The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on 11 December extended BLS International’s nationwide mandate to deliver attestation and apostille services—an essential step for Indians taking up foreign jobs, study places or long-term assignments. The renewed contract covers 17 major cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, and introduces a 48-hour ‘priority lane’ for critical corporate documents.
Background: India joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2005, which allows member states to accept a single apostille stamp instead of multiple embassy legalisations. Outsourcing to BLS has cut average processing times from three weeks to five working days, according to MEA data. The fresh extension coincides with a 22 % year-on-year rise in outbound Indian professionals in 2025, fuelled by demand in the Gulf, EU and Australia.
![MEA Renews BLS International Contract, Safeguards Apostille & Attestation Services for Overseas Indians]()
Need extra help? VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) provides accelerated apostille facilitation, document pre-checks and door-to-door courier options that dovetail neatly with the MEA/BLS workflow—ideal for HR managers and travellers who want a single dashboard for visas and attestations alike.
What’s new? 1) Digitised tracking with real-time SMS updates; 2) walk-in windows for dependants’ birth and marriage certificates; and 3) a pilot ‘campus-pickup’ programme at IITs and IIMs for graduating students heading overseas.
Why it matters: For mobility teams, faster apostilles mean quicker onboarding abroad and fewer costly project delays. Employers should update checklists to reflect the new 48-hour lane (additional ₹2,500 fee) and advise staff that original documents must still be presented once before dispatch.
Background: India joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2005, which allows member states to accept a single apostille stamp instead of multiple embassy legalisations. Outsourcing to BLS has cut average processing times from three weeks to five working days, according to MEA data. The fresh extension coincides with a 22 % year-on-year rise in outbound Indian professionals in 2025, fuelled by demand in the Gulf, EU and Australia.
Need extra help? VisaHQ’s India portal (https://www.visahq.com/india/) provides accelerated apostille facilitation, document pre-checks and door-to-door courier options that dovetail neatly with the MEA/BLS workflow—ideal for HR managers and travellers who want a single dashboard for visas and attestations alike.
What’s new? 1) Digitised tracking with real-time SMS updates; 2) walk-in windows for dependants’ birth and marriage certificates; and 3) a pilot ‘campus-pickup’ programme at IITs and IIMs for graduating students heading overseas.
Why it matters: For mobility teams, faster apostilles mean quicker onboarding abroad and fewer costly project delays. Employers should update checklists to reflect the new 48-hour lane (additional ₹2,500 fee) and advise staff that original documents must still be presented once before dispatch.
