andrejsl wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 8:27 pm Does anyone have experience legalizing documents from Cambodia for use in the EU (Schengen area)?
For instance a marriage certificate.

I do. Use the ministry of foreign affairs because those are the only legal documents the EU will accept.
Forget about offices offering translations, or translators offering services. For the EU, there's only one way.

[Edit]
I am talking about documents issued by the government of Cambodia, no matter what layer of the government, for use in the EU. Forget about non-formal translations. It's not so much the translation the EU is looking for, but the proof it's a real document which is guaranteed by the stamp & signature(s) on the document from the ministry of foreign affairs.
When Cambodians deal with EU embassies in Phnom Penh it's another story, but I assume that's not what you're talking about.

andrejsl wrote: ↑Wed Jul 05, 2023 3:04 am

Kammekor wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 11:22 pm I do. Use the ministry of foreign affairs because those are the only legal documents the EU will accept.
Forget about offices offering translations, or translators offering services. For the EU, there's only one way.

Yes, but what about legalizing the document in the EU, I heard I should legalize it for Slovenia in the Cambodian embassy in Berlin, since Slovenia has no cambodian embassy.

Legalization is a way for a country to know documents from abroad are original and not falsified. The thing required is a stamp and a signature from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the issuing country on the documents. Usually the ministry will translate the document(s), and then sign the translated version. Since you have Cambodian documents for use abroad, only the Cambodian ministry can proof them to be correct. The Cambodian embassy in the EU can not do this for you and will probably refer you bakc to the ministry in Phnom Penh..

Some governments don't have that much trust in the Cambodian government, so they have a second check in place. After the Cambodian MoFA legalized the documents you have to take the documents to your nearest (Slovenian) embassy (closest to Cambodia). Your embassy will then check if the stamps and signatures (put there by the Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs) on the documents are correct and true. Whether this extra check applies to Slovenia I don't know. You have to ask your embassy or the Slovenian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. That ministry sets the requirements for Cambodian documents used in Slovenia.

Please note the EU only considers documents valid if they're less than three months old. This means the whole process (issuing document, translation and signing by MoFA, checking of MoFA signatures by embassy, offering documents to Slovenian government) has to be done within a three month period.

The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not translate all the documents they legalize. They use fixed templates and just change the names and dates in that template before printing and signing it off. But they're (very) sloppy. Sometimes they forget to change something in the template and a name or a date from another document from another person might be left in your document. Before you take your documents from the Cambodian MoFA check them carefully. Not just the names, but also all the dates. Compare everything with the original Khmer document. Don't trust them to do a perfectly fine job, because they don't always do and if something's wrong you usually don't have the time to legalize the document again and you have to start the process all over.

PSD-Kiwi wrote: ↑Tue Jul 04, 2023 9:53 pm You can have Cambodian Government issued documents certified/notarised directly at the MoFAIC, but they can tend to drag their heels

https://www.mfaic.gov.kh/servicefee

There are plenty of Govt approved Notarie Publiques in PP, prices range from $30 - 70. I usually use Benson Samay at #1 Mao Tse Toung, or S.K.Y. Notary.

Have you checked with the Embassy of the country that you need the documents notarised for? Many have specific requirements or approved Notarial services which you need to use.

Those notaries can translate/notarize documents for use within Cambodia, they can not legalize documents for use abroad.

PSD-Kiwi wrote: ↑Wed Jul 05, 2023 2:01 pm @Kammekor perfectly acceptable for many things such as Visa applications, etc for many countries. Country dependent obviously, I have no idea about EU Countries, and as I mentioned, the OP should check with the Embassy/authorities in the country he needs them for first to find out exactly what is acceptable, and obviously my first reccomendation was the MoFAIC (which sucks if they're the only acceptable option, because as you pointed out they are sloppy).

Yes, for in-country use like visa applications usually (notarized) translations are sufficient, also for EU visa applications. But for use outside Cambodia (application citizenship, passport, marriage abroad, that kind of stuff) many countries will ask for legalized documents from the MoFA. Some countries even require the second embassy check dependent on the treaties signed between Cambodia and the other country. When I applied for (EU) citizenship for my kid I needed a birth certificate both legalized by Cambodian MoFA and the legalization second checked by our embassy in Bangkok. Since 2015 Cambodia and my country have finalized a (Apostille?) treaty and the requirement of the embassy check has been dropped since. Legalized Cambodian documents still required though. Same for marriage.

As you suggest, and I suggested, the OP should contact the ministry of foreign affairs in Slovenia. They can tell him in detail which requirements Slovenia has for Cambodian documents. Most will be probably the same as the EU guidelines, but countries have the right to add or drop requirements.

I've used a notary to translate a birth certificate for an EU passport with no issues.