How Old Can My Documents Be When They Are Received By The CCAA in China?

Even though the China embassies/consulates can and will authenticate documents which are several months old, there is a limit as to how old some of these documents can be when they arrive in China.

Letters of Good Conduct (criminal history clearances), letters of employment and the health examination form must be dated and notarized within 6 months of when the CCAA receives them.

Other documents should be dated within a year (e.g. home study).

Birth and marriage certificates have no time limit.

Of course, the certifications and authentications should also be recent, to make sure they comply with the 6-month notarial validity period.

IMPORTANT: Because this process can become fairly complex, families would be very well served to keep a separate calendar noting exactly when which documents were originally dated, notarized, authenticated, dtc, referral, etc. It's easy to get confused and it would very unfortunate for anyone to get caught in this.

If you have any questions at all about this, or if you think you may be affected, please contact World Child immediately.