We retrieve your fresh computerized certificate from NIRA, lodge it in person at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Downtown Kingston for the Hague Apostille, send you a verification scan on WhatsApp, and courier the originals to your door in Canada, the US, the UK, or Europe.
Immigration authorities in Canada (IRCC), the United States (USCIS), the United Kingdom (Home Office), Portugal, and Cyprus require a modern computerized certificate bearing a scannable entry barcode and an official Hague Apostille.
Foreign consulates and immigration departments verify these 10 standard treaty points. Click or tap any numbered item below to inspect how it ensures legal acceptance abroad.
Certifies that the underlying document was officially executed within the sovereign territory of Jamaica. This single international seal replaces the old, cumbersome consular chain legalization at foreign embassies.
A clear, accountable six-step workflow from online checkout to DHL delivery at your door.
Select Standard, Express, Rush, or Apostille-Only below and complete secure checkout by card or PayPal.
Sign the NIRA collection authorization on your phone screen and upload a photo of your government ID right after checkout.
Our runner lodges your application at NIRA and collects the fresh certified security-paper certificate.
We hand-deliver the certified certificate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at 2 Port Royal Street, Kingston.
We verify the spelling, dates, and apostille seal against your order and send a full scan to your WhatsApp.
We dispatch the physical original via DHL Express and send your live waybill tracking number the same day.
Our retrieval times are 5, 3 or 2 business days. Records that have already been digitized onto a computer-generated certificate are the most likely to meet the Express (3-day) and Rush (2-day) timelines. Tick all statements below that apply to your record:
Every package is priced in USD and includes NIRA and MFAFT government statutory fees, in-person Kingston runner lodgement, a pre-shipment WhatsApp scan, and one tracked DHL Express international shipment.
Certificate retrieval: 5 business days
Certificate retrieval: 3 business days*
Certificate retrieval: 2 business days*
*Retrieval times are target business days from receipt of your signed authorization and ID, for records that pass the record check above, excluding Jamaican public holidays. They depend on NIRA, the Ministry and government processing and are not guaranteed. The apostille step and DHL transit (usually 2–5 business days) are additional.
Complete the certificate details and delivery address below. Right after payment, you will be guided to sign your NIRA collection authorization online.
Jamaica and over 130 nations are contracting parties to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. Here is how our diaspora and international clients use their legalized records:
Canada joined the Hague Apostille Convention in January 2024. IRCC, Service Canada, and provincial registries accept a Jamaican certificate bearing an MFAFT apostille.
Used for USCIS green card and Adjustment of Status filings, dual citizenship, passport applications, probate, and state licensing boards across all 50 states.
Accepted by the UK Home Office, HM Passport Office, UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI), and probate courts across England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland.
Portuguese nationality and D7/Golden Visa files require a freshly issued marriage certificate with an apostille. We can ship directly to your immigration lawyer in Lisbon or Porto.
Cypriot residency and citizenship applications require apostilled civil records. Using our split-shipment option, we can courier directly to your representative in Nicosia or Larnaca.
All 27 EU member states are parties to the Apostille Convention. Check with your receiving authority whether a certified translation is also required in your destination country.
Your application is never dropped into an unmonitored postal queue. Our Kingston team handles the counter work in person at NIRA (Twickenham Park) and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2 Port Royal Street, Downtown Kingston). Message us directly on WhatsApp at +1 (207) 613-5240 before ordering if you want us to review your existing certificate first.
Official registry references: NIRA (RGD) · MFAFT Apostille · HCCH Contracting Parties.
The full names of both spouses as they were at the time of the marriage, the date (or at least the year) of the wedding, and the parish where it took place. A photo of an old copy of the certificate, or the entry number, helps NIRA find the record but is not required. After checkout you sign the collection authorization and upload a photo of your ID.
Only if the country or office receiving it asks for one. Countries in the Hague Apostille Convention often require it for immigration, citizenship, residency or name-change files. If you only need the certified certificate without an apostille, message us on WhatsApp for a quote before ordering.
No. HowJamaica is an independent, private concierge. We are not affiliated with the Government of Jamaica, NIRA (formerly the RGD) or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT). You can apply to NIRA and MFAFT yourself at official rates. Our fee covers the in-person runner work, coordination, verification scans and international DHL Express courier.
An apostille is an official certificate issued by Jamaica's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) that authenticates a Jamaican public document for legal use in another country that is party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention. Over 130 countries are contracting parties, including Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Portugal, Cyprus and all EU member states.
Yes. NIRA permits an authorized representative to apply and collect with your written authorization and a copy of your government ID. Immediately after checkout you sign a digital authorization on your phone and upload a photo of your ID. If NIRA requests any additional step for your specific record, we notify you before lodging.
Certificate retrieval takes 5 business days on Standard, 3 business days on Express and 2 business days on Rush, counted from receipt of your signed authorization and ID. We do not offer same-day retrieval. Older handwritten records, missing entry numbers or records that need a correction can take longer; use the record check on this page and we confirm with NIRA before we start.
NIRA certificate retrieval takes 5 business days (Standard), 3 business days (Express) or 2 business days (Rush) from receipt of your signed authorization and ID. The MFAFT apostille step follows (5-day tier on Standard, 24-hour expedited on Express and Rush), then DHL Express international transit, which is usually 2–5 business days after dispatch. Jamaican public holidays add time.
If NIRA cannot locate your marriage record, we refund our concierge service fee in full. Official statutory search fees already paid to NIRA or MFAFT are non-refundable by those government agencies.
Retrieval and apostille times depend on NIRA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and government processing. The business days we list are targets we work hard to hit, not guarantees. Express and Rush orders get priority handling, and we cover the fastest available shipping method (DHL Express) at our cost.
Yes. Tick "Ship a second copy to another country" in the order form. We retrieve an additional certified copy, obtain a separate MFAFT apostille, and ship it by DHL Express directly to your second destination address (such as your lawyer in Portugal and your residency agent in Cyprus).
Often yes. Receiving authorities in Portugal and Cyprus frequently require a certified translation of both the certificate and the apostille. Translations are typically completed in the destination country, so confirm the required format with your lawyer or agency.
Yes. NIRA charges the same statutory fees for certified birth, marriage and death certificates, so the same packages apply. Record corrections, late entry of name, or adding a father's particulars are quoted individually on WhatsApp.
You receive an order reference by email immediately at checkout. Our Kingston desk sends WhatsApp updates at every milestone: NIRA application lodged, certificate collected, MFAFT apostille submitted, high-resolution scan of your completed apostille, and your live DHL Express waybill number for door-to-door tracking on dhl.com.
Getting more than one thing done in Jamaica? These are handled by the same Kingston team.