Canada Visa Documents to Notarise From Australia

For most Canadian visa and permit applications made from Australia, supporting documents are uploaded as copies and need no notary or apostille. A notary is needed for the few items that must be sworn or declared before an authorised witness, such as a common-law declaration, some parental consents and a translator's statement. Your IRCC document checklist decides.

Key takeaways

• Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) publishes a checklist for each application type. It says whether each item is a copy, a certified copy or an original.
• Most supporting documents, such as a birth certificate, degree or payslips, go to IRCC as clear scans, not notarised copies.
• A notary is genuinely needed for declarations that must be sworn or solemnly declared, and sometimes for a translator's sworn statement.
• Canada is an apostille country, but an IRCC application rarely needs an apostille. Other Canadian bodies, such as provincial registries and courts, may.
• A Justice of the Peace is generally not the right witness for an IRCC declaration made outside Canada. Follow the form's own instructions.

Which applications this page covers

This page is about applications to IRCC made from Australia: visitor visas and electronic travel authorisations, study and work permits, International Experience Canada (the working holiday program many young Australians use), and permanent residence. Australian documents going to other Canadian bodies, such as a provincial vital statistics office, a court, a professional regulator or a land registry, follow different rules, covered in apostilles for Canada.

Start with the IRCC document checklist

IRCC publishes a document checklist and instruction guide for each application type, and those documents govern. They are usually specific about three things for each item: whether a plain copy, a certified copy or an original is wanted; whether a translation is needed, and in what form; and whether a form must be signed before a witness.

For most IRCC applications, supporting documents are uploaded as copies. An Australian birth certificate, degree or payslip going to IRCC is usually wanted as a clear scan, not a notarised copy with an apostille. Read the checklist before you pay for anything. It is the question that saves the most money, and it is the one people skip because someone told them Canada "needs everything notarised".

Where is a notary genuinely needed?

Declarations that must be sworn or solemnly declared. Some IRCC forms are statutory declarations, not ordinary signed forms. The best known is the Statutory Declaration of Common-law Union (IMM 5409), used by couples who have lived together but are not married. A declaration of this kind has to be made before someone authorised to take declarations. From Australia, an Australian notary public is the natural choice. Read the current form's instructions on who may witness it outside Canada, and follow them exactly. A form witnessed by the wrong person is a common reason for an application to be returned.

Declarations about children. Where a child is included in an application, or is travelling without both parents, IRCC may want a declaration or consent from a parent who is not applying or travelling. IRCC has its own forms for some of these situations, with their own witnessing instructions. Check whether your situation uses an IRCC form or a free-standing consent letter, and who must witness it. The parent giving consent is the one who attends the notary.

Translator declarations. Where a document is in neither English nor French, IRCC has specific translation rules. In broad terms, a translation by a translator who is not certified may need to be accompanied by the translator's sworn statement, and IRCC does not accept translations made by the applicant or their family. A translator can swear or affirm that statement before a notary. Read IRCC's current wording before arranging this; see NAATI translation with a notary for how the two fit together.

Item	What IRCC usually wants	Notary?
Birth or marriage certificate	A clear scan of the original	Usually not
Degree, transcript or payslips	A clear scan, per the checklist	Usually not
Common-law declaration (IMM 5409)	Solemnly declared before an authorised person	Yes, from Australia
Consent from a non-accompanying parent	A form or letter, witnessed as the instructions say	Often
Translation of a non-English, non-French document	The translation, with a translator's statement where required	Sometimes, for the statement
Australian police certificate	As IRCC's Australia instructions say	Usually not

How does the declaration appointment work?

1. Download the current version of the IRCC form and read its witnessing instructions.
2. Complete it, but do not sign it before the appointment. The notary must see you sign.
3. Bring photo identification, ideally your passport, in the name used on the form. Each person declaring attends.
4. Sign and declare before the notary, who checks your identity, confirms you understand the declaration and are making it freely, and completes the witness section with their signature and seal.
5. Scan and upload, or submit as the instructions require.

The notary witnesses your declaration; the truth of it is yours. Questions about whether you qualify as common-law partners, or which relationship category applies, are about IRCC's definitions, not about notarisation. A licensed Canadian immigration consultant or lawyer can answer them before you sign. For declarations in general, see powers of attorney and declarations.

What if one of you is not in Australia?

A declaration is made where the person declaring is. If your partner is working in another country, or a consenting parent lives abroad, they declare before whoever the IRCC form allows in that country, usually a notary or an official authorised to take declarations there. An Australian notary cannot witness a signature made somewhere else, and should not be asked to sign a form that someone else signed at home.

The same applies in reverse. If you are the one overseas and your partner is in Australia, your partner can declare before an Australian notary while you declare where you are, provided the form allows separate declarations. Read the form's instructions before either of you signs, because some IRCC declarations are designed to be signed by both people on one page and others are not. If the instructions are unclear, ask a licensed adviser rather than guessing, since a returned application costs more time than the question.

Police certificates from Australia

Many IRCC applications, including permanent residence and International Experience Canada, ask for police certificates from each country where you have lived for a set period as an adult. For Australia, IRCC publishes country-specific instructions on which Australian check it wants and how to obtain it. Follow those instructions exactly rather than ordering whatever check an employer once asked you for.

IRCC can ask for a fresh certificate if yours is old by the time a decision is made, so do not order it months ahead of lodging. If a Canadian body other than IRCC wants an Australian police check authenticated, a national police check can generally go to the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) directly for an apostille, without a notary. DFAT's list of documents it can legalise includes national police checks.

Apostilles and IRCC

As of our last check of the HCCH status table, the Apostille Convention has been in force for Canada since 11 January 2024. Check the table on the day. That matters for Australian documents going to Canadian bodies that want authentication, such as provincial vital statistics offices, courts and regulators: for them, DFAT's apostille replaced the older authentication and consular chain.

Do not assume an IRCC application needs one just because an apostille is now available. If your IRCC checklist does not ask for an apostille, adding one spends money and time without adding anything IRCC is looking for. When a Canadian body does want one, see apostille and authentication.

Common mistakes

• Notarising everything. Most IRCC items are scans. Pay for a notary only where the checklist or a form's instructions call for a sworn declaration or certification.
• Signing before the appointment. A declaration signed at home cannot be witnessed; you will have to complete a fresh form.
• Using an old form. IRCC updates its forms. Download the current version on the day you complete it.
• A family member's translation. IRCC does not accept translations by the applicant or their family, however fluent.
• Using a JP for a declaration going abroad. A JP is a witness for Australian purposes; check the IRCC form's own list of acceptable witnesses outside Canada.

Here is an illustration, not a real case

A Melbourne couple applying for Canadian permanent residence together have lived together for several years but are not married. Their IRCC checklist asks for scans of their birth certificates, degrees and payslips, and a Statutory Declaration of Common-law Union. They upload the scans as they are. They complete the declaration without signing it, attend a notary together with their passports, and declare before the notary. The notary completes the witness section, and they upload the signed form. Nothing needed an apostille.

In short

For an IRCC application made from Australia, start with the checklist. Most documents are uploaded as clear scans, with no notary and no apostille. A notary is needed for declarations that must be sworn or solemnly declared, such as the common-law declaration, for some parental consents, and sometimes for a translator's sworn statement. Follow each form's witnessing instructions exactly, and keep apostilles for Canadian bodies that actually ask for them.

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Applying to Canada from Australia? Send us your IRCC checklist, and we will explain each step before you book.