Moving Abroad: UK Documents You Need Apostilled
(The Emigrant’s Checklist)
Moving abroad – whether to retire to the Mediterranean, take up long-term residency in France or Portugal, or relocate for lifestyle reasons in mid-career – is one of the largest administrative undertakings some people will ever do. The physical move can be handled by a removals company; the paperwork has to be handled by you, and most of it has to be in place before you can apply for the visa or residency permit you are moving on.
Almost every aspect of your UK life that the destination country needs to verify – who you are, who your parents are, who you are or were married to, what you have studied, whether you have a criminal record, sometimes even your state of health – has to be presented as an officially legalised UK document.
For Hague Convention countries, which includes nearly every popular relocation destination for UK nationals, that means an apostille issued by the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO). For most non-English-speaking destinations a sworn or certified translation is occasionally required alongside it.
This guide walks through the full UK document journey for relocators. It covers the documents you will almost certainly need, the apostille and translation requirements, country-by-country checklists for the destinations UK relocators choose most often, realistic timings, and how to order the relocation document legalisation services.
FCDO Apostille Compliant
Trusted by UK Relocators
Thousands of documents processed every year
Fast & Reliable
Secure Handling
Translation Support
Translations in 200+ languages available
Documents Typically Required When Relocating Abroad
Master Overview: UK Documents You May Need
| Category | Common UK Documents | Required? |
|---|---|---|
| Family / Civil Status | Birth certificate, marriage certificate, decree absolute / final order, death certificate, deed poll | Most documents required – depends on your personal history |
| Identity | UK passport | Often needed |
| Professional / Academic | Degree certificate ,transcripts, professional registration, employment references | If applying for a working visa or similar |
| Criminal Record | ACRO Police Certificate (Certificate of No Criminal Record, DBS (Disclosure & Barring Service) certificate | Yes, usually needed for any long term residency |
| Healthcare | GP medical certificate ,vaccination records, summary care record | Generally needed for retirement visas and any long term residency options |
Birth, Marriage and Family Documents
Family and civil-status documents are the foundation of any residency file abroad. They establish who you are, who your parents are, who you are married to (or were, or never), and any name changes along the way. Foreign authorities cannot verify these details against UK records directly – the apostille is what allows them to rely on a UK-issued certificate as authentic.
UK Birth Certificate
Every relocation destination wants to see your birth certificate. It must be the long-form (full) certificate that shows the parents’ details – the short-form version is generally not accepted for residency or visa purposes.
If your original birth certificate is old, worn, in a previous name, or you would prefer not to send the original by post, we can usually obtain a fresh certified copy directly from the General Register Office and apostille that. The original stays at home, untouched.
The apostilled birth certificate is typically submitted as part of your residency application, and again later if you marry, register a partnership, or apply for citizenship in your new country.
UK Marriage Certificate
Anyone who is or has been married will usually need their UK marriage certificate apostilled. Spouses applying together usually need to present the marriage certificate as part of a joint residency application; surviving spouses applying alone may also need it as evidence of their marital history.
As with birth certificates, a fresh copy from the General Register Office can be obtained where the original is lost or unsuitable.
Decree Absolute or Final Divorce Order
Previously married applicants almost always need to demonstrate that the previous marriage has been formally dissolved. The decree absolute (or final divorce order, in cases finalised after 2022) is the document the destination country relies on.
Death Certificate of Former Spouse
Widows and widowers applying alone need to evidence their changed marital status with the spouse’s UK death certificate, apostilled.
Deed Poll or Change of Name Certificate
Where your current legal name differs from the name on your birth certificate – most often through marriage and reversion to maiden name, or a deed poll change – the deed poll or change of name document needs apostilling alongside the birth certificate so the destination authority can join the two records together.
Proof of Identity
Residency and long-stay visa applications almost always require evidence of nationality and identity beyond the birth certificate. In practice, that means a certified copy of your UK passport, sometimes apostilled, and occasionally a Statutory Declaration of identity or single status where the destination country requires a sworn statement.
UK Passport
The apostille is not added to an original passport. Instead, a solicitor or notary makes a certified true copy of the passport biographical page, and that certified copy is then apostilled. We organise the solicitor certification and the apostille as a single step so you do not need to find a solicitor or notary separately. We need the original to be sent to us for this. If you would prefer not to send the original passport you should arrange for a photocopy to be pre-certified first.
Statutory Declaration of Identity (where required)
A Statutory Declaration of identity is a written declaration confirming who you are, signed in the presence of a UK solicitor or Notary Public. Some destinations require this as part of their document requirements.
Single Status / Civil Status
A small number of destinations – notably Portugal for some residency routes, and Cyprus for unmarried partner applications – ask for documentary evidence that you are single or unmarried.
