1. Introduction of consular legalization

Consular legalization refers to the practice of confirming the authenticity of the last seal or signature on a relevant document issued by a foreign country, performed by a diplomatic or consular mission abroad upon the application of a natural person, a legal person or an organization of other forms.

Consular legalization is the act of a diplomatic or consular mission abroad to legalize a document on behalf of the country, and the purpose is to ensure that a document issued in one country can be acknowledged in another, and its legal effect outside the issuing country will not be affected due to doubts on authenticity of the seal or signature thereon.

Consular legalization does not undertake the responsibility of certifying the matters certified by the notarial deeds or other certificates, and it is not responsible for the authenticity and validity of the document’s content, which shall be the responsibility of the issuing institution.

2. Documents required

(1) The applicant should fill out the Application Form of Consular Legalization of the Embassy/Consulate of the People’s Republic of China in a truthful, complete and accurate manner. In the “Applicant” column, information of the applicant for the consular legalization should be provided, and the applicant should personally sign in the column of “Signature of Applicant”. If an application is submitted by an agent, in addition to the signature of the applicant, the agent should also sign in the column of “Signature of Agent”. The original of the signed application form should be submitted, and no fax or photocopy of the application form will be accepted.

(2) The original and a photocopy of valid identity documents of the applicant should be submitted. An applicant who is a Chinese or third-country national should submit a valid passport or travel document. An applicant who is a national of the residing country may submit the passport or other valid identity documents issued by the residing country.

(3) If the application is submitted by an agent, a photocopy of the identity document of the applicant, and the original and a photocopy of valid identity document of the agent should be submitted. The specific requirements for the identity documents shall be the same as listed in the paragraph above. If significant matters are involved in the application, an agent should provide the power of attorney signed or stamped by the applicant.

(4) If a company or an organization of other forms applies for consular legalization, an official certificate of the company (such as Certification of Registration Form 9/ Form 13) or organization should be submitted, as well as the valid identity documents of the legal representative of the company or the person in charge of the organization.

(5) A special application form is used for the legalization of a death certificate. Such an application should be made by a close relative of the deceased, and the identity document of the deceased (if available), the identity document of the close relative, and the proof of kinship should be submitted. If an agent is entrusted by a close relative of the deceased to make the application, the power of attorney and the identity document of the agent should also be submitted. The original of the signed application form should be submitted, and no fax or photocopy of the application form will be accepted.

(6) The original of the valid documents for legalization.

(7) For legalization of a foreign graduation certificate/diploma issued by Malaysia-Foreign cooperative educational institution, applicants should provide supporting materials such as relevant contracts or arrangements.

(8) Other documents required by the Embassy.

3. Procedures

(1) Have the document notarized by a legal notary public in Malaysia. For academic certificates, notarization could be done directly by the Ministry of Education of Malaysia (MOE) or the Ministry of Higher Education of Malaysia (MoHE). Some Malaysian judicial documents or government-issued documents, such as court decrees, birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates, single status certificates, government letters do not require notarization by a legal notary public in Malaysia. Instead, these documents should be legalized directly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia (for inquiries, please call 03-88874000 or 03-88874100).

(2) Submit both the original document and its translation for legalization at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, Putrajaya.

(3) Foreigners(non-Chinese citizens), including Chinese citizens applying for legalization on behalf of foreigners, please submit the original documents and their translation already legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia to the Kuala Lumpur Chinese Visa Application Service Center.

(4) Chinese citizens may directly submit the original documents and their translation already legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia to the Consular Office of the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in Malaysia. Please kindly send requirements and relevant documents to kl_gzrz@csm.mfa.gov.cn in advance. The Embassy will examine the materials and contact the applicant for submission of the application to the Embassy . 

(5) Come to the Embassy/Kuala Lumpur China Visa Application Service Center on the due date indicated on the pick-up form to collect the documents for which the consular legalization is completed.

(6) If an applicant or agent fails to claim the documents after more than one year of the due date, the Embassy will take necessary disposal measures, and all consequences arising from the destruction of the documents and submitted materials shall be borne by the applicant.

