Notary Services for International Students in Canada: Declarations Online, Copies in Person

Last updated: October 14, 2026

Notary Services for International Students in Canada: Declarations Online, Copies in Person

Quick answer: Most of what an international student in Canada needs from a notary falls into two groups. Sworn or declared documents, such as a translator's affidavit for a transcript in another language, the common-law declaration IMM 5409 for a spouse or partner's permit application, the custodian's part of IMM 5646, or a one and the same person affidavit for a name that differs between documents, can be commissioned online by video from any province with an Ontario Notary Public and Commissioner for Taking Affidavits, for a flat $24.95 per seal plus HST. Certified true copies of a degree, transcript or passport, and any form that wants a notary-witnessed signature, are in person: a mobile visit in Ontario, or a notary near you elsewhere. Students save up to 15% on an online appointment on request. The notary commissions and certifies; a notary does not give immigration advice.

You came to Canada to study, and the paperwork followed you. The first time you looked for a notary was probably during the study-permit application from home. The next times will be for a spouse's open work permit, a transcript going to a licensing body, a document in your home language that IRCC wants translated, or a name on your diploma that does not match your passport. Students at universities and colleges from Victoria to St. John's write to us with the same five or six questions, and this guide answers them for the whole country.

If you are in Ottawa, our guide for uOttawa and Carleton students covers the local campuses and the registrar's role in detail. For the full list of IRCC forms that need a commissioner, see our IRCC and newcomer hub. For anything else, contact us or call (613) 434-5555.

Caption: A residence room, a laptop or phone, a passport and the unsigned form. That is a complete online appointment for a student anywhere in Canada.

Key Takeaways

What do international students in Canada actually need a notary for?

Less than you may fear. IRCC's online applications, for the initial study permit, an extension, and the post-graduation work permit, take uploaded scans of your passport, your acceptance letter, your proof of funds and your school's letters. Proof of enrolment and completion letters come from your registrar, and a notary cannot stand in for the school. Biometrics, fees and the forms themselves never pass through a notary either.

The notary appears at four moments:

1. Something must be sworn or declared. A translator's affidavit, a relationship declaration for a spouse, a declaration explaining a missing record or a name discrepancy, or a school or co-op form that asks for a statutory declaration. These are commissioned, and commissioning can be done online.
2. Someone wants a certified true copy. A credential evaluator, a provincial regulator, a foreign employer or a home-country university asks for a notarized copy of your degree, transcript or passport. The notary must see the paper original, so this is in person.
3. A form wants a notary-witnessed signature. Some bank, scholarship or sponsorship forms do. Signature witnessing is in person.
4. A document is going abroad. Your Canadian degree to a ministry at home, a power of attorney so a parent can sell your car back home. These usually start with an in-person act and may need an apostille afterwards.

Everything in group 1 is available to you from any province or territory. Groups 2 to 4 need a notary physically present: in Ontario that is a mobile visit to your residence or campus; elsewhere in Canada, a notary near you.

Which student documents can be commissioned online from any province?

Ontario allows a Commissioner for Taking Affidavits to administer an oath or declaration by video under O. Reg. 431/20, when both of you can see, hear and communicate in real time throughout, your identity is confirmed, the jurat records where each of you was, and the notary makes sure you understand what you are signing. The regulation does not require you to be in Ontario; the receiving organization must accept a remotely commissioned Ontario document, and for IRCC and other federal bodies that is commonly the case.

Two cautions. First, use the wording the receiving body gives you; the notary commissions the declaration but does not write it or decide what it should say. Second, a form that says it must be signed "in the presence of a notary public", rather than sworn or declared, is a witnessing form, and that is in person unless it can be re-prepared as a statutory declaration.

Which documents still need a certified copy in person?

Caption: A certified true copy is made from the paper original in the notary's hands. In Ontario the notary comes to the residence; elsewhere, use a notary near you.

A certified true copy is the notary's statement that the copy in front of them matches the original they examined. No original, no certification; a scan or a photocopy of a photocopy cannot be certified, by video or otherwise. Students need certified copies for:

• Credential evaluators such as WES, ICAS, IQAS or ICES, when their instructions ask for a certified copy rather than a sealed transcript from the school.
• Provincial regulators and licensing bodies for engineering, nursing, teaching, accounting and the trades.
• Foreign employers and universities that want your Canadian degree certified before they will accept it, sometimes with an apostille from Ontario's Official Documents Services on top; see apostille vs notarization.
• The occasional IRCC checklist that specifically asks for a certified copy instead of a scan.

