Notary or Migration Agent: Who Does What

A registered migration agent gives immigration assistance: advising on which visa to apply for, preparing the application and dealing with Home Affairs for you. A notary public witnesses signatures and certifies documents, mostly for use overseas. For an Australian visa you usually need neither a notary nor notarised documents, and a notary cannot advise you on your visa.

Key takeaways

• Only a registered migration agent, a legal practitioner or an exempt person may give you immigration assistance.
• A notary witnesses signatures, administers oaths and certifies copies; acting as a notary, they do not advise on visas.
• For online Australian visa applications you usually attach clear scans; certified copies are for paper applications.
• Home Affairs' list of people who can certify copies includes JPs, legal practitioners and registered migration agents; a notary is rarely required.
• A notary is useful when a document is going to another country, or when a foreign authority asks for a notarised document.
• An Australian notary cannot vouch for a document issued overseas; that is done in the country of issue.

What does a migration agent do?

Home Affairs calls the help a migration agent gives immigration assistance: preparing or helping to prepare a visa application or other document, advising about a visa application or visa matter, and representing you in, or preparing for, proceedings before a court or review authority about a visa. Under Australian law only certain people may give that help: a registered migration agent (RMA), a legal practitioner, or an exempt person. Home Affairs says only RMAs and legal practitioners can lawfully charge you for it.

RMAs are registered with the Office of the Migration Agents Registration Authority (OMARA), which keeps a public Register of Migration Agents searchable by name, location or registration number (MARN). If you appoint an agent, they notify Home Affairs using Form 956, and they can also be nominated as your authorised recipient to receive correspondence for you. You remain responsible for the accuracy of what is in your application. Home Affairs warns that anyone who tells you they can fast-track your visa, or promises you will get one, may be trying to scam you.

What does a notary do?

A notary public is usually an experienced lawyer appointed under state or territory arrangements. A notary witnesses signatures after checking identity, understanding and free will; administers oaths and affirmations for affidavits; certifies copies after sighting the original; and prepares notarial certificates that overseas authorities recognise. A notary never certifies that a document's contents are true, and may decline if something is not right.

When acting as a notary, they are an independent witness, not your adviser. Some notaries are also lawyers who practise migration law, but that is a separate engagement with a separate role. A notarial appointment is not the place to ask which visa you should apply for.

Does an Australian visa application need a notary?

Usually not. Most visa applications are lodged online through ImmiAccount, and Home Affairs accepts clear scans or photos of your documents there. Its certified-copy rules are set out for applications on paper. For a paper application, Home Affairs' page on certified copies lists who may certify: people in listed occupations, including justices of the peace, legal practitioners, pharmacists, police officers and registered migration agents whose registration is not suspended or subject to a caution. A notary is not on that list by name, but a notary who is a legal practitioner falls within it, and so does a JP, who is free.

Statutory declarations for Home Affairs, such as the declarations partners and friends make about a relationship, are Australian documents. They are witnessed by an authorised witness under the relevant rules, not by a notary as such. Paying for notarisation of documents that are going to Home Affairs usually adds cost without adding anything Home Affairs asked for. Our guide to notaries and visa documents covers the few exceptions.

Task	Migration agent or lawyer	Notary	JP or other authorised person
Choosing a visa and preparing the application	Yes	No	No
Dealing with Home Affairs on your behalf	Yes, once appointed on Form 956	No	No
Certified copies for a paper application	RMAs and lawyers are on the list	If also a lawyer	Yes, if on the list
Witnessing an Australian statutory declaration	Depends on the witness rules	Yes, but rarely needed	Yes
Documents for a foreign embassy or authority	No	Yes	Not accepted overseas
Vouching for a foreign-issued document	No	No; done where it was issued	No

When is a notary useful for migrants?

A notary becomes relevant when a document is travelling the other way, out of Australia, or when a foreign authority is setting the rules. Common examples for people who have moved to Australia are a power of attorney so a relative can manage property or a bank account back home; an affidavit or declaration required by a home-country registry, court or embassy; notarised copies of Australian documents for a foreign passport renewal or citizenship record; and documents for a visa to a third country, where that country's embassy asks for notarised copies or translations.

