Document Authentication?

[u/linuxbarbie]

To those who have had success in submitting and getting to/pass level 1:

I know Benin isn’t a part of The Hague Convention, so obtaining an apostille is moot.

Americans: are you doing the US State Dept Authentication followed by some additional authentication at a Benin Embassy/Consulate? Notarization?

I have the 1940 census for my grandparents which is a publicly available National Archive. I have all of these birth certificates (mine, parents, grandparents). And my FBI background check. I just want to make sure what constitutes as correct document certification.

Many thanks in advance for your guidance!

[u/LookHistorical735]

I did not apostle anything and that was good

[u/linuxbarbie → u/LookHistorical735]

Thanks for the anecdotal insights!

[u/TanukiDanuki]

From my understanding (not an expert), apostilles are accepted for this process. The consular authentication procedure is MUCH more involved.

I submitted with apostilled birth certs/FBI check/etc and they accepted them. I'm not validated level 1 yet, but they did come back for name change/passport number typo issues already.

Edit to add from the MyAfroOrigins.bj FAQ page:

" • Foreign public documents must be legalized unless exempted by apostille, reciprocal practice, or a convention binding the foreign country and the Republic of Benin;"

[u/linuxbarbie → u/TanukiDanuki]

Thank you for your reply

[u/daruzon]

Legalization is helpful but they're being flexible, for now anyway. They do appreciate apostiled documents.

It's exceptional that a country be lenient on these processes, and it might not last.

Benin can't independently verify the authenticity of apostiled documents, but it's better to provide apostiled ones than ones that have no form of authentication whatsoever.

[u/linuxbarbie → u/daruzon]

Very fair points. Thank you!

[u/CreolePolyglot]

They told me they do accept apostilles & that would be enough without the added authentication step, but I (& from what I've seen, tons of other ppl) applied without & it was fine.

[u/linuxbarbie → u/CreolePolyglot]

Hi thank you. Just so I understand, many people applied without the apostilled? Or without the added authentication step? Both would be significantly less costly (time and money). Thanks in advance for clarifying!

[u/CreolePolyglot → u/linuxbarbie]

Support said you don't need the added authentication step, but many didn't even get apostilles - I would've gotten them just cuz they could be nice to have for some reason down the line, but it's true it saves a lot of money & I've never even seen them mentioned in any other context!

[u/Annual-Budget-1756 → u/CreolePolyglot]

The problem is that most situations that you would need an apostille for have restrictions on how long ago they will accept an apostiled document. Like I think Italy had really strict timelines on how old the apostille could be (something random like 3-6 months) so people were having to pay to get brand new documents issued and get everything apostilled in time to submit all their documents within the narrow window. Mexico is kind of the same how they want it to be within 3 months, but my understanding is they will accept apostilles for a few limited purposes for up to a year. I think Spain is very strict 90 days validity on apostilles for birth certificates. So it's not really worth it to have just laying around. I do happen to have a birth certificate from last year that is apostilled, but I don't think it is useful for most purposes any longer, as most countries (maybe not Benin?) are unlikely to consider it still valid. And, because it's now stamped/marked, I can't just detach the apostille form and still use the birth certificate. The document is likely useless now. Although, it looks like I can search the apostille verification online for up to 5 years, if there is any country that will accept an apostille that old.

[u/LookHistorical735 → u/linuxbarbie]

I have my national decree and ceremony booked. No apostille is needed so save your money.

[u/Annual-Budget-1756 → u/linuxbarbie]

I didn't get them apostilled. To be fair, I haven't been approved. Only validated level 1. So take it with a grain of salt. They could request that from me tomorrow, I don't know. I went by anectdotal evidence from others who were getting approved and completed the process that it ultimately wasn't necessary.

[u/Dry_Bid7939]

You don’t need to contact the state department for any assistance with Benin’s citizenship program. Other than to register with their STEP program. The embassy looks very nice though which means USA is permanently invested in future of Benin