Last updated: April 14, 2026

Notary Services for International Students at uOttawa and Carleton

Quick answer: Most of what an international student at uOttawa, Carleton, La Cité, or Algonquin College needs from a notary in Ottawa is a certified true copy — passport, study permit, degree, transcript, or marriage certificate — for an IRCC application, a credential evaluator, or a use abroad. Some files also need a statutory declaration: a name-change affidavit, a common-law declaration for sponsorship, or a sworn statement explaining a missing record. The notary verifies identity, certifies the copy or witnesses the oath, and stops there. Decisions about study-permit eligibility, post-graduation work permit (PGWP) eligibility, and sponsorship are IRCC's, and a notary in Ontario is not an authorized representative under IRPA s.91.

You arrived in Ottawa for school. Maybe you flew in from Hanoi, Lagos, or Dhaka, or you transferred up from Montréal after a CEGEP year. The first time you needed a notary was probably during your initial study-permit application; the second time will be for a permit renewal, a PGWP file, a sponsorship application, or a transcript request from a university back home. We see all four every week at our office in central Ottawa, and the questions tend to repeat: which documents need a certified copy, which need a sworn declaration, what the registrar can do versus what we do, and what happens if your name on the diploma does not match the name on your passport.

This guide is for incoming and current international students at the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, La Cité Collégiale, and Algonquin College. It is also for students who have already finished a program and are working through the post-graduation phase — PGWP applications, transcript requests, and family sponsorship from inside Canada. The aim is to leave you with a clear picture of when a notary is the right professional, when the university registrar handles it, and what to bring to the appointment so you do not make a second trip. We will also flag where the notary's role legally ends, because mixing up notarial work with immigration advice causes real problems.

For neighbouring topics, our Express Entry document guide covers the PR side after graduation, and our work permit documents checklist explains what PGWP and other work-permit files commonly need.

Caption: A typical Ottawa student appointment — passport, study permit, sealed transcript request from the registrar, and a stack of certified copies for IRCC.

Key Takeaways

A few principles run through everything below. First, a notary makes a certified copy from your original document — never from a scan or another copy. Second, a notary does not open a sealed envelope from the registrar; institutional submissions go directly from the registrar to the receiving body. Third, a notary in Ontario does not give immigration advice and is not your authorized representative under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA s.91); for advice, you need a lawyer or an RCIC.

Common Documents International Students Need Notarized

Across a typical week, the documents we see most often from uOttawa and Carleton students fall into a short list. None of these are exotic. The pattern is almost always the same — the receiving body wants a copy that has been certified by an authorized officer, and a notary public in Ontario qualifies under the Notaries Act.

Certified true copies of passport, study permit, and PR card. The passport copy is the most common single request. IRCC, NNAS, foreign credential evaluators, and overseas employers all use it as the baseline identity document. The notary photocopies the biographical page (and, in some cases, the page showing entry stamps or visas), affixes a certification statement that the copy is true to the original, signs, and seals. A certified copy of a study permit is the usual companion — particularly when you are applying for a renewal from inside Canada and need to attach the current permit. If you have moved from study to permanent residence, a certified copy of your PR card is asked for in many post-PR files.

Certified copies of degree, transcript, or letter of acceptance. These are the documents that change a student file from "in progress" to "graduated and applying for the next thing". A certified copy of your uOttawa or Carleton degree parchment is what a foreign employer, a licensing body, or a credential evaluator (WES, ICAS, IQAS, ICES, MCC) commonly asks for. Note the careful distinction with transcripts: for institutional submissions inside Canada — meaning the receiving body wants the transcript sent directly from the university — you go through the registrar, not the notary, because those receivers want a sealed envelope or an electronic file straight from uOttawa or Carleton. For personal uses, including some foreign employers and overseas licensing bodies, a certified copy of an unsealed transcript that you hold in your own hands is acceptable. When in doubt, ask the receiving body what they want before you book.

Statutory declarations for sponsorship and relationship matters. If you are sponsoring a spouse or a common-law partner, IRCC requires evidence of the relationship. A common-law statutory declaration (Form IMM 5409 in many cases) needs to be sworn in front of a notary or commissioner, and a notary in Ottawa can administer that oath and complete the jurat. We have a more detailed walk-through in our common-law statutory declaration guide. The notary does not draft the substance of the declaration — IRCC publishes the forms, and your file or your representative supplies the facts.

