Legalizations and translations
Lebanon is not a party to the 5 October 1961 Hague Convention on the abolition of the requirement of legalization for foreign public documents. Therefore, public documents issued by Lebanese Authorities that must be presented to the Italian Public Administration must be legalized and translated into Italian.
- Procedure for requesting the legalization of documents at the Consular Office of the Italian Embassy in Beirut.
The original document issued in Lebanon must be legalized by the competent Lebanese Authority, then by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then translated by an official translator from the list of sworn translators.
The document will then be finalized by the Consular Office of the Italian Embassy in Beirut.
An alternative procedure is also provided for the translation phase of the document. In this case, the original document can be translated by any sworn translator, the translator’s signature legalized by a notary, then by the Ministry of Justice, and finally by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The document can then be submitted for final legalization at the Consular Office.
Please note that the Consular Office only legalizes the signature of the competent Lebanese official; the legalization does not imply any responsibility on the part of the Consular Office regarding the content of the legalized document.
- Book the consular service
In order to book an appointment at the consular office, the applicant must use the dedicated ” Prenot@mi”” booking system and choose the legalization service, as well as the available day and time from the calendar.
Appointments in the system must be made solely by the interested party (see the Terms and Conditions on the website).
In case of temporary unavailability of appointments, it is recommended to wait for the automatic, progressive opening of additional dates on the calendar dedicated to the requested consular service and to check it periodically in case of any cancellations.
- Submission of Documentation
The holder of the documents issued by the Lebanese Authorities must submit the following documents:
- A request form duly completed by the applicant (richiesta_legalizzazione_doc);
- The original document already legalized by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs and translated by a sworn translator;
- A valid identity document (plus a residence permit in case of Lebanese citizenship only – where applicable);
- The required payment for consular fees according to the applicable rate (Consular Services Tariff)
- Proxy to a Third Person
the holder of the Lebanese documents is unable to appear in person, they may delegate a third person to act on their behalf.
To do so, the delegated person must submit, in addition to the previous points 1-2-4:
- A specific power of attorney prepared by the delegating party (holder of the Lebanese documents), which should include the details of the delegated person (personal data) along with his identification document details;
- Own valid identity document. If He/She is a Lebanese citizen permanently residing in Italy and holds a residence permit, a copy of the Italian residence permit and a copy of the identity card issued by the competent Italian municipality must also be provided.
NOTICE
The Embassy of Italy in Beirut is not responsible for the services provided by official translators nor for the fees they charge.
ATTENTION! Documents issued by Italian authorities on Italian territory and which must be used in Lebanon cannot be legalized by this Consular Office.
In order to be valid in Lebanon, deeds and documents issued by Italian Authorities must be certified by the Prefecture in the city where the deed or document was issued and then legalized by the Lebanese diplomatic-consular representations in Italy.
Such deeds and/or documents must then be legalized by the Lebanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs which will validate the signature of the Lebanese diplomatic-consular official who legalized them. It is recommended to contact the Lebanese diplomatic mission or consular post in Italy for further information.