Outland spousal sponsorship application

[genedilemma]

Hi, Season greetings. I hope to have some guidance on preparing the document for my spousal sponsorship application.

I am going to apply for the spousal sponsorship for my husband. It has been 4 years since we are married and the ceremony took place in Japan, and we legally registered our marriage in Japan. Now, we have the original marriage certificate in Japanese, a translation in English with a certificate from the Japanese embassy for the correctness of the translated script (stamped by the Japanese embassy).

When I submit my application, can I just attach the photocopy of above documents? Or do I need to re-issue the certified copy of the Japanese Marriage certificate in Japan with a new set of translation in English and the certificate from Japanese Embassy?

I really appreciate your support. Thanks in advance and have a good day.

 

[chotemiya3]

Hi, Season greetings. I hope to have some guidance on preparing the document for my spousal sponsorship application.

I am going to apply for the spousal sponsorship for my husband. It has been 4 years since we are married and the ceremony took place in Japan, and we legally registered our marriage in Japan. Now, we have the original marriage certificate in Japanese, a translation in English with a certificate from the Japanese embassy for the correctness of the translated script (stamped by the Japanese embassy).

When I submit my application, can I just attach the photocopy of above documents? Or do I need to re-issue the certified copy of the Japanese Marriage certificate in Japan with a new set of translation in English and the certificate from Japanese Embassy?

I really appreciate your support. Thanks in advance and have a good day.

Does your husband hold a Japanese passport? I looked up additional instructions by country and here is what i got for Japan:-

Japan - Additional forms for residents

• There are no extra forms for this country.

Japan – Instruction(s) for documents

• If you hold a passport from this country, you and your family members included in the application must provide:
  • A copy and a certified translation of the “Koseki Tohon”
  • A copy and a certified translation of the “Kaiseigen Koseki Tohon”, including details of his/her birth, marriage, and divorce (if any). “Kaiseigen Koseki Tohon” is the original source document(s) of a re-established family register; all names of the family members, even the ones that have been removed due to death, marriage, change of residence, etc., must be included.

It seems to me for Japan, they need the a copy of the certificate and the original certified translation. Hopefully someone from Japan who has gone through the process can confirm. For the translation, i can't say much for the date. For certain documents, they usually accept something that is very recent. If it is not expensive, maybe you may want to consider getting a new translation just for your application to be on the safe side. You can also drop a query on the webform on the IRCC website to check with them.

 

[genedilemma]

Thanks for your information.

My husband is not holding a Japanese passport and we just get married and registered our marriage there. I have just checked the IRCC website again and find that -

What language should my supporting documents be in?
Unless we tell you otherwise, all supporting documents must be in English or French.
If it is not in English or French, you must send it with:

• the English or French translation and
• an affidavit from the person who completed the translation and
• a certified photocopy of the original document

And I think that I should have the first 2 documents except for the last one - a certified photocopy of the original document.

According to the glossary, there is a definition for "certified photocopy"

Certified photocopy
A photocopy of an original document. It must be readable and certified as a true copy of the original by an authorized person. The person compares the documents and marks on the photocopy:

• their name and signature
• their position or title
• the name of the original document
• the date they certified the document
• the phrase “I certify that this is a true copy of the original document.”

Outside Canada, each country has different authorities to certify documents. A notary public may be able to certify your documents, but you should check with your local authorities to be sure.

So can I just find a notary public at the place I am living to certify the photocopy, or do I need to do it in Japan instead? I am so confused...

 

[armoured]

Where are you? You'll have to check with either a notary or the translator or both.

The issue is this: notaries (or equivalent) in some countries will not certify a copy or witness signature of docs in foreign languages, so in Russia (for example) a notary just wouldn't work with an original Japanese document. In other countries the documents might typically need to be legalised/apostilled for notaries to work with.

But usually translators / notaries will know how to do this, and sometimes co-located etc. So - again, at least in some jurisdictions - the translator will include a copy with the translation and staple or bind them together, provide the translator's affidavit, and then the notary will provide the notary's certification for the package. (I mean to be clear the translator has to include a copy of the original because otherwise it's not clear what document the translation is a translation of)

It's possible in some jurisdictions the translators have a notary stamp or equivalent - or conversely that lawyers can/would do. (The issue is that the powers and regulation of notaries varies quite a lot, even within Canada notaries are quite different in Quebec than the rest of the country)

To some degree the iRCC 'country-specific requirements' will give more detail, but not always; your case of wanting to get a translation/certified copy of a Japanese original document in a third country is a bit of an edge case; it's usually easier/more reliable to get the document done with translations/certified copies in the country of issuance (or in Canada).