The other in-person act is a notary-witnessed signature: a bank form, a sponsorship undertaking, a power of attorney for property back home. In Ontario, the notary comes to you anywhere in the province for a $60 travel fee once per trip, which covers up to 30 km from our nearest office in Ottawa or Toronto; beyond that, an additional travel fee applies. Each certified copy is $24.95 per seal plus HST, and extra copies of the same document at the same visit are the same rate each, so ask for as many as your applications need.

Do not open a sealed transcript to bring it to a notary. If the receiving body wants the transcript from the school, order it through the registrar; if it accepts an unsealed transcript you hold, the notary can certify a copy of that.

Bringing a spouse or partner: the IMM 5409 declaration on one call

Caption: IMM 5409 is declared by both partners. Both can be on one call, in one room or in two provinces, each with their own photo ID.

A study-permit holder cannot sponsor a spouse for permanent residence; sponsorship is for citizens and permanent residents. What a student can do is have a spouse or common-law partner apply as an accompanying family member, for example for a spousal open work permit where IRCC's current rules allow it, and IRCC asks for proof of the relationship. For common-law partners that is the Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union, IMM 5409, which both partners declare before a commissioner.

Online, both of you join the same video call, each holds up your own government photo ID, both of you declare, and the notary completes one jurat for both. Because two people declare, it is two seals: $49.90 plus HST and the card processing fee. Your partner does not have to be in the same room, the same province or the same country. Whether your partner qualifies under IRCC's rules is a question for IRCC's guide or a regulated representative, not for the notary. Full walkthrough: IMM 5409, both partners declare online.

Documents in another language: the translator's affidavit

IRCC accepts a translation by a certified translator with no affidavit, or a translation by anyone else accompanied by the translator's affidavit swearing to their language proficiency and the accuracy of the translation. The second route is common for students whose transcripts, birth certificates or marriage certificates are in Vietnamese, Hindi, Mandarin, Arabic, French-based African systems or any other language, when a friend, a relative or a non-certified translator did the work.

The translator swears the affidavit, not you. The translator joins the video call from wherever they are, shows photo ID, swears that the translation is complete and accurate, and signs on camera. The notary commissions the affidavit and does not assess the translation's quality. Price: $24.95 per seal plus HST. Our guide to the affidavit of translation has the wording IRCC expects.

A name that does not match: the one and the same person affidavit

Your passport says one thing, your diploma from home another, your study permit a third: a middle name dropped, a surname order reversed, a different romanization. Evaluators, regulators and IRCC officers notice. The fix is a one and the same person affidavit, in which you list each version of your name and the document that shows it, and swear that they all refer to you. It is commissioned online in a few minutes for $24.95 per seal plus HST; copies of the documents attached as exhibits are sealed separately. It confirms identity; it does not change your legal name. See one and the same person affidavit in Canada.

How to prepare for the video appointment from a residence room

1. Read the receiving body's instructions and save them. You will match the wording and attach what they ask for.
2. Finish the document, unsigned. Download the IRCC form or use the wording your checklist gives. Do not sign it before the call.
3. Have your passport ready. It is the best ID for a student: government photo ID that matches your IRCC file. A provincial driver's licence or photo card also works. A study permit alone is not photo ID.
4. Book a time that suits you. Appointments run seven days a week, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM Toronto time; convert for your province. Upload the unsigned document and a photo of your ID when you book.
5. Join from a quiet room with good light, on a phone, tablet or laptop. A residence room is fine; a shared lounge usually is not, because the notary must see and hear you clearly for the whole call.
6. Speak the oath or affirmation, then sign with your finger or mouse through the secure link. The sealed PDF arrives by email shortly after, ready to upload to the IRCC portal. Our guide to doing the whole appointment on a phone shows each step.

Student discount and payment

Students save up to 15% on an online appointment, on request. Email the office at info@minutenotary.ca for a code before you book and enter it at checkout. One code per booking; the instant booking fee, which applies only to a slot starting within 20 minutes of checkout, is never discounted. Payment is by card at checkout, with the HST and the card processing fee of 2.9% + $0.30 shown before you pay. Nothing is confirmed until payment succeeds, and if we find the document cannot be completed online you are offered a new time, a full refund or a switch to a mobile visit.

What the notary cannot do: IRPA s. 91

What a notary can and cannot do: An Ontario notary public commissions your affidavits and statutory declarations, certifies true copies of your originals in person, and witnesses signatures in person. A notary does not advise on which permit to apply for, whether you qualify, how to answer a question on a form, or how to respond to a refusal. Section 91 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act reserves paid immigration advice and representation to lawyers, paralegals where authorized, Quebec notaries and Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants. For advice, see an immigration lawyer or an RCIC; your school's international student office can usually point you to free guidance.

