Inoperable Websites Causing Document Legalization Issues
December 21, 2017
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Executive Summary
The websites for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Universities in Venezuela are currently inoperable, which prevents Venezuelans and foreign nationals from making appointments to obtain document apostilles and legalizations.
The situation
The websites for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Universities in Venezuela are currently inoperable.
- Impacts. Venezuelan and foreign nationals who need to apostille or legalize documents will not be able to do so while the websites are inoperable since apostilling and legalization requires scheduling an appointment on the appropriate website. Delays with immigration application processing should be expected since most immigration applications require apostilled or legalized documents.
- Website issues. Users of the websites are receiving responses stating there are no available dates for appointments or are unable to open the website at all.
- Alternatives. While the websites continue to have issues, one workaround exists for foreign nationals and Venezuelans who have an emergent need to leave Venezuela within one week prior to their travel and who:
- require documents for an immigration process in another country; or
- require legalization or apostille services for any reason in Venezuela (for example, birth or death certificates).
These travelers can obtain an apostille or legalization by personally appearing at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or Ministry of Universities with an outgoing airline ticket validated by the airline. Those who need to apostille or legalize documents in Venezuela while the websites are down should contact their immigration professional, as Fragomen representatives may be able to personally appear on behalf of the applicant by presenting an outgoing airline ticket validated by the airline.
- Other delays ahead. Once the website issues are resolved, applicants will likely see appointment delays as there will likely be a backlog of appointments that could not be scheduled during the inoperable timeframe.
Looking ahead
The authorities have not provided an estimated timeline for the resolution of this issue. Fragomen will monitor this situation and will advise accordingly.
This alert is for informational purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact the global immigration professional with whom you work at Fragomen or send an email to [email protected].
