Recently, we’ve seen an increase in document legalization requests for Guatemala which sparked our curiosity.  Additionally, in just a few months, on September 18, 2017, Guatemala will become a member of the Hague Apostille Convention. Interested by the uptick and new Hague membership, we did some research to find out “Why Guatemala?”

During our exploration we came across this article on Virgin’s website: The world’s best start-up hubs: Guatemala City, Guatemala.  To our surprise, Guatemala is a hub for Telecom companies!  Strategically located between two oceans, with ports on each ocean, and an EST time zone, Guatemala is well positioned for importing, exporting, and outsourcing.  Furthermore, Guatemala has an amazing resource in its population of hardworking and talented people.  All of these factors combine to make Guatemala an appealing destination for business start-ups.

So, what does Hague Convention membership mean?  Beginning on September 18, 2017, Guatemala will no longer require consular or embassy legalization for documents destined for use in Guatemala.  Instead, an apostille from the appropriate Secretary of State or U.S. Department of State, for federal documents, will be accepted.  Interested in seeing a list of all countries member of or party to the Hague Convention?  Click here.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact our Washington, DC office at 202.386.7575, 877.531.1131 or dcorders@incserv.com.