In each case the foreign authority decides what it needs. Many want the notarised document to carry a DFAT apostille or, for countries outside the Hague Convention, DFAT authentication and embassy legalisation. Check the country's status on the HCCH table on the day. Our guides to foreign passport renewal documents and dual citizenship documents cover two of the commonest cases.

What about documents issued overseas?

An Australian notary cannot confirm that a birth certificate from Nepal or a degree from India is genuine, because they have no way to verify a foreign registrar's or university's signature. They can certify that a copy matches the foreign original they sighted, which is sometimes all a foreign body wants, but that does not make the document any more official. Where a foreign document has to be verified or legalised, that is normally done in the country that issued it. For Home Affairs, a foreign document in another language also needs an English translation, by a NAATI certified translator if it is made in Australia. Our guide to certified translation in Australia explains what that involves.

What about skills assessments and other Australian bodies?

Many migrants deal with more than Home Affairs. Skills assessing authorities, professional registration boards, universities and state nomination programs each set their own document rules. Some accept colour scans of originals uploaded to their portal; some want copies certified by a person on their own list; a few ask for more. Their rules are not Home Affairs' rules, so read each body's current document requirements rather than assuming one approach fits all.

What almost never changes is that these are Australian bodies, so a notarial certificate designed for foreign authorities is rarely what they ask for. A migration agent who handles the application may know each body's current practice; otherwise, check the body's own website or ask it directly before paying for notarisation. Our guide to how many certified copies to get helps when several bodies want copies of the same documents.

Can a migration agent notarise documents?

No, not unless they are also appointed as a notary, which is uncommon. A registered migration agent can certify copies for a Home Affairs paper application, because RMAs are on Home Affairs' list, but that certification is for Australian immigration purposes only. It is not a notarial act, and DFAT cannot apostille it. DFAT says it legalises copies only when they are notarised by an Australian notary, and that it cannot legalise documents certified by a JP; the same applies to other authorised certifiers. If a foreign authority needs a document, the agent's certification will not do.

How do you work out who you need?

1. Identify the receiving authority. Is the document going to Home Affairs, another Australian body, or a foreign authority?
2. Read its instructions. For Home Affairs, the visa page and the application form tell you what to attach and how.
3. Decide whether you want advice. If you want help choosing or preparing a visa, check the agent on the OMARA register or use a legal practitioner.
4. Use the cheapest certifier that is accepted. For Australian use, a JP or another person on the relevant list is usually enough.
5. Use a notary for foreign use. If a foreign embassy, registry or court wants a notarised document, see a notary.
6. Arrange translations properly. Use a NAATI certified translator for translations made in Australia for Home Affairs.

Common mistakes to avoid

The most common mistake is paying to notarise documents for an online visa application that only needed clear scans. The second is using an unregistered "visa consultant" for advice; check the OMARA register before you pay anyone. The third is assuming a migration agent's certified copy will be accepted by a foreign embassy or by DFAT; it will not. The fourth is asking an Australian notary to certify a foreign document as genuine. A notary can copy-certify what they see, not verify a foreign registry. Finally, do not sign an application or declaration you have not read in full, whoever prepared it; you are responsible for what it says.

Here is an illustration, not a real case.

Sanjay, in Melbourne, is applying for a partner visa with the help of a registered migration agent, who lodges it online with scanned documents. Separately, Sanjay's mother needs him to sign a consent for a family property matter in India. The agent tells him that is outside the visa work. Sanjay signs the consent before a notary, has it apostilled by DFAT after checking India's status on the HCCH table, and sends it to his mother.

In short

A registered migration agent or a lawyer advises on and prepares your Australian visa; a notary witnesses and certifies documents, mainly for use overseas. Most Australian visa applications need no notary: online you attach scans, and on paper a JP or another listed person can certify copies. A notary is the right choice when a foreign authority wants a notarised document. Our NAATI translation with notary page covers documents that need both, and our guide to notary services for immigration covers the wider picture.

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