(Sorry, this is a somewhat complicated topic, but in general IRCC works with whatever is considered the local practice, with some additional specifics.)

 

[genedilemma]

We are now in Hong Kong and we find that there are some notary public here.

So it depends on whether the notary public here is willing to certify the photocopy or not? We have a translation of the marriage certificate in English and is certified by the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong for the correctness of the translation (not sure if this serve the purpose of Affidavit, cos there is no translator's information on the translation and only the Japanese content is being translated).

For the certified photocopy, maybe I should reissue the marriage certificate again in Japan instead of a photocopy for safe?

Or do I need to find a certified translator in Canada to do the translation and certified photocopy instead? I have been searching around and have no clue so far...

 

[armoured]

We are now in Hong Kong and we find that there are some notary public here.

So it depends on whether the notary public here is willing to certify the photocopy or not? We have a translation of the marriage certificate in English and is certified by the Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong for the correctness of the translation (not sure if this serve the purpose of Affidavit, cos there is no translator's information on the translation and only the Japanese content is being translated).

For the certified photocopy, maybe I should reissue the marriage certificate again in Japan instead of a photocopy for safe?

Or do I need to find a certified translator in Canada to do the translation and certified photocopy instead? I have been searching around and have no clue so far...

Does the translation that you got include a copy of the original?

 

[genedilemma]

We had the original marriage certificate, an English translation. Then, we passed the 2 documents to Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong and paid a fee for issuing the certificate. Then, in return, I have (1) the stamped certificate and is stapled with the English translation and (2) the original marriage certificate.

In the certificate, it mentioned that "...This is to certify that the document attached hereto is a faithful English translation of the accompanying Japanese text. The Consulate-General of Japan does not assume responsibility for the contents of the Japanese text. (This certificate will become invalidated if detached from the translation of the Japanese original, or altered in any way whatsoever)...." So does it serve the purpose?

 

[armoured]

We had the original marriage certificate, an English translation. Then, we passed the 2 documents to Consulate-General of Japan in Hong Kong and paid a fee for issuing the certificate. Then, in return, I have (1) the stamped certificate and is stapled with the English translation and (2) the original marriage certificate.

In the certificate, it mentioned that "...This is to certify that the document attached hereto is a faithful English translation of the accompanying Japanese text. The Consulate-General of Japan does not assume responsibility for the contents of the Japanese text. (This certificate will become invalidated if detached from the translation of the Japanese original, or altered in any way whatsoever)...." So does it serve the purpose?

Do you need to keep the original for yourself?

I'm almost certain you can submit the original, but you may not get it back.

 

[genedilemma]

Do you mean the original marriage certificate or the original English translation with the Consulate-Generate of Japan certificate?

 

[armoured]

Do you mean the original marriage certificate or the original English translation with the Consulate-Generate of Japan certificate?

I meant the original of the marriage certificate, as that is what you are saying you need - of course you have to submit the translation as well.

Look, at this point, you might make things easier if you just go to a notary where you are, take the documents you have, and the instructions from Canada of what you need, and ask them what they can do. They probably know how to get a translation done and certified.

The only slight difference is that Canada generally won't require the copy/translation to be certified by the embassy or consulate, just a notary.

 

[genedilemma]

Thanks for your information and advice.

So the translation certified by the embassy should be accepted as well? I would first check with the notary here and see what they can do. Then, I would try to submit the certified photocopy with the certified translation. Hope that they would accept that.

 

[armoured]

Thanks for your information and advice.

So the translation certified by the embassy should be accepted as well? I would first check with the notary here and see what they can do. Then, I would try to submit the certified photocopy with the certified translation. Hope that they would accept that.

I think translations certified by Embassies/consulates would generally be accepted as well as equivalent to notarisation. But at this point you may be better just asking a notary to do a proper and complete set for you.

Again, you can submit an original of your wedding cert with the translation, but if you need to keep the original...