1. On March 8, 2023, China officially submitted documentation to accede to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. Whereas Estonia is already the Contracting Party to it, the Convention will officially go into effect between China and Estonia from November 7, 2023. The status of the Convention being already applied to the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the Macao Special Administrative Region of China will continue.

2. Starting from November 7, 2023, public documents within the scope of the Convention issued by Estonia can be used in China mainland after Estonian Apostilles application. Consular legalisations by Estonia and China Embassy in Estonia are not required. For procedures and requirements for Apostilles application, please contact the Estonian competent authority.

Starting from November 7, 2023, public documents within the scope of the Convention issued by China can be used in Estonia after Chinese Apostilles application. Consular legalisations by China and Estonia Embassy in China are not required. Procedures and requirements for Apostilles application can be found at http://cs.mfa.gov.cn/, Apostilles can be verified online at https://consular.mfa.gov.cn/VERIFY/.

3. The Convention stipulates that Apostilles issued by a country are used to prove the authenticity of the signatures on public documents, the identity of the signatory of the public documents at the time of signing, and to confirm the authenticity of the seal on public documents. It is recommended to confirm the specific requirements for format, content, time limit, translation, etc. of public documents before going through the relevant procedures.