Sponsoring Japanese spouse - certified copies

[daijoeboo]

Hello there,

I have a question about copies, certified copies, certified translations, etc.
I hope someone here can clarify this for me a little bit.

On the CIC web guide found here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3900ETOC.asp#overview

and here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3999Etoc.asp

It talks in both places about Certified True Copies:

Certified true copies

To have a photocopy of a document certified, an authorized person must compare the original document to the photocopy and must print the following on the photocopy:

“I certify that this is a true copy of the original document”,
the name of the original document,
the date of the certification,
his or her name,
his or her official position or title, and
his or her signature.

Who can certify copies?

Persons authorized to certify copies include the following:

In Canada:

a commissioner of oaths (authority to certify varies by province and territory)
a notary public
a justice of the peace

Outside Canada:

a judge
a magistrate
a notary public
an officer of a court of justice
a commissioner authorized to administer oaths in the country in which the person is living

Family members may not certify copies of your documents.

From my understanding, the following is true:

1) Documents translated from applicant's language into English require the original, official document and will be done by qualified translator. The translated English/French document will be therefore a certified translation.
2) Documents which cannot be sent in original form (i.e. my Canadian passport) but where a copy is required (the photo page) must be one of these 'Certified True Copies'.
3) A 'Certified True Copy' is a photocopy with notarization (most likely by a lawyer) indicating the copies are true to the original.

So regarding the document checklist, may I assume the following?
All Japanese documents must be acquired in original form (not copies but documents directly from city hall) and these must be translated by certified professionals.
And all non-Japanese documents must be copied and notarized by someone such as a lawyer or individual licensed to provide notary services.

Thanks so much for any clarification.

 

[Rob_TO]

Only photocopies of translated docs need to be certified true.

Any docs originally in english/french, can just be regular photocopies.

 

[daijoeboo]

Thanks for the reply Rob.
Not to be a doubting Thomas but can you elaborate slightly on how you know this for sure?
Did you send your application in using just regular photocopies and it was accepted?
Or did you read a different set of guidelines on the CIC website?

Would really just like to be as sure as possible because I will possibly have a lawyer notarize some documents - but if its not necessary I wont bother.
But I dont want them to send my application back because the copies are not 'certified copies' :'(

Thanks for any additional info you can offer.

 

[Rob_TO]

Read your guide: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/3913e.pdf

If you see a section where it says send a certified copy of something, then make sure it's certified.

If it says just send a copy or photocopy with no mention of certification, then just a regular photocopy will do.

 

[bankerguy]

my common law partner is from japan.

She had to order copies from the embassy. Police checks etc.

 

[yokies]

I got my original document notarized, and by this I mean I went to a notary public with my original koseki and they photocopied it and stamped it to be a true copy of the original. They did not accept the copies I photocopied. Then I sent the notarized copy to a certified translator to translate my document. I did not want to send in my original koseki only because it was so hard for me to obtain and I have kept it as a back up in case I need it again. I don't know if I did the wrong thing by not provided an original with my application but I guess time will tell.

 

[daijoeboo]

Hi all, thanks for the replies.

Yes, the guide in PDF format does make mention of photocopies being fine as well as certified copies.
However the online step by step guide simply says 'certified true copies' and doesn't specifically say whether this applies to copies for translation material or all copies.
At a glance, it would appear to be saying the certified true copy condition relates only to Japanese documents not in English and French.

Is this the correct interpretation?

yokies: so you sent in regular photocopies of your Japanese documents with translations had them returned? Were any documents from your Canadian spouse i.e. his/her passport returned?

Thanks for your help all. Trying to get this sent in and accepted without any send-backs and want to do it right the first time! Thanks a lot!

 

[yokies]

^ I recently sent my application. I'm hoping the certified true copy of the koseki is sufficient. I don't see why not because it was notarized and then I had a certified translator translate the document and they also had to sign on the certified copy to say it was translated off that document. It wasn't just a photocopy I sent so I'm sure it's acceptable. I just looked at the guide for Asia and it says a certified official copy and a translation of your unaltered koseki tohon. So I guess this is acceptable. My koseki was the only thing that needed translated as I was born in Japan but didn't live there so I didn't need to provide further documents in Japanese.

 

[Rob_TO]

However the online step by step guide simply says 'certified true copies' and doesn't specifically say whether this applies to copies for translation material or all copies.

What is the "online step by step guide" you're referring to?

As I said, anything that is being translated and you aren't sending in original documents, need a certified true copy. The guide gives you general info on how to do a certified true copy.

Anything already in english/french a regular photocopy will do.

 

[daijoeboo]

The online step by step guide is in the link in my OP.

Sounds more and more like only non-English documents need to be notarized.

ROB - I am assuming yours were just photocopies? And it was okay?
If thats the case then I will just do the same!

 

[Rob_TO]

The online step by step guide is in the link in my OP.

Sounds more and more like only non-English documents need to be notarized.

ROB - I am assuming yours were just photocopies? And it was okay?
If thats the case then I will just do the same!

That guide is telling you how to make certified true copies in general. It's not saying you have to do it for all docs.
Translation of documents
Any document that is not in English or French must be accompanied by:
-the English or French translation; and
-an affidavit from the person who completed the translation; and
-a certified copy of the original document.

So again... anything already in english a regular photocopy is fine. Anything that needs to be translated and not submitting the original, a certified true photocopy is needed.

 

[daijoeboo]

Thanks for the help Rob, I will go that route.
The translating house is also telling me the same thing and it seems logical.

Cheers to everyone for the input.