Notarized translation packages. When a foreign-language document needs to go to IRCC, a Canadian university, or a Canadian employer, the workflow has two parts. A certified translator (ATIO in Ontario, OTTIAQ in Quebec, or another recognized body) does the translation; the notary then certifies a copy of the original document and, in some workflows, witnesses an affidavit from the translator confirming the translation's accuracy. The notary is not a translator. Mixing up these roles is the single most common reason a translation package gets rejected — IRCC and licensing bodies want the right professional doing the right step.

Powers of attorney for property abroad. This one surprises some students. While you are studying in Canada, your family back home may need to sell a flat, register a vehicle, or close a bank account in your name. A power of attorney drafted for a use abroad needs your signature witnessed by a notary, and depending on the destination country it may also need an apostille (since Canada joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2024). The drafting should be done with a lawyer in the destination jurisdiction; the notary's role is to witness and seal in Ottawa.

Sworn declarations for change-of-status applications. If you are switching from a study permit to a work permit, from a study permit to a visitor record, or from any temporary status to PR while inside Canada, IRCC sometimes asks for a sworn declaration to address something specific in your file — a gap in records, a name discrepancy, or a clarification on a previous answer. The notary administers the oath and completes the jurat. The wording of the declaration is yours, your representative's, or your lawyer's; we do not draft it.

A note on what is not in the list: a notary does not provide a "letter of good standing", a "study verification letter", or "proof of enrolment". Those come from your university — uOttawa's InfoService, Carleton's Registrar, La Cité's services aux étudiants, or Algonquin's Registrar's Office. The notary cannot stand in for the institution. We can certify a true copy of a letter the university issues to you, but the letter itself has to come from the school.

IRCC Student-Specific Workflows

Most international students in Ottawa interact with three IRCC product lines: study permits (initial and renewal), post-graduation work permits (PGWP), and family sponsorship (spousal or common-law) from inside Canada. The notary's role is small and well-defined in each. The official program rules live at canada.ca and change over time, so always cross-check against the IRCC page for your stream before submitting.

Study permit renewal from inside Canada. When you are extending a study permit from inside Canada, IRCC's online application typically asks for proof of identity, proof of current status, and proof of enrolment. The notary can certify true copies of your passport biographical page, your current study permit, and (in some uploads) your acceptance letter or proof-of-enrolment letter from uOttawa or Carleton. The proof-of-enrolment letter itself comes from the registrar; the certified copy is for your records or for an attached application elsewhere. IRCC also asks for proof you can support yourself — bank statements, GIC documentation, letters of sponsorship from a parent. Certified copies of bank letters, sponsorship affidavits, and (where the home jurisdiction allows it) financial declarations may be part of the package, depending on the case.

Post-graduation work permit (PGWP). A PGWP application after you graduate from a Designated Learning Institution (DLI) — which uOttawa, Carleton, La Cité, and Algonquin all are — usually needs proof of program completion. The accepted proofs are an official letter from the institution confirming completion, a final transcript, and the degree, diploma, or certificate. The notary can certify true copies of the degree parchment and the transcript that you hold in hand, but in most PGWP files IRCC accepts uploaded scans of these documents and an institutional letter from the registrar. Where the certified copy genuinely helps is if you are also using the same documents in parallel — for a foreign employer's HR file, for a credential evaluation, or for a professional licensing body. One trip to the notary, several certified copies, several uses.

Family sponsorship while studying. Sponsoring a spouse or common-law partner from inside Canada (or from outside, but with you as sponsor inside Canada) is a different stream entirely, governed by IRCC's spousal and common-law sponsorship guidance. The relationship-proof package is the part where notaries see the most volume from student sponsors. Common-law partners typically supply a Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union (Form IMM 5409) sworn before a notary or commissioner; spouses supply a marriage certificate (often a certified true copy) and supporting documents. Beyond the form, IRCC asks for shared-life evidence: joint accounts, joint leases, photographs, communications. Certified copies of leases, account statements, and identity documents are common attachments. If your file is unusually documentary — for example, the partner is overseas and the relationship is largely documentary — work with a regulated representative; the notary's role is the certified copy and the oath, not the strategy.