Pricing

Note: prices are before HST. See every posted rate on our pricing page. We commission and certify; we do not draft or give immigration advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a notary for my study permit application or extension?

Usually not. IRCC's online applications take uploaded scans of your passport, your letter of acceptance and your proof of funds, and proof of enrolment comes from your school's registrar. A notary comes in only when a checklist or an officer asks for a sworn declaration or, less often, a certified copy. Read your checklist first.

Which student documents can be commissioned online from any province?

Sworn or declared documents: a translator's affidavit for a transcript or certificate in another language, the common-law declaration IMM 5409 for a spouse or partner's application, the custodian's part of the custodianship declaration IMM 5646, a one and the same person affidavit for a name that differs between documents, a statutory declaration for a lost document, and any school or co-op form written as a sworn declaration. You join by video from wherever you study.

Which documents still need an in-person appointment?

A certified true copy of a paper original, such as your degree, transcript or passport for a credential evaluator, a licensing body or a foreign employer, and any form that asks for a notary-witnessed signature. In Ontario, that is a mobile visit where the notary comes to your residence or campus. Outside Ontario, use a notary near you for those two acts.

Can my spouse or partner and I declare IMM 5409 on the same video call?

Yes. Both partners join the same call, each shows their own photo ID, both declare, and one jurat covers both. Because two people declare it is two seals, $49.90 plus HST. Your partner can join from another province or from abroad.

Is there a student discount?

Yes. Students save up to 15% on an online appointment, on request. Email the office for a code before you book and enter it at checkout. One code per booking, and the instant booking fee is never discounted.

Can the notary help me fill out IRCC forms or tell me if I qualify?

No. Immigration advice and representation for a fee are reserved under section 91 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act to lawyers, paralegals where authorized, Quebec notaries and Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants. An Ontario notary public is not on that list. We commission your declaration and certify your copies; an immigration lawyer or RCIC advises on the application.

My degree is going to a foreign employer or university. What do I need?

Usually a certified true copy of the degree, made from the paper original in person, and sometimes an apostille from Ontario's Official Documents Services on top. The receiving institution's instructions say which. If your transcript must come from the school, order it from the registrar; a notary cannot certify a sealed institutional transcript.

What ID can an international student use?

Your passport is the best choice: it is government photo ID, it matches your IRCC file, and it reads clearly on camera. A provincial driver's licence or photo card also works. Your study permit alone is not photo ID, and it must be valid.

Final Recommendation

Start with the receiving body's checklist, not with the notary. If it asks for a scan, upload a scan. If it asks for a sworn declaration or a translator's affidavit, book an online appointment from your residence room in any province, with your passport and the unsigned form beside you, and ask for the student code first. If it asks for a certified copy of your degree or a witnessed signature, that is an in-person act: a mobile visit in Ontario, a notary near you elsewhere. And for the question underneath all of this, whether your application will succeed, talk to an immigration lawyer or an RCIC; the notary's job ends at the seal.

Book Your Appointment

Need an IRCC declaration, translator's affidavit or name affidavit commissioned online as a student in Canada? Minute Notary commissions it by secure video from any province for $24.95 per seal plus HST, with up to 15% off for students on request.

• Contact us: Ask a question or request an appointment
• Call: (613) 434-5555
• Service page: Immigration Documents
• Free templates: Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union (IMM 5409), Statutory declaration of translation, One and the same person affidavit
• Related guide: Notary Services for International Students at uOttawa and Carleton
• Hours: Every day, Saturday and Sunday included, 8:00 AM to 8:00 PM (Ottawa time)

Sources

• IRCC — Study permits
• IRCC — Post-graduation work permit
• IRCC — IMM 5409, Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union
• IRCC — IMM 5646, Custodianship Declaration
• Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 91 — Representation or advice for consideration
• O. Reg. 431/20: Administering Oath or Declaration Remotely (Ontario)
• Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. C.17 (Ontario)
• Notaries Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. N.6 (Ontario)

Related Articles

• Notary Services for International Students at uOttawa and Carleton
• Immigration Documents Online in Canada: the IRCC and Newcomer Hub
• IMM 5409 Common-Law Declaration: Both Partners Declare Online
• Affidavit of Translation: Sworn Online in Canada
• Online Notary From Anywhere in Canada