Birth Certificates for Sponsor & Applicant - Photocopies okay?

[poeticaesthetic]

Hi all, I'm a Canadian citizen sponsoring my husband, a US citizen, for PR. We are applying outland.

We are both allowed to provide "photocopies" of birth certificates as far as the instructions go. My husband's document checklist for the US country-specific instructions says a photocopy of his birth certificate is fine. I thought his Mom gave him his birth certificate but there is actually just a photocopy. It IS a photocopy of the original, as he confirmed that with her; is a personal photocopy okay, or does it have to be from Vital Statistics? I would think "photocopy" means a personal copy is fine but I'm not sure.

My Sponsor Checklist states that a photocopy of my Canadian birth certificate is fine also, but it doesn't state whether or not it needs to be the long form birth certificate. I only have the short form on me; it's slightly larger than a credit card and excludes my parents' information. I asked my Mom about it but she said this is the only one, and that theirs are the same size. If I needed a bigger one, I'd have to order it (I hope I don't, as we're about to send this in!). Will a photocopy of the short form birth certificate work?

Thanks in advance!

 

[cutetwins]

Hi, my husband got the same credit card size birth certificate and we just photocopy it front and back and attached it to our package

 

[poeticaesthetic]

Thanks cutetwins! My Mom said most people have the small ones here...is that true? I hope it's alright. I was thinking of photocopying both sides.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

A photocopy is a photocopy, regardless of who made it. The one your husband has is perfectly fine.

If you're worried about your birth certificate, just include a copy of your Canadian passport instead.

 

[poeticaesthetic]

Thanks canuck_in_uk, glad to hear the photocopy is fine I will include both my passport and birth certificate. Thanks!