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The Embassy is open on appointment only. Please send an email to kigali@diplobel.fed.be:
- explaining the reason for your request;
- together with a copy of the document(s) to be legalized.
Please also fill in here-attached document and bring it to your appointment.
eLegalisation
Since 2 November 2020, the Belgian Embassy in Kigali uses eLegalization.
This means that Rwandan documents intended for Belgium will be legalized electronically, there will be no more stickers on paper documents.
Each applicant will receive an email and a receipt with the link to the legalized document. In the email and on the receipt will be mentioned a file number and a date of issue (known as the "closing date").
The electronic legalization can be viewed and downloaded via the website LegalWeb using the file number AND the date of issue (closing date on the receipt).
The original document and a copy of the receipt will have to be sent to the authority requesting the legalization.
General information
A document that is official and legal in one country is not necessarily official and legal in another. Many documents must therefore be legalised if you wish to use them abroad.
The legalisation process involves checking the origin of the relevant document. Legalisation is official confirmation that the signature of the civil servant that has signed a document, or the seal or stamp on the document, is legitimate.
It is not only the signature of the person that has issued the document that is legalised, the process can also legalise the signature of the legalising registrar. Every signature, every seal and every stamp will be legalised by the person authorised to do so and who is familiar with each signature, seal or stamp. This explains why various legalisations are sometimes required, in a specific order.
A country may have signed up to a legalisation treaty that encompasses agreements about how countries accept one another's official documents. Many countries have signed up to the "Apostille Convention" of The Hague of 5 October 1961. With this, just 1 legalisation is required via an apostille stamp.
Questions and answers about the legalisation of documents
For legalisation from abroad, you can also consult the website of our representation in the country concerned, i.e. Belgian embassies and consulates.
To further refine your question, you can also use the Search criteria.
