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Translation of birth certificate - Clarification needed

princesultan

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ok great, thanks everyone!

the guide says you can use a commissioner of oaths, and i have 1 handy in the office, so i think i'm going to go that route.
 

princesultan

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Farfelu said:
You can get any lawyer, judge or Canadian embassy official in the country you live (if not in Canada) to sign you an affidavit if you, a relative or a friend is doing the translation. An affidavit is basically a statement by the translator that the translation is a faithful representation of the original document's contents into the other language (English or French), so he/she signs it in front of the official serving as commissioner of oaths (lawyer, judge or Canadian embassy official).

A sample of an affidavit may read thus: "I, <translator's name>, of the town of <city/town name>, in the country of <country name> do solemnly declare: That I am fluent in the English and <your language> languages; that I have prepared a translation of the birth certificate of <your name>, attached hereto; that the attached document is a true and accurate translation from <your language> to English (or French); and that I make this solemn declaration believing it to be true as if made under oath."

Normally the translator and the official (lawyer, etc.) will date, sign and stamp their seals on the document to make it legal.
i find this post extremely helpful. the only thing is, does any other information need to be added? does the commissioner of oaths have to sign this affidavit also? because it doesn't mention anything about that in the guide. it simply says in the guide that an affidavit must be provided by the translator (my wife's friend) and that the commissioner of oaths must sign the COPY of the original document. it no where says that the commissioner of oaths must also sign the affidavit.

lastly, what if the translator, my wife's friend, is currently located in canada but he's here on a visitor's visa, is this an issue? or must he be a resident? on the affidavit, it will state that he is from canada, simply because that's where he was located when he translated the document.

hoping for some help here!
 

lunas

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princesultan said:
i find this post extremely helpful. the only thing is, does any other information need to be added? does the commissioner of oaths have to sign this affidavit also? because it doesn't mention anything about that in the guide. it simply says in the guide that an affidavit must be provided by the translator (my wife's friend) and that the commissioner of oaths must sign the COPY of the original document. it no where says that the commissioner of oaths must also sign the affidavit.

lastly, what if the translator, my wife's friend, is currently located in canada but he's here on a visitor's visa, is this an issue? or must he be a resident? on the affidavit, it will state that he is from canada, simply because that's where he was located when he translated the document.

hoping for some help here!
I would think that an affidavit done in Canada would give your document even more credibility! It doesn't matter if you are in Canada on a visitor's visa.
 

Farfelu

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princesultan said:
i find this post extremely helpful. the only thing is, does any other information need to be added? does the commissioner of oaths have to sign this affidavit also? because it doesn't mention anything about that in the guide. it simply says in the guide that an affidavit must be provided by the translator (my wife's friend) and that the commissioner of oaths must sign the COPY of the original document. it no where says that the commissioner of oaths must also sign the affidavit.
1- For an affidavit to be considered legal it must be signed by the person authorized to take oaths (lawyer, judge, embassy official, etc.), otherwise how can you or anybody else prove that the oath-taker did in fact witnessed the translation being made? It is the oath-taker who certifies that