Guides
Sourced, dated, and re-checked every week.
Consulate requirements change without announcement, and most pages about them are years stale. Every guide here cites its primary source and carries the date we last checked it.
Last sweep 4 August 2026
Recovery I sent my FBI check to my state Secretary of State Your state cannot apostille a federal document. What happens next, how much time you have actually lost, and the one thing most people miss about the issue date. Verified 4 August 2026 · Read →
Spain FBI apostille for the Spanish non-lucrative visa Recency window, sworn translator requirement, and what the consulate expects attached to the apostille. In progress — being verified against consulate sources
Portugal FBI apostille for the D7 and D8 visas What SEF and the consulates ask for, and where the translation requirement differs from Spain. In progress — being verified against consulate sources
Italy FBI apostille for elective residency The six-month window, the sworn translator rule, and the consulate-by-consulate variation. In progress — being verified against consulate sources
Process How the Office of Authentications actually works No appointments, walk-in drop-off, a two-week pick-up slip, and a hard limit of fifteen documents per company per day. In progress — being verified against consulate sources
Basics Apostille, authentication and notarisation Three words used interchangeably that mean different things, and which one your document actually needs. In progress — being verified against consulate sources
Guides marked in progress are deliberately unpublished until every claim traces to a primary source. A wrong recency window on one of these pages costs someone their consulate appointment, so we would rather be slow than wrong.