This service facilitates legalizing foreign documents from abroad to be used in Rwanda. To initiate this process, applicants must first secure legalization from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in their respective country of residence. It's important to note that this service specifically caters to documents from countries not signatories to the Apostille Convention. For documents originating from countries that are signatories to the Apostille Convention, applicants are advised to obtain Apostille certification from the competent authorities in their respective countries. Here is a brief overview of how an agent can assist a user in applying for the legalization of public documents from abroad to be used in Rwanda. This service is provided by The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation (MINAFFET).
The processing time is 3 days, and the service fee is 15 USD.
Find the list of Apostille countries Here.
Prerequisites:
Rwandan applicants must have national IDs, and foreigners must have passport numbers
Foreigners residing in Rwanda must have foreign IDs
Refugees must have Refugee IDs
Applicants have to notarize the documents before applying for legalization.
Conditional attachments depend on the type of legalization document.
Follow these simple steps to help an applicant apply for this service.
Visit the Irembo platform at www.irembo.gov.rw and login into your agent account.
A small window will pop up. Fill in both your phone number and your password, then click login.
Click the "new application" icon to start a new application.
Under Foreign Affairs and Consular Services, click on “Legalization of public documents from abroad to be used in Rwanda".
Read the service description carefully and the required attachments before clicking Apply.
Fill in the applicant’s information, “ applicant’s details,” and “residence details,” then select the type of documents to be legalized. Specify the notary at which the documents were notarized and select the country where the documents will be used.
Note: The agent must select the notary office that has notarized the documents to be legalized.
Upload the requested supporting documents and click next.
Required attachments when the documents to be legalized are the Civil Registry Documents:
Required attachments when the documents to be legalized are Academic Documents
Required attachments when the documents to be legalized are Judicial Documents
Required attachments when the documents are to be legalized are Notarial acts Documents.
Applicants can choose their preferred mode of payment. For more information about payment modes, click here.
Upon submission, the user’s application will be processed by the selected Embassy offices and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Rwanda. They will receive an email or SMS notifying them about any change in the status of their application.
Once the processing officers approve the user’s application, they will receive their e-certificate containing a QR code via email or download it on the IremboGov platform. This QR code will have the legalized documents embedded in it.