Notarising Immigration Documents for an India Visa Application from Australia

Last reviewed: 26 September 2026. Indian visa and OCI requirements are set by the Government of India and administered in Australia through the Indian High Commission, its consulates and their outsourced service provider. Check the current checklist for your application before acting on anything here.

Most people applying for an Indian visa from Australia never need a notary. The applications that do need one are mostly Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) cases where something is out of the ordinary: a missing parent's signature, a name that differs between documents, or a marriage that has to be proved.

The word that causes most of the confusion is "attested".

"Attested" means several different things

In Indian administrative practice, "attested" can mean at least four things, and applicants regularly pay for the wrong one.

• Self-attested. You sign your own photocopy to confirm it is a true copy. Indian application checklists very often ask for this, and it costs nothing.
• Attested by a notary. A notary certifies the copy or witnesses a signature.
• Attested by the Indian mission. The High Commission or a consulate attests a document or signature itself.
• Apostilled. An Australian public document authenticated by DFAT for use in India.

When a checklist or an agent says "attested", ask which one is meant. If the answer is self-attested, you do not need a notary.

e-Visas: no notary

Australian passport holders visiting India for tourism, business, medical treatment or conferences can generally apply for an e-Visa online. Supporting documents are uploaded: a passport scan, a photograph and, for some categories, a letter or invitation. Nothing is notarised.

OCI: where the questions arise

An OCI card lets a person of Indian origin, or the foreign spouse of an Indian citizen or OCI holder, visit and live in India without a visa. For Australians of Indian origin it is often the long-term alternative to repeated visas.

First, the Indian passport

India does not allow dual citizenship. Someone who was an Indian citizen and has become an Australian citizen is generally expected to surrender their Indian passport and hold a surrender or renunciation certificate before applying for OCI or a visa. That is a process handled with the Indian mission, not with a notary. If you have not done it, it is usually the first step, and missing it holds up the rest.

Minors

OCI and visa applications for children usually need the consent and signatures of both parents. Where one parent cannot sign, perhaps because they are overseas, separated or uncontactable, the checklist typically asks for a declaration or supporting court document instead.

This is where an Australian notary commonly helps. A parent in Australia can sign a declaration or consent before a notary. Ask the mission or service provider:

• Is there a prescribed form for this declaration?
• Who may witness it: a notary, or only a mission officer?
• Does a notarised declaration need an apostille as well?

Where custody has been decided by an Australian court, the court order itself is the key document. Ask whether a sealed copy, a certified copy or an apostilled copy is wanted.

Spouses of Indian citizens or OCI holders

OCI on the basis of marriage depends on proving that the marriage is registered and has lasted for the required period. If the marriage was registered in Australia, the Australian marriage certificate is the core document. Ask whether it needs an apostille. India is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, but check its current status against the HCCH status table on the day. A registry marriage certificate may go to DFAT directly, without a notary. Confirm with DFAT.

Names that do not match

Indian documents, Australian documents and passports often record the same name differently: a surname adopted on marriage, a father's name used as a surname, a single given name. Indian checklists commonly ask for a sworn explanation where names differ. From Australia, that is usually a statutory declaration or affidavit made before an authorised witness. Ask whether the mission wants it notarised, or sworn before one of its own officers.

Employment, student and other long-stay visas

Regular visas for employment, study, research or journalism are supported by contracts, admission letters and sponsor documents, most of them issued in India. Where an Australian qualification or police check is requested, ask the same question as above: self-attested copy, notarised copy, or apostilled? The answer decides whether you need a notary at all.

Sequence, for an Australian document that needs an apostille

1. Confirm with the mission or the Indian receiving body that an apostille is what they want
2. Obtain the original: a registry certificate or a sealed court order
3. Ask DFAT whether it can authenticate it directly
4. If not, have it notarised first
5. DFAT apostille

Frequently asked questions

The checklist says "self-attested copy". Do I need a notary? No. Sign the photocopy yourself as the checklist directs.

Can a Justice of the Peace witness a declaration for an OCI application? For OCI, sometimes yes. VFS, which lodges OCI applications in Australia, accepts copies attested by a JP or a notary, except that residents of NSW must use a notary. Check the current VFS checklist for your application, because these rules change. See the separate page on applying for an OCI card from Australia.

I still have my old Indian passport. Can I apply for OCI now? Deal with the surrender or renunciation first. The mission will tell you what it needs.

My documents are in English. Do I need a translation? Documents in English generally do not. Documents in other languages usually need an English translation. Ask whose translation is accepted.