You hold Iranian documents, such as a birth certificate, a marriage certificate or a certificate of unmarried status, and a Dutch authority needs them. That may be the IND, for a partner’s or child’s residence permit, or your municipality when you register on arrival. Because Iran is outside the Apostille Convention, there is no apostille for these documents. Instead, you legalise Iranian documents for the Netherlands in three steps, all in Iran, the last at the Dutch embassy in Tehran, whatever your nationality.<\/p>\n
Founders on the Netherlands startup visa<\/a> follow the same rules as spouses, workers and students: whichever route of immigration to the Netherlands<\/a> you take, the steps are the same.<\/p>\n The Netherlands is one of 130 parties to the Apostille Convention<\/a>, and Iran is not among them (HCCH status table, updated 30 June 2026). NetherlandsWorldwide’s list of apostille countries<\/a> leaves Iran out too.<\/p>\n Legalisation does not prove that a document is genuine or that its content is true, and your municipality or the IND may still verify it.<\/p>\n NetherlandsWorldwide’s page on documents from Iran<\/a> sets out the route. A sworn translator in Iran translates the Persian document into English. Iran’s Ministry of Justice legalises that translation first, then its Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Last, the Dutch embassy in Tehran legalises the translation.<\/p>\nLegalisation, not an apostille<\/h2>\n
The Tehran chain: three steps for a document issued in Iran<\/h2>\n