1. The Convention and its limits
The Apostille Convention applies between parties.
A party may object to another party’s accession, and the Convention does not apply between them.
2. The India case
China and India have each filed objections in relation to the other’s accession.
The result: the Convention does not apply between them.
Chinese documents for India therefore require consular legalisation.
3. Why this is often missed
Because both are parties, and the party list does not show bilateral exclusions.
Exporters and agents who work from the party list treat India as an apostille destination.
4. The cost of the mistake
An apostilled document presented in India is not accepted.
The consular chain has to be started, and the goods wait.
5. What to check
For every destination, confirm not only party status but whether any objection affects the pair.
The depositary’s status table shows this, but it requires reading rather than scanning.
6. The scenario
An exporter apostilled an invoice and certificate of origin for an Indian buyer.
The Indian customs broker returned the documents and the consular chain was started.
The four-week delay was absorbed by the buyer, at the exporter’s cost in the next price negotiation.
7. Closing view
Party status is a starting point.
Bilateral objections are the exception that makes a calendar wrong.
*This article is based on the Apostille Convention status table, updated October 2026.*