A practical note on biometrics, fees, and forms: none of those go through the notary. Biometrics are collected at IRCC-designated centres, fees are paid online, and the IRCC forms themselves are filled out by you (or your representative). The notary handles the documentary side — certified copies and sworn declarations — and that's it. If your representative is sending the file, we will work with them on the documents you need to bring.

For the broader PR side after a study program ends, see our Express Entry document guide. For the work-permit side specifically, see work permit documents Canada. Both posts go deeper into program-by-program document checklists than this article does.

Caption: A typical study-permit renewal package — current permit, passport, and a registrar-issued proof of enrolment, with certified copies stacked on top.

uOttawa vs Carleton Practical Notes

Although this article treats uOttawa and Carleton students together — the notary-side workflow is essentially the same — there are small practical differences worth flagging when you are figuring out which document goes through the registrar and which through a notary.

University of Ottawa. uOttawa's main campus sits between downtown Ottawa and Sandy Hill, near the Lees and Hurdman OC Transpo stations to the south and Rideau station to the north. International student services are handled by the International Office (Bureau international), which provides advising, immigration document support, and proof-of-enrolment letters; the Registrar's Office handles official transcripts and degree parchments. If you need a sealed transcript sent to a foreign university or to a credential evaluator that wants a sealed institutional submission, that is a registrar request. If you need a certified copy of a transcript that you hold for personal use, that is a notary request. We do not promise current office hours or specific staff names — the university updates those frequently — and we recommend confirming directly with the relevant office before you head over.

Carleton University. Carleton's main campus is south of the Rideau Canal, with the O-Train Carleton station serving the east side of campus and bus routes serving the rest. Carleton's International Student Services Office (ISSO) handles incoming-student support, study-permit guidance, and PGWP information sessions; the Registrar's Office handles official transcripts and parchments. The same workflow rule applies: institutional submissions through the registrar, personal-use certified copies through a notary. Carleton has a sizable cohort of students in professional programs (engineering, journalism, business) whose documents end up with regulators, and we routinely see Carleton graduates needing certified copies of their degree for PEO (Professional Engineers Ontario) registration — covered in more detail in our PEO engineering documents guide.

La Cité Collégiale. La Cité is Ontario's largest French-language college and serves a francophone international student community drawn heavily from West and Central Africa, the Caribbean, and France. The notary-side workflow is the same; the appointment can be conducted in French, the jurat can be drafted in French, and the certified-copy stamp can be bilingual. We cover the language side in detail in our bilingual notary Ottawa post.

Algonquin College. Algonquin's Woodroffe campus is large, with a substantial international cohort across business, IT, hospitality, and skilled trades. Document needs tend to skew toward PGWP applications after graduation and toward credential submissions for trades licensing or further education in Canada. Same notary workflow as the other institutions.

A common misconception is that the university registrar can do the work of a notary, or that a notary can do the work of the registrar. They cannot. The registrar issues the official institutional document — the parchment, the transcript, the proof-of-enrolment letter — and seals it for institutional delivery. The notary verifies the original you brought in and produces a certified copy for use elsewhere. If your receiving body says "send the transcript directly from the university", a notary cannot help with that step; if your receiving body says "submit a certified copy of the diploma you hold", the registrar cannot do that — only an authorized officer like a notary or commissioner can certify what is in front of them. Read the receiving body's instructions carefully and you will know which professional you need.

One more practical note: students sometimes assume that because the diploma and transcript come from the same institution, they can be handled the same way. They cannot. A diploma is a single document you take home; a transcript is an institutional record the university maintains. The notary will certify a copy of either if you bring the original, but for most graduate-school and credential-evaluation submissions, the transcript needs to come straight from the institution.

Bilingual Workflows for uOttawa and La Cité

Ottawa is officially bilingual at the municipal-services level, the federal government delivers services in both official languages, and uOttawa is one of the largest officially bilingual universities in the world. La Cité is fully francophone. The practical effect on the notary-side is small but real.

The appointment can be in French or English. A bilingual notary in Ottawa will ask whether you would prefer to proceed en français ou en anglais and run the appointment accordingly. The oath, the explanation of what you are about to swear, and the answers to your questions all happen in your chosen language. This matters because Ontario law requires that a person taking an oath understand its nature; if you are more comfortable in French, the appointment runs in French.

