Introduction to the Survey

What are 'Public Documents'?

Birth Certificates, Diplomas, Licences, and many more!

"Public Document" refers to documents issued by a competent public authority. Such authorities can be Courts, Notaries, Civil Servants, etc..

The function of a public document is to record information to provide proof in certain legal or administrative situations.

National public authorities usually require proof of certain facts before they can take decisions.

Some examples for Citizens...

Work? Proof your professional qualifications; Diploma

Marriage? Proof your marital status; Extract from the Civil Status Register

Social security benefits? Proof your age; Birth Certificate

Do you need documents abroad?

Foreign authorities will not take your word for it..

If you want to work, marry, or claim social security benefits abroad it is likely that you will need to use public documents abroad.

Like national public authorities, foreign public authorities will require proof of certain facts before they can take decisions.

The proof you need abroad often can only be provided by means of a public document.

Are there more situations where I will need documents abroad?

More than you think!

In many more situations than the situations mentioned you will need public documents abroad.

These can relate to travelling, living, working and trading abroad, but they can also occur when you return back to your country of origin after being abroad. Think about:

Studying, residing, getting healthcare, doing a tax application, or buying property abroad

Acquiring a foreign country's nationality

Registering a foreign birth, adoption, name change, marriage, or divorce back in your country of origin

Is it easy to use domestic documents abroad?

Within Europe this should not be difficult, at least in theory.

However, foreign public authorities need to ensure that the foreign documents they receive are real, and that the information they contain is reliable.

Only when the foreign document is real and its information reliable will the public authority be able to take the decision you need. In other words the document must be authenticated.

Authentication of a foreign public document may force you to carry out certain formalities.

A number of international agreements - and provisions of European Community law - aim at abolishing unnecessary formalities.

Whether this has been effectively realised is uncertain, however.

The European Commission's aim is to ensure that you and other citizens can move, work and live freely throughout the European Union.

This requires a system for the use of public documents abroad which does not cause unnecessary difficulties.

The aim of this survey:

Identifying your difficulties

The European Commission has requested the British Institute to carry out a pan-European study aimed at identifying difficulties that you and other citizens experience as a result of formalities that still exist.

The British Institute will evaluate whether the remaining formalities are unnecessary or cause unnecessary difficulties. If this is the case, it will propose solutions.

Assist in solving difficulties you experienced when using documents abroad!