You can take the consulate route even if your country is part of the Hague convention.
Sure. But Portugal doesnāt have to accept it as authentic, unlike an apostille.
When we shifted from an immigration attorney in solo practice to an immigration attorney in a group practice (NSM in Portugal), everything changed!! All of the sudden things are really moving for us! My husbands application has been submitted and now I will be addressing my paperwork. For us, the right attorney has so far been a game changer in this process.
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Does anyone know if I can have the US State Department (where Iām going tomorrow to apostille my FBI background check) can also apostille state issued birth certificates and a marriage license?
Hi Micheal, Iām not sure, this process has been quite confusingā¦that said I think Iāve seen this topic referenced on this platform. Iād recommend a search. Best! Cyndy
@cjcmlmcar No, not to my knowledge. They must be apostilled in the state which they were issued (usually by the Secretary of State for that State (say that five times fast)).
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No. Just from Federal departments/agencies
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Thank you, thank you!
This is very helpful. For my childrenās birth certificate, Iām struggling to figure out how to get it done. Theyāre born in MN but we live in Denmark now. How do I go about getting this apostile done - anyone have experience with this?
Order the birth certificates online (Minnesota Vital Records and Certificates - MN Dept. of Health). You can then send it to Minnesotaās Secretary of State to be apostilled. (https://www.sos.mn.gov/notary-apostille/apostille-authentication/).
There may be services that can do this for you, but I think the birth certificate has to be ordered by the parents.
Double check the requirements for MN apostilling. You may need to desigate, when you are ordering it, that you are getting the birth certificate for apostiling or have it with an official seal.
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Thanks. What a bloody pain - I have to get the form notarised at the US Embassy just to get the birth certificates and then find someone locally to take them to get them apostilled. Iām ready to just give up at step 1!
Thereās a steep learning curve with this stuff, but the people here are more than willing to help if you run into roadblocks.
I feel for you. Iāve had to get marriage and birth certificates with apostilles from various states while living abroad and itās a real pain. Unfortunately the rules vary by state.
I donāt know whatās allowed in MN but it is worth checking if there is a service that can handle the whole thing for you and ship to Denmark. Iāve had some success with VitalChek.com for getting certificates, then used a different service for apostille, but you might find one that can manage both steps for you in MN.
Some states will allow you to appoint a third party to manage the process on your behalf, others you have to order certificates directly. Some will allow you to order the apostille at the same time, in others itās a seperate process.
If you contact a few providers, they will be able to tell you how much or little they can help.
Thank you for confirming these details and I feel reassured that Iām getting correctly formatted documents.
I am applying for citizenship by parental descent- I was planning on mailing directly to the registry rather than going through a lawyer to save money and have some final questions on filling out and signing the form (Modelo-1C DeclaraĆ§Ć£o para AtribuiĆ§Ć£o da Nacionalidade Portuguesa, link below):
I assume I have to fill out the form in Portuguese and wrote my birth country (USA) as ESTADOS UNIDOS DA AMĆRICA and nationality as AMERICANA. Do I also write my current residence city/state/country (NY, NY, USA) in the Portuguese equivalent (Nova Iorque, Nova Iorque, ESTADOS UNIDOS DA AMĆRICA) or as my regular mailing address in English so I can receive correspondence if needed?
Finally, I plan on signing the form in front of a notary (and not at a consulate). Does the notarized form then have to be apostilled or no since it technically is a Portuguese document?
Thank you for the assistance! I feel silly asking, but donāt want the application to get rejected based on these details.
-SB
Iām not sure if this is the right thread to ask this question, but does anyone know if the paper/physical certificate is required to submit an application for citizenship? We are racing through the course now and trying to figure out timing for our other documents. Our digital certificate will be ready by the day we are eligible to apply for citizenship, but I understand the paper version may take 3 weeks to arrive. (We are using Ciple Master.)
The application in-person at IRN would require some form of physical documents presented. I am not aware of how strictly the IRN staff check the documents exactly at the appointment.
The other two methods - postal or online via lawyer, you can submit pretty much anything and hope for the best 
My lawyer says if you can show somethingā¦like you took the class..a receipt or something and submit the rest later, that should be fine.
To be fair, this statement is a serious mischaracterization what most lawyers are advising. The āthat should be fineā needs to be said in the context of it being a highly uncertain and untested scenario.
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I guess you could just not apply til you have all the docs and miss the window. Youād wait another 5 years but at least youād be 100% sure your application is in order. 
My attorneys point was that by the time they pick up the spplication, you would have submitted it. Spouse in my case is taking language test in July and we may only have email by the time we can apply in August. We will apply as soon as we can and submit formal certificate when available.