Overseas notarization via video link officially came into effect nationwide on Friday.

The first beneficiary of the innovative service was Wu Guizhen, a 77-year-old Tianjin citizen who now lives in Singapore. She applied to notarize her power of attorney. On Friday, the Tianjin Hexin Notary Office and the Chinese Embassy in Singapore set up a video connection and Wu was able to go through the whole notary process.

“How convenient the whole thing is. It saves me a lot of time and money,” Wu said after she completed the process within 20 minutes.

The notary officer of the Tianjin Hexin Notary Office said that Wu’s domestic trustee can receive the notary certificate within two working days after the physical documents signed by Wu arrived to the city.

"Affected by COVID-19, some Chinese citizens who live abroad cannot return to China in time to apply for notarized documents that concern their relationship and property. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together with the Ministry of Justice, organized embassies and consulates abroad to cooperate with domestic notary institutions to promote the video notarization,”said Zhao Jianling, deputy director of the Municipal Foreign Affairs Office.

Pilot implementations have been conducted since March 2021. Tianjin notary institutions have provided services for Chinese citizens in Japan, Canada, South Africa, Thailand and other countries. More than 60 Chinese embassies and consulates abroad will implement this service simultaneously, benefiting more overseas Chinese citizens.