The jurat and certificate can be in French, English, or bilingual. A jurat — the certificate at the bottom of an affidavit reading "Sworn (or affirmed) before me at..." — can be drafted in French ("Assermenté(e) devant moi à...") or English. When the document body is in French, the jurat in French is the natural fit. When the document is mixed (a federal IRCC form with bilingual headings and an English body), the jurat usually matches the body. A bilingual notary will check with you before signing.

The document itself does not change language at the notary. This is the line most often crossed by mistake. The notary is not a translator. If your study permit is in French and the receiving body wants it in English, the notary cannot translate it during the appointment. Translation is the work of a certified translator — ATIO in Ontario, OTTIAQ in Quebec — and has to happen before or after the notarization, not during. The notary can certify a copy of the French original and certify a copy of the certified English translation as two separate steps, and can witness the translator's affidavit if the workflow calls for it.

Quebec-bound documents are a different conversation. If your document is going to a Quebec land registry, a Quebec court, or a Quebec marriage contract, an Ontario notary public is not the same profession as a Quebec notaire. The Quebec notaire is a civil-law jurist regulated by the Chambre des notaires du Québec; the Ontario notary public is a witness-and-certification role under the Notaries Act. For most Quebec-facing student documents (a transcript request, an IRCC submission going to a CIC office in Quebec) the Ontario notary handles it normally. For Quebec-specific civil-law documents, you need a Quebec notaire. We cover this distinction in detail in bilingual notary Ottawa.

For La Cité students whose home country uses a French-language administrative tradition (France, Belgium, Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Cameroon, Haiti), the appointment-in-French option matters in a second way: it lets you keep your file consistent in French from end to end, except where Canadian receivers explicitly ask for English. We can help you keep that consistency without losing track of which step needs which professional.

Caption: A bilingual jurat in French and English. uOttawa and La Cité files often run in French from start to finish.

What a Notary Does (and Cannot Do)

This section is the one we wish more students read before booking. Mixing up the notary's role with an immigration consultant's role causes real problems in real files, and the line in Canadian law is bright.

What a notary public in Ontario does. Under the Notaries Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. N.6, a notary public is appointed by the Ministry of the Attorney General to administer oaths and affirmations, take affidavits and statutory declarations, certify true copies of documents, and witness signatures. In a student file, that translates into four concrete tasks: (1) certify a copy of an original document — passport, study permit, degree, transcript, marriage certificate; (2) administer the oath or affirmation when you swear an affidavit or statutory declaration; (3) witness your signature on a power of attorney or a consent form; and (4) complete the jurat on the document, attaching a stamp or seal that certifies the act. That is the full scope.

What a notary public in Ontario does not do. The notary does not advise on whether you are eligible for a study permit, a PGWP, an open work permit, a spousal sponsorship, or a permanent-residence stream. The notary does not assess whether your facts meet the IRCC requirements. The notary does not interpret IRCC checklists, write your supporting letter, or draft the substance of your statutory declaration. If you ask "should I apply under stream A or stream B?", the right answer from the notary is "talk to a regulated representative".

Why this line is bright in Canadian law. Section 91 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA s.91) makes it an offence to give immigration advice or representation in exchange for money unless you are a member of a regulated profession authorized to do so. The authorized professions are: lawyers and paralegals in good standing with their provincial law society (the Law Society of Ontario for Ottawa), Quebec notaries (notaires), and Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants (RCICs) in good standing with the College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC). An Ontario notary public is not on that list. So when we say we cannot give immigration advice, we are not being precious — we are observing a federal statute. We can certify a copy of your study permit; we cannot tell you whether your PGWP application will be approved.

What this means for your appointment. Bring your originals, bring the receiving body's checklist if you have it, and bring your application instructions if there is wording you want us to match. If you have a regulated representative, give us their contact details so we can verify the document specifications. We will do our part — the certified copy, the oath, the witnessed signature — efficiently and correctly. We will not stretch into the consultant's part, and you should be wary of any notary who offers to.

A side note on commissioners of oaths. A commissioner of oaths is also authorized under the Commissioners for taking Affidavits Act to take affidavits and statutory declarations. Many lawyers, paralegals, and notaries are also commissioners. The practical difference relevant to students is that commissioners of oaths typically cannot certify true copies the way a notary can, and certain receiving bodies (some foreign governments, some registries) specifically ask for "notarial certification" rather than "commissioner certification". When in doubt, a notary covers both bases — every notary is also a commissioner, but not every commissioner is a notary.

