The authorities in the Netherlands require legalised documents. It is your own responsibility to obtain certified original documents which can be submitted for legalisation by the Royal Netherlands Embassy in Colombo.

Legalising foreign documents
Any foreign documents you present to the Dutch authorities have to be legalised.

For general information regarding legalisations click this link :  http://www.minbuza.nl/en/welcome/comingtoNL,legalisation_of_documents

Sri Lankan certificates as birth, marriage and death certificates need to be legalised before they will be accepted as official documents in The Netherlands.
Kindly note the following:
• The date of issuance of a certificate should not be older than 6 months.
• Before the Embassy can legalise the document it should first be attested by the Sri Lankan Ministry of Foreign Affairs (see address details below).
• Documents issued in Sinhala or Tamil need to be translated by an sworn translator. Both the original and the translation need to be legalised.
• Certified documents issued in English originally are accepted for legalisation.
• The fee for legalisation per document is payable in Sri Lankan rupees only. The rates may change regularly to the equivalent of currently 26,25 Euro's.
• The Embassy aims to legalise documents within 3 working days, however this depends on the actual situation at the moment of submitting the documents.
• In order to submit documents for legalisation, an appointment has to be made (see contact below).

If you wish to submit documents for legalisation, kindly provide the following information:
- number of documents
- kind of documents- purpose for legalisation*
- contact telephone number
- name and contact telephone number of the appointed intermediary**, if applicable

* The purpose for legalisation might be to apply for MVV/ Dutch nationality/ Dutch Passport, to register at the Municipality ('Gemeente') or to study in the Netherlands (fellowship students), etc. It is recommended to support the purpose for legalisation by showing documentary proof. Students always will have to show proof of admission from the relevant educational institute in the Netherlands.

** It is possible to authorise someone to submit documents for legalisation on your behalf. The intermediary should be provided with an authorisation letter and a 'clear' copy of your passport or identity card. The intermediary has to identify him/her self (passport or identity card) when visiting the Embassy as well.

To make an appointment or if you require additional information you can contact the
Consular Call Centre by phone on + 94-(0)11-2596914 from Monday to Friday between 11.00 and 15.00 hours, local time.

Address of the Consular Affairs Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka:
97A, Mahanuge Gardens Galle Road Colombo 3 Telephone 011-2385571 Fax 011-4719593
Email  consular@sltnet.lk