This is normally provided as a Statutory Declaration of single status, or, for some applicants, a letter of no trace of marriage issued by the General Register Office.
Professional and Academic Qualifications
If your move abroad involves any element of work, professional registration, or business setup – including digital nomad and freelance routes – your UK qualifications will almost always need to be presented in a legalised form. Even retirees occasionally need to evidence professional credentials, for example to register voluntarily with a local professional body or to teach English as a side activity in retirement.
Documents most commonly apostilled in this category:
Criminal Record Check (ACRO Police Certificate)
Every long-term residency or relocation route asks for proof that you have a clean criminal record in the country where you have been living. For UK applicants, the document is usually the ACRO Police Certificate – the Certificate of No Criminal Record issued by the ACRO Criminal Records Office.
An ACRO certificate is not the same as a DBS certificate issued by the Disclosure & Barring Service. Some receiving authorities prefer one type of police check over the other so it is important that you check if you are expected to provide the ACRO or DBS document.
ACRO
How to apply: directly through the ACRO Criminal Records Office website. Their standard service typically takes around 10 to 20 working days; an “express” premium service is available at an additional fee.
DBS
How to apply: directly through the Disclosure & Barring Service website.
It usually takes approximately 1 week for the DBS to be issued.
Once issued, you can send the ACRO or DBS certificate to us for legalisation. For Hague destinations the apostille is the final UK step. For some European destinations a translation may also be needed.
You can ask ACRO or DBS to send the document directly to us to save time.
Important timing note: ACRO certificates can delay your relocation process
ACRO can be the slowest single step in the legalisation process. If you are using the standard ACRO service, allow approximately 4 weeks to obtain the certificate and have it legalised.
If you have a fixed move date, apply for your ACRO certificate as early as possible. Many receiving authorities require the certificate to be dated within 3 months of presentation, so we recommend using ACRO’s express service where time is limited.
To save time, you can also ask ACRO or DBS to send your criminal record check directly to us for legalisation.
Read our guide on having documents sent directly to Hague Apostille.
Healthcare and Medical Documents
A growing number of long-stay residency routes – particularly for retirees and over-65 applicants in Spain, Portugal, Italy and France – require a UK-issued medical certificate stating that the applicant is free of serious communicable disease and, in some cases, fit to reside abroad. Some routes also require a private health insurance certificate, but that is normally provided by the destination-country insurer rather than apostilled in the UK.
Documents most commonly apostilled in this category:
Important: Medical documents may require additional checks
Medical documents can be subject to delays during the apostille process if the signing doctor’s signature has not yet been verified by the FCDO. This is a common issue with GP-issued certificates.
If this applies to your document, we will advise you on the next steps and help you resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
To avoid delays, especially for Spain, we recommend obtaining your medical certificate through a provider with FCDO-registered practitioners such as ZoomDoc.
Learn more about compliant medical certificates.
Apostille vs Embassy Attestation: Depends on Your Destination
For every country that is a member of the Hague Apostille Convention, UK documents are legalised for use abroad by a single apostille issued by the FCDO.
The vast majority of countries chosen by UK retirees and long-term relocators – Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Cyprus, Greece, Malta, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the United States – are Hague members. The apostille is all the legalisation you need on the UK side.
For European destinations where the local language is not English – Spain, Portugal, France, Italy, Greece – apostilled documents often also need to be accompanied by a sworn or certified translation produced by a translator officially accredited in the destination country. We handle both the apostille and the sworn translation services.
A small number of countries that some UK relocators move to are not Hague members and require a longer legalisation chain through the relevant embassy in the UK. The most common of these for relocators are the UAE (large UK expat working community), Thailand (retirement visa applicants), and Vietnam (often for family reunification or long-term work). If your destination is one of these, contact us and we can advise on the embassy-attestation route in addition to the apostille.
The next section walks through the destinations we work with most often and the exact relocation document bundle each one requires.
Hague Countries – Apostille Only
If your destination country is part of the Hague Convention (for example, most European countries, Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada), a single apostille is usually sufficient.
✓ Apostille from the FCDO – accepted abroad
Non-Hague Countries – Apostille + Embassy Legalisation
If your destination country is not part of the Hague Convention (for example, UAE, Thailand, Vietnam), your documents will require further legalisation at the embassy after the apostille.
✓ Apostille + Embassy Legalisation – accepted
Popular Country Guides
Click a country below to see the full document checklist
Moving to Spain: Document Checklist
Spain is the one of the most popular destination for UK retirees and long-term relocators, and the document set for Spanish residency is the most fully developed on this site. Spain is a Hague member, so UK documents are legalised with the apostille, and the Spanish authorities also usually require a sworn translation (traducción jurada) into Spanish for almost every document, carried out by a translator accredited by the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The typical document requirements are as follows:
Moving to Portugal: Document Checklist
Portugal’s D7 visa for passive income and pension recipients, together with the newer Digital Nomad (D8) visa for remote workers, continue to attract significant numbers of UK relocators.
