GAC has the characteristics of transnational, world networking, and world recognition. “Apostille”, meaning “authentication”, originates from the Hague Convention on the cancellation of authentication requirements for foreign official documents. “Apostille” refers to the process and result of the mutual recognition among the contracting countries of the 1961 Hague Convention on the cancellation of authentication requirements for foreign official documents–the confirmation of the authenticity of the signatures and seals of the competent authorities on the official documents. In future, GAC is expected to be recognized by CSCSE in China and U.S. Department of Education, and allow applicants to acquire related social welfare.
The Global Authentication Center for Degree–Apostille is so far acknowledged by the national degree certification centers in the following countries/regions: Antigua, Andorra, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brunei, Brunei, Bulgaria, China (including Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan), Cook Islands, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Dominica, Commonwealth of Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, Georgia (from May 14, 2007), Germany, Greece, Grenada, Honduras, Hungary, India, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Korea, Latvian, Lesotho, Liberia, Lichtenstein, Lithuanian, Luxembourg, Macedonian, Malawi, Maltese, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova (from 16 March 2007), Monaco, Montenegrin, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niue, Norway, Panama, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Venezuela.
The efficacy of the Global Authentication Center for Degree–Apostille is that the authentication of a document eliminates all concerns about the authenticity of the document and simplifies the international transmission of information. Such verification is a legal requirement for employees in transnational enterprises, who are in the need of visa application, immigration application or change of work status, etc. Similar organizations with GAC are World Education Service (WES), International Qualification Assessment (IQAs), and the National Student Clearing House in the US. The Global Authentication Center for Degree–Apostille requires the acceptance or rejection of documents at the sole discretion of the relevant government and agencies. In addition, governments may change their policies, terms, requirements and procedures at any time, lifting the level of difficulty in cross-border verification.