4. Special reminders

(1) Consular officers will review the documents for which consular legalization is requested. The following cases will not be accepted, including but not limited to, incomplete procedures of local notarization and authentication, non-standard document formats, content of the documents violating the laws or infringing on China’s national or public interests, or alterations or replacements of the documents, etc.

(2) Chinese diplomatic or consular missions abroad do not provide consular legalization services for documents issued by entities in China (e.g., passports, driving licenses, marriage certificates, birth certificates, household registrations, notarial certificates, company registration documents etc.).

(3) Documents consisting of two pages or more should be properly bounded, using sealing wax/paging seal/embossed seal to ensure their integrity. Documents of different applicants or unrelated in-between should be submitted separately.

(4) Documents should be written in Chinese or English. Documents in Bahasa Malaysia or other languages should be companied by a Chinese translation (the translation of a Declaration Statement does not need to be signed if it accompanies the original). Translation services can be obtained from Malaysia courts or translation agencies recognized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia.

(5) For documents of declaration, authorization, inheritance or disclamation of inheritance, etc. that require a true signature/stamp, applicants must sign in the presence of a notary public. The notarial certificate should clearly state the situation of signing.

(6) Single status certificates for marriage registration in the Chinese mainland are valid for 6 months from the date of issuance. Single status certificates exceeding the validity period will not be accepted and the applicant will need to get a new certificate. Applicants are advised to reserve reasonable time for marriage registration procedures in the Chinese mainland.

(7) The Embassy of China in Malaysia does not accept documents issued in countries other than Malaysia for legalization, unless they have been notarized by the diplomatic or consular mission of the issuing country in Malaysia and legalized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, depending on the situation. The Embassy does not provide consular legalization services for documents to be sent to and used in third countries. If necessary, consular legalization for such documents should be applied for in the Embassy or Consulate of the country where the documents will be used.

(8) Any alterations or replacements of the documents after consular legalization will lead to invalidity of the consular legalization.

5. Processing Time

Processing takes 4 working days from the date of application acceptance. Applicants may request express or urgent service with reasonable justification, subject to approval by the consular officer. Express service requires 3 working days, while urgent service requires 2 working days with additional charges. Applicants or their representatives may pay and collect the legalized documents with their receipt at the Kuala Lumpur Chinese Visa Center Application Service Center or the Consular Office of the Chinese Embassy.

* If additional materials or verifying documents are needed, or there is other unforeseen circumstances, there might be extra processing time. In such cases, please kindly wait for our further notice.

6. Fees and charges

RM 26 per stamp: Civil affairs for Chinese citizens and Malaysian citizens (documents related with individuals, including declarations, authorization letters, marital status, birth certificates, death certificates, academic qualifications, professional qualifications, kinship, inheritance, gifts of property, property transfers/sales and handling of other personal assets).

RM 26 per stamp: Commercial affairs for Chinese citizens and Malaysian citizens (documents related with corporate conducts, business or trading activities, including business contracts and contract-related documents, authorization letter, power of attorney, business license, legal personality, labour agreements etc.).

RM 80 per stamp: Civil affairs for third-country citizens (citizens of countries other than China and Malaysia)(documents related with individuals, including declarations, authorization letters, marital status, birth certificates, death certificates, academic qualifications, professional qualifications, kinship, inheritance, gifts of property, property transfers/sales and handling of other personal assets).

RM 160 per stamp: Commercial affairs for third-country citizens (citizens of countries other than China and Malaysia)(documents related with corporate conducts, business or trading activities, including business contracts, authorization letter, power of attorney, business license, legal personality, labour agreements etc.).

Additional charges of RM 100 per stamp for express service.

Additional charges of RM 140 per stamp for urgent service.

For applicants submitting their application through the Kuala Lumpur Chinese Visa Application Service Center, please refer to the centre’s fee schedule for applicable service fees. 

Applicants submitting their application to the Embassy could pay by UPI debit card, Ali Pay, MyDebit card or Touch’n Go.