Embassy legalisation in Singapore is the extra step you need when the country receiving your document has not joined the Hague Apostille Convention. The SAL apostille alone is not enough there: the destination's embassy or consulate in Singapore must add its own stamp or sticker to confirm SAL's signature. This page is for Singapore residents, PRs, pass holders and Singapore companies sending documents to those countries.
We handle the whole chain from our office at 7 Temasek Boulevard, Suntec Tower One: notary appointment, SAL submission and the embassy queue. We are a private service provider and are not affiliated with the Singapore Academy of Law. Not sure whether your destination needs an embassy at all? Check the apostille countries list first.
Non-Hague destinations we legalise documents for
A country's position can change, so we check the HCCH status table before every job. As at 29 September 2026, these destinations still need embassy legalisation for Singapore documents:
- Gulf and Middle East: United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt
- South and South-East Asia: Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, and Thailand until 28 February 2027
- Africa: Nigeria, Kenya and several others
- Taiwan, which is not a party to the Convention
Three of these are common enough for Singapore residents to have their own detailed guides: UAE embassy attestation, Malaysia document legalisation and Thai embassy legalisation.
Some countries have recently left this list. The Convention entered into force for China on 7 November 2023, and its embassy in Singapore stopped legalising documents that day. Vietnam followed when the Convention entered into force for it on 11 September 2026, so Singapore papers now go with an SAL apostille only; see our page on apostille for Vietnam. If your country is in the Convention, you need the standard SAL apostille and nothing more. Why three different words for similar stamps? See apostille vs legalisation vs attestation.
The legalisation chain: notary, SAL, then the embassy
Every embassy we deal with in Singapore will only accept a document that SAL has already authenticated. SAL now apostilles every document it authenticates, even for non-Hague destinations, and the embassy then legalises on top of that apostille.
Step 1: notarisation (private documents only)
Powers of attorney, affidavits, statutory declarations, board resolutions, certified passport copies and translations are private documents. A Singapore notary public signs and seals them first. Public documents such as ICA birth certificates, ROM marriage certificates, court orders and NUS or NTU degrees can go straight to SAL. Read more on public vs private documents.
Step 2: SAL apostille
SAL checks the notary's signature (or the issuing official's) against its records and attaches the apostille at 1 Coleman Street, usually in the same visit.
Step 3: embassy or consulate in Singapore
The embassy verifies SAL's seal and adds its own legalisation. Most missions take documents in a morning window and return them on a later afternoon.
Step 4: foreign ministry at home (some countries)
Some countries add a final check back home. The UAE Ministry of Foreign Affairs completes UAE attestation inside the UAE, and Thailand's Department of Consular Affairs in Bangkok legalises translated documents. This step happens in the destination country, so the person or company receiving the document there usually handles it.
A Singapore company director signed a power of attorney appointing a lawyer in Bangkok and assumed the SAL apostille alone would do. Thailand still needs Royal Thai Embassy legalisation until 28 February 2027, so the route is notary, then SAL, then the Royal Thai Embassy in Singapore, before the company sends the document on to Bangkok itself.
Embassies we submit to in Singapore
Each mission sets its own counter hours, fees and document rules. Here is what we could confirm from official sources:
| Mission in Singapore | What it publishes |
|---|---|
| UAE Embassy | No appointment; submissions Mon–Fri 9:00–11:30am; collection 2:00–3:30pm; 0–3 working days; fees paid through MOFA eGate |
| Royal Thai Embassy | Mon–Thu 9:30–11:30am; collection 2:00–3:00pm; 3–5 working days; SGD 30 per document, cash only |
| Qatar Embassy | Lists attestation of civil, personal, judicial, educational, medical and other documents; hours and fees by enquiry |
| Malaysian High Commission | Document attestation through an online appointment system introduced in 2024 |
For Kuwait, Egypt, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Cambodia and the Taipei Representative Office, requirements are not published in detail online. Before we accept a job, we contact the mission to confirm its current fee, window and paperwork, then tell you in writing. Where a destination has no mission in Singapore, legalisation may have to go through a mission in another country; we will tell you if that applies and whether we can help.
How long embassy legalisation takes
Plan your timeline around the slowest step, which is almost always the embassy:
- 1Notary: same day, once the document is ready and the signer attends.
- 2SAL: usually over the counter in one visit on a working day.
- 3Embassy: from 0–3 working days at the UAE Embassy to 3–5 working days at the Royal Thai Embassy. Public holidays of both Singapore and the destination country close the counter.
- 4Home ministry step: handled in the destination country and not included in Singapore timings.
In practice, the notary and SAL stages take 1–2 working days with us, and the embassy step adds 3–7 working days, depending on the embassy. Company bundles of 30 pages or more, or documents needing a translation first, take longer. If you have a hard deadline, tell us on day one; our same-day apostille service covers SAL but cannot speed up an embassy.
Translations required by embassies
Most embassies in Singapore accept English documents. The translation question usually comes up in the destination country:
- UAE: many authorities ask for an Arabic translation of company and legal documents.
- Thailand: Thai authorities generally want a Thai translation, which the Royal Thai Embassy can verify or which is certified in Bangkok.
- Qatar and Kuwait: Arabic translations are commonly requested for court and company use.
- Documents not in English: SAL rejects non-English documents that are not bilingual with English, so a foreign-language document needs a notarised English translation before it can enter the chain.
When a translation is part of the job, we have it proof-read against the passport spelling of every name before the notary signs. A wrong surname on a legalised translation means starting the chain again. Check with the receiving authority whether it wants the translation done in Singapore and legalised, or done locally on arrival.
Ready when you are
Get your documents embassy-legalised in Singapore
Share a scan of each page, tell us which country and which office requested it, and we will map out the chain. We then confirm whether a notary is needed, the embassy's current fee and your all-in price before any work starts.
- Photos or scans of each document (every page)
- Destination country and receiving authority
- Your deadline and a Singapore delivery address
The apostille countries list shows whether your destination is a Hague country, our apostille price page lists SAL-stage costs, and you can contact us on WhatsApp at +65 3129 4104. Our embassy handling starts from SGD 69 per document, plus the embassy fee.
Last verified 29 September 2026. We are a private service provider and are not affiliated with the Singapore Academy of Law.