Portugal is a Hague Convention member country, so UK documents are legalised with an apostille in order to be recognised by the Portuguese authorities.
The former Non-Habitual Resident (NHR) tax regime has largely been phased out, although transitional and successor tax incentives still exist for some applicants.
Moving to France: Document Checklist
Post-Brexit, UK nationals relocating to France for retirement, remote work, family reunification, study, or long-term residence generally require a French long-stay visa (visa de long séjour), most commonly a VLS-TS visa followed by residence permit formalities.
France is a Hague Convention member country, so UK documents are legalised with an apostille and are also often translated into French by a sworn translator.
Moving to Italy: Document Checklist
Italy’s Elective Residence Visa (ERV), commonly used by retirees and financially independent UK nationals relocating to Italy, often involves a substantial document requirements.
Italy also offers an Investor Visa route for qualifying applicants. Italy is a Hague Convention member country, so UK documents are legalised with an apostille and are typically translated into Italian by a sworn translator (traduttore giurato).
Italian citizenship-by-descent applicants often require a larger set of documents to demonstrate their Italian lineage. This usually includes birth certificates, marriage certificates, and similar civil documents relating to parents, grandparents, and sometimes earlier generations.
Document requirements can vary depending on the Italian consulate or authority handling the application, so you should always confirm the specific requirements directly with the relevant Italian authorities.
Once you have clarified the required documents, contact us and we can advise how we can assist with the apostille and sworn translation aspects of the process.
Moving to Cyprus: Document Checklist
Cyprus is a popular retirement destination and a Commonwealth country. Documents are legalised by the apostille (Cyprus is a Hague member).
English-language UK documents are normally accepted in Cyprus without the need for a further translation, which makes the document requirements simpler than for other European mainland destinations.
Other popular destinations
Similar document requirements apply for Greece (sworn translation into Greek required), Malta (English-language documents accepted, apostille only), Australia (English-language documents accepted, apostille for the skilled migration and family routes), and New Zealand (English-language documents accepted, apostille for residency applications).
How Long Does It Take? Plan Your Relocation Timeline
Preparing the documents needed for a move abroad typically takes around 4 to 8 weeks from start to finish using standard services, depending on which documents are required and how quickly they can be obtained. The slowest single step is usually the ACRO Police Certificate, which can take approximately 10 to 20 working days to be issued before the apostille process even begins if you are opting for ACRO’s standard service; we recommend using their faster option.
Most other documents – including birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce documents, academic qualifications, and medical certificates – can usually be apostilled and translated relatively quickly.
| Step | Standard Service | Express Options |
|---|---|---|
| ACRO Police Certificate issued | Up to 20 working days with ACRO’s standard service | 2-3 working days with ACRO’s premium service |
| Fresh GRO replacements of birth or marriage certificates (if needed) | 20 working days plus using the GRO’s standard service | 2-3 working days with the GRO’s expedite service |
| GP medical certificate | (subject to GP availability) | 2-3 working days using a private medical service such as ZoomDoc |
| FCDO Apostille | 2-3 weeks if sending documents direclty to the FCDO | 1-2 working days using our Apostille service |
| Sworn or certified translation (where required) | N/a | 1-2 working days using our translation service |
| Documents returned | 2-3 days with UK first class post, 10-15 working days with standard airmail for international delivery addresses | 1 working day with UK courier service, 2-3 working days with DHL international courier service |
| Total | Approximately 4-8 weeks overall depending on document requirements and delivery times | Approximately 10 working days overall where express options are used throughout. |
Order your Discounted Apostille Services For Relocation
We handle the FCDO apostille, the solicitor certification in many cases, fresh certified copies from the General Register Office, and the sworn translation into the destination-country language. You send us your documents (or, where we are getting fresh copies from the GRO, no documents at all). We return everything together, apostilled, translated where needed, and ready to submit to your destination-country authority.
DISCOUNTED Apostille Prices
When you have 3 or more documents
Fast apostille – 1 to 2 days legalisation service
DISCOUNTED Apostille Prices
When you have 5 or more documents
Fast apostille – 1 to 2 days legalisation service
Discounted Sworn Translation Service
Officially Recognised Translations
Do you need sworn translations for an Embassy?
Any document being submitted to an embassy in London may require correctly prepared, sworn translations.
For example, the Spanish Consulate, Italian Consulate and several others request specific translators that provide sworn translations.
We can translate many documents for the embassies in London to ensure they are accepted.