Five Student Scenarios

The patterns above become clearer with concrete examples. The following five scenarios are based on cases we see regularly in our Ottawa office. Names and identifying details are illustrative only.

Scenario 1: Incoming student applying from abroad. An incoming uOttawa undergraduate from Hanoi receives a letter of acceptance and is preparing the initial study-permit application from outside Canada. The IRCC visa office for Vietnam asks for certified copies of the passport, the birth certificate, and the letter of acceptance. The student plans to bring the originals to a notary public in Hanoi who is recognized for Canadian immigration submissions. In Vietnam the equivalent professional is the công chứng viên and certified copies generally need an apostille after Canada and Vietnam both joined the Hague Apostille Convention. Our office in Ottawa cannot help with this scenario directly because we are not in Vietnam; what we can do is certify additional copies after the student arrives, for any subsequent Canadian or foreign use.

Scenario 2: Carleton graduate applying for PGWP. A Carleton master's graduate finishes a one-year program and has 180 days to apply for a PGWP. The application asks for proof of program completion. Carleton's registrar issues an official letter and a final transcript. The graduate uploads scans of the diploma, the transcript, and the completion letter to the IRCC portal. Where our office helps is parallel: the same graduate is applying for a job at a multinational with offices in London, and that employer's HR team wants a certified true copy of the Carleton degree on file. We certify the degree from the original parchment, and the graduate uses the certified copy for the employer file while the scan goes into the PGWP application.

Scenario 3: uOttawa PhD candidate sponsoring a common-law partner. A uOttawa doctoral candidate has been in a common-law relationship with a partner overseas for over two years and wants to sponsor the partner from inside Canada. The relationship-proof package needs a Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union (IMM 5409) sworn before a notary or commissioner. Our office prepares the appointment, administers the oath, completes the jurat, and seals the declaration. The student and their RCIC handle the rest of the file. We do not draft the relationship narrative; that is the regulated representative's job. We do certify true copies of attached documents — leases, joint account statements, and identity documents — at the same appointment.

Scenario 4: Algonquin alumna renewing a study permit while finishing a second program. A graduate of an Algonquin College two-year diploma program enrols in a top-up degree at a partner institution and needs to renew her study permit from inside Canada. The IRCC application asks for the current permit, passport, proof of enrolment from the new institution, and a financial-support letter from her parents in Lagos. We certify true copies of the passport biographical page and the current study permit. The proof-of-enrolment letter comes from her new registrar. The financial-support letter from her parents is notarized in Lagos by a Nigerian notary public, with apostille; she brings the apostilled package to the IRCC submission. Our role is the local certified copies; the foreign step happens abroad.

Scenario 5: La Cité graduate sending a French-language transcript to Europe. A La Cité graduate from Côte d'Ivoire is offered a position in Brussels and needs to provide a French-language transcript and diploma to the Belgian employer's HR team. La Cité issues the transcript in French (its native language) and a sealed copy can be sent directly. For the diploma — which the graduate holds in hand — we certify a true copy in French at our Ottawa office, conduct the appointment in French, and apply a bilingual notarial seal. The graduate then sends the package to Belgium. The Belgian employer accepts the document because Canada joined the Hague Apostille Convention, and the apostille can be obtained from Global Affairs Canada after the notarization; we walk the client through that step at the appointment.

Each of these scenarios touches a different IRCC product line or a different foreign use, but the notary's part of each is small, well-defined, and identical in structure: bring the original, identify yourself, watch the certification or oath, leave with a sealed document.

What to Bring to Your Appointment

We get asked this a lot. The list is short.

The originals. Always. A notary public in Ontario certifies a copy from an original document, not from another copy. If you bring a photocopy and ask us to certify it, we cannot. We need to see and inspect the original — passport, study permit, degree parchment, marriage certificate, birth certificate, court order — and then make a copy ourselves, on our equipment, in our office. The original goes home with you. The certified copy goes to the receiving body.

Government-issued photo identification. Even when the document being certified contains your photo and identifying details, we still verify your identity at the appointment. A passport is the gold standard; an Ontario driver's licence or Ontario photo card works for most workflows. A health card is generally acceptable as secondary ID but is not accepted as primary ID for some workflows because it lacks an address.

