If there is one thing the pandemic has done, it’s certainly tested our patience. You may be one of the many prospective TEFL teachers whose plans have been put on hold over the past 12 months, for instance.

Since countries started closing their borders in March and April 2020 travelling abroad has never been the same. It’s become more complicated, with quarantine rules and COVID vaccination certificates becoming the norm.

It’s also had an effect on the apostille system. The complex – and often laborious – nature of getting government documents signed for legal and consular purposes has also been extended time-wise. Delays due to staff shortages during furlough have been inevitable.

So, it can be tempting when an online service offers to accomplish this legalisation process by shedding days off how long you would normally be expected to wait at this moment in time. Not only that, but they appear to be achieving this for a fraction of the cost you would normally have to pay.

Of course, the reason for this – as you will no doubt eventually find out – is because their online authentication process isn’t – authentic, that is. Because, in order to have a document, such as a birth certificate, adoption papers, marriage certificate or death certificate legally certified, the original has to be physically seen by a solicitor or a notary public.

This allows the legal professional to verify it, then have it photocopied and puts a stamp on the copy. In doing so they are confirming that they have seen the original document.

Digital certification and apostilles are certainly fake. Unintentionally go down this route and you will not only find you have paid and received nothing in return, but your plans will be further put on hold. That’s because you will have to start at the beginning of the whole certification process once again.

Worse still, if you don’t realise your documents are fake until you are already abroad and need them for a legal purpose then it could prove extremely embarrassing for you and result in some serious questions being asked.

Put simply, if an apostille has been photocopied or issued in a digital form, then it is a fake. That’s because an apostille is always a separate, physical piece of paper which is attached to the back of your photocopied document.

Each UK apostille has a unique reference number which can be checked on the government website. You will also need to know when the apostille was issued and the number itself to do this.

There should also be a Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office (FCDO) seal in the bottom left hand corner where both the apostille and the document will be embossed.

The company’s website itself should start alarm bells ringing if there is no registered address listed. The same if there is no contact telephone number. Being able to speak to a ‘real’ person to answer your query is important as this can be a complicated process and its always best to get clarity (especially with legal matters).