kenya

This list covers the non-member destinations Singapore residents most often deal with; it is not exhaustive. For the practical chain, see embassy legalisation, UAE embassy attestation and Malaysia document legalisation.

Recent and upcoming Convention members

Asia has seen several of the most recent accessions, alongside a group of African states, which is why older lists online are often wrong.

Until 28 February 2027, Singapore documents for Thailand still need Royal Thai Embassy legalisation after SAL; see apostille for Thailand. The six-month window in which existing members may object to Thailand's accession is still open, so check the status table again before February 2027. If you are close to a changeover date, ask the receiving office which format it will accept on the day you submit.

Special cases: objections and territories

Objections. When a country accedes, existing members have a window to object. An objection means the Convention does not apply between the objecting state and the new member, so legalisation continues between that pair. Germany, Austria and Czechia objected to Vietnam's accession. Singapore has not been recorded as objecting to Vietnam, so a Singapore apostille works for Vietnam. Several accessions, including India, China and the Philippines, carry objections from other states; these rarely affect Singapore documents, but if your document will pass through a third country, check.

Hong Kong and Macao. Both are covered through China. The Convention already applied to them before 2023, and China has confirmed it continues to apply, so a Singapore apostille is accepted in Hong Kong and Macao.

Overseas territories. The UK, the Netherlands and Denmark have extended the Convention to some of their territories; the HCCH table lists each extension.

Taiwan. Taiwan is not a party. The Singapore Trade Office in Taipei sets out four steps: check whether a Traditional Chinese translation is needed, notarise the document (and any translation) with a Singapore notary public, authenticate it at SAL, then have it certified by the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore.

How we keep this country list up to date

We check this page against the HCCH status table whenever an accession or entry into force is announced, and on a regular review every month. Each check is recorded in the "Last verified" date below. If the HCCH table and this page ever disagree, the HCCH table is correct. We are a private service provider and are not affiliated with the Singapore Academy of Law or the HCCH.