Your study permit and passport. If the appointment is for an IRCC application, bring both the current study permit and the passport. We may need to certify both, and we will check the names match and that the documents are still valid.

The drafted form or declaration, if applicable. For statutory declarations and affidavits, bring the wording in printed or electronic form. We can review for clarity and obvious errors but we do not draft the substance — that is the work of you, your representative, or your lawyer, and the wording typically has to match what the receiving body asks for. IRCC publishes its own forms (IMM 5409 for common-law, for example). A regulated representative supplies bespoke wording when the file calls for it.

The receiving body's instructions, if you have them. If WES, a foreign credential evaluator, an overseas employer, or a foreign court has sent you a checklist with specific certification language ("must include the words 'true and accurate copy of the original'"), bring it. We can match the certification language to the request. Without the checklist, we use the standard Ontario notarial certification language, which is accepted in the great majority of cases.

Payment. Our standard fee for a first certified copy is $20, with discounts for additional copies of the same document. Statutory declarations start at $25. Mobile appointments and after-hours appointments are priced separately. Payment is taken at the appointment.

If you are travelling to the appointment by OC Transpo or O-Train, our office is reachable from the main downtown Ottawa transit network. If you would prefer a mobile appointment — for example because you are in residence at uOttawa or Carleton without a quick route to downtown — call us and we will discuss options.

Common Mistakes

These are the four most common mistakes we see at student appointments. None of them are fatal, but each one means a second trip if not caught.

Bringing scans instead of originals. This is the most common one. A student arrives with a colour scan of their diploma on a laptop, or a printed PDF of their birth certificate, and asks for a certified copy. We cannot do it. The notary's certification is precisely "I, the notary, examined the original document brought to me and verified that this copy matches it". With no original on the desk, there is no certification to make. Plan to bring the physical original. If the original is in another country, talk to a notary in that country instead, and arrange apostille if needed.

Asking for a certified copy of a sealed transcript. A sealed institutional transcript from uOttawa or Carleton is sent in a closed envelope from the registrar directly to a receiving body — that is its whole purpose. If you open the envelope to bring it to the notary, the seal is broken and the institutional integrity is gone, which often invalidates the submission. If your receiving body wants a sealed transcript, do not break the seal. If your receiving body accepts an unsealed transcript that you have on hand for personal use, the notary can certify a copy. Read the instructions before you tear the envelope.

Pre-signing declarations. Statutory declarations and affidavits must be signed in front of the notary, after the oath or affirmation. Students sometimes show up with a declaration they have already signed at home, expecting the notary to "just" stamp it. We cannot stamp a pre-signed declaration. The whole point of the jurat is that the signature is witnessed under oath. We will ask you to re-sign the declaration in front of us — and on a fresh page if the original signature page cannot be cleanly replaced.

Confusing the registrar's job with the notary's. This one runs through the whole article. The registrar produces the official institutional document and sends it through institutional channels. The notary certifies a copy of an original you hold for personal use. Some receiving bodies want institutional channels; some want notarial certification; many want one of each. If you book a notary appointment when what you really need is a sealed transcript from the registrar, you will leave empty-handed. Read the receiving body's instructions to see which kind of certification they ask for.

A bonus mistake: forgetting to ask for additional copies. If the same document is going to two or three places, ask the notary to make multiple certified copies in one appointment. Additional copies of the same document are discounted, and you save a trip.

Caption: Bring the checklist, bring the originals, sign in front of the notary. Three habits that prevent most second trips.

Pricing and Booking

Booking is by phone at (613) 434-5555 or via the contact page. For a normal certified-copy appointment, 15 to 20 minutes is enough. For statutory declarations or larger document packages, plan for 30 to 45 minutes. Office hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM weekdays and 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM Saturdays, with same-day appointments often available; call to confirm. Sundays are closed by default but mobile appointments can sometimes be arranged.

If you are working with a regulated representative — an immigration lawyer or RCIC — bring the document list they have prepared. If you are submitting on your own, bring the IRCC instructions or the receiving body's checklist. Either way, the appointment goes faster when the documents and the requirements are in front of us together.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can a notary public in Ottawa fill out my IRCC forms for me?

