Documents You Need Notarised When Enrolling a Child in an Overseas School

Parents relocating abroad often assume the school will be the hard part of the paperwork. Usually it is not. Most of what needs a notary is required earlier, for the child's visa or residence permit, and a good deal of what schools ask for needs no notary at all. What decides it is the kind of school, and whether both parents are moving.

The order things usually happen in

1. The child's right to live in the country — a visa or residence permit, usually as your dependant.
2. A school place.
3. Placement in the right year level, which can involve assessing the child's previous schooling.
4. Health records and, if the child will not live with both parents, evidence of who may make decisions for them.

Most notarial work sits in steps 1, 3 and 4.

Step one: the residence permit

The immigration authority, not the school, is usually the first to ask for authenticated documents. For a child that commonly means:

• The child's full birth certificate, the version that names both parents. This proves the relationship to the parent holding the main permit. A registry certificate may be apostilled by DFAT directly, without a notary — confirm with DFAT. See our birth certificate page for both routes.
• Consent from a parent who is not relocating. If one parent is staying in Australia, or the parents are separated, expect to need that parent's notarised consent to the child living abroad, and possibly any parenting orders. This is one of the most common reasons a relocating family needs a notary, and it overlaps closely with travel consent; our page on notarising a child travel consent explains who signs and what the letter should say. Where there are court orders about the child, speak to a family lawyer before relocating.

Step two: the school application

International and private schools abroad frequently accept scans or plain copies of reports and passports with the application. Ask before paying for anything. If they want originals sighted, they often do it themselves when you arrive.

State schools in the destination country run under its education ministry and are more likely to have formal document rules. Those rules are the ones that may need a notary.

Step three: placing the child in the right year

This is where authentication most often comes up, especially for older children. Some education systems want previous school records formally recognised before placing a child in upper secondary, or before crediting studies towards a final qualification.

If your child's reports need authenticating, sort them by who issued them:

• Reports from a non-government school are private documents. A notary certifies a copy against the original report, and DFAT then authenticates the notary's signature.
• Reports from a government school, or certificates from a state curriculum authority, may be public documents that DFAT can authenticate directly. Whether a particular document qualifies is DFAT's call; ask before assuming either way.

Bring original reports. Many schools now issue reports only through an online portal, and a notary cannot certify a copy against a printout of a web page as if it were an original. If the reports only exist online, ask the school for a signed letter or a formally issued copy on letterhead, and have that notarised instead.

Where the destination wants reports translated, it decides whose translation it accepts. Ask the school or ministry before commissioning one here.

Step four: health records and guardianship

Immunisation records. In Australia, the immunisation history statement is downloaded from the national register rather than issued on paper. Most schools abroad accept it as it is, sometimes with a translation. If a school insists on a certified or authenticated record, ask your GP for a signed record, which is a document a notary can act on. Check what the school actually needs before you start.

When the child will not live with you. If a child is boarding, or staying with a relative or host family while the parents remain in Australia, the school and the country may require a document delegating parental responsibility to a local guardian. This is a significant legal document, often in a form set by the destination. Get the form from the school or a local lawyer, and take legal advice before signing. Both parents will usually need to sign before a notary, and it will often need an apostille.

Frequently asked questions

Does my child's passport need notarising? Rarely. Schools usually want a plain copy, and the immigration authority sees the passport itself. If a certified copy is required for use abroad, a notary can provide one.

One parent cannot attend the notary with the other. Is that a problem? Not usually. Each parent can sign a consent or delegation separately, in front of a notary where they are. If one parent is overseas, they sign before a notary in their own country.

Can a Justice of the Peace certify the school reports? Not for use overseas. A JP's certification is not recognised abroad and cannot be apostilled. Whether the destination is an apostille member must be checked against the HCCH status table on the day.