No. Filling out IRCC forms or advising on which forms to use is regulated immigration work under IRPA s.91 and is reserved for lawyers, paralegals (where authorized), Quebec notaires, and Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants. An Ontario notary public is not on that list. What the notary can do is certify copies of documents you submit with the forms, administer the oath when you swear a declaration, and witness signatures. If you need help with the forms themselves, the right professional is an immigration lawyer or an RCIC. For free guidance on common cases, the IRCC website has detailed instruction pages and the help centre answers many process questions.

Do uOttawa and Carleton offer their own notarization service?

The universities offer document services through the registrar — official transcripts, sealed envelopes, proof-of-enrolment letters, degree parchments — but they do not, as a general rule, offer a notary public service for students. International student offices may have advisors who guide you through immigration paperwork, but the notarization step itself happens at a notary public's office. There are notaries in Ottawa within walking and short transit distance of both campuses, including ours. Confirm with your international student office whether they have a current referral list or guidance, because their advice will be specific to your program and term.

My passport is in Vietnamese characters. Can a notary in Ottawa certify a copy without translating?

Yes. Certifying a true copy of a foreign-language passport is straightforward — the notary attests that the copy matches the original, regardless of the language. The certification language itself is in English (or French) and does not depend on the language of the source document. If the receiving body wants the document translated into English or French, that is a separate step done by a certified translator (ATIO in Ontario, OTTIAQ in Quebec) and not the notary. The two steps are commonly done together: certified copy of the original, then certified translation of the copy or original. IRCC accepts this combined package.

Will my certified copy be accepted by a foreign government?

A certified copy made by an Ontario notary public is generally accepted across Canada and in many foreign jurisdictions, especially after Canada joined the Hague Apostille Convention in 2024. For some countries, an apostille from Global Affairs Canada is added on top of the notarization to confirm the notary's authority. For non-Hague countries (a small list), authentication by Global Affairs Canada plus legalization at the destination country's embassy or consulate may be needed. Tell the notary the destination country at the appointment and we can advise on the next step. We do not handle the apostille ourselves at the moment of notarization — that is a separate Global Affairs Canada step — but we can prepare the document so it is ready for it.

How long is a certified copy "good for"?

The certified copy itself does not expire. It remains a permanent statement that, at the date of the certification, the copy matched the original. What can expire is the underlying document: a passport that has since been renewed, a study permit that has since been replaced, a marriage certificate that has been superseded by a divorce. Receiving bodies sometimes set their own freshness rules — for example, "the certified copy must be no more than 6 months old" — but that is the receiving body's policy, not a feature of the certification. For long-running applications (multi-year PR processes), you may need a fresh certified copy if the original document changes or expires. When in doubt, ask the receiving body.

Final Recommendation

Most international-student notary work in Ottawa is small, predictable, and quick — provided you bring the originals, know who the receiving body is, and have not confused the registrar's job with the notary's. The fee is modest (from $20 for a first certified copy), the appointment is short (often under 20 minutes), and the document leaves the office sealed and ready to attach to your application or send abroad.

The two habits that save the most time are: read the receiving body's instructions before you book, and bring the originals with you. If you also bring the IRCC checklist or the foreign employer's specifications, the certification language can be matched to the request and the document goes to its destination on the first try. If you are working with a lawyer or RCIC, bring their document list; if you are working solo, bring the application instructions you printed.

Where you should not try to do it on your own is the immigration-strategy side. IRPA s.91 reserves immigration advice to a regulated profession, and an Ontario notary public is not in that profession. We can certify copies and witness oaths all day, but we will not advise on whether to apply under stream A or stream B. For that, talk to a lawyer or an RCIC. For everything else — the certified copy, the statutory declaration, the witnessed signature — book us at (613) 434-5555 or via the contact page and we will handle the notarial step cleanly.

Book Your Appointment

Need a certified true copy or a statutory declaration for your IRCC, university, or foreign-employer file? Minute Notary is a notary public office in central Ottawa serving uOttawa, Carleton, La Cité, and Algonquin students. Certified true copies start at $20, statutory declarations at $25. Same-day appointments are often available.

Call (613) 434-5555 or visit our contact page to book. Office hours are 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM weekdays, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM Saturdays. For certified copies and immigration documents, bring originals and government-issued photo ID.

Sources

• IRCC — Study permits
• IRCC — Post-graduation work permit
• Notaries Act (Ontario)
• IRPA s.91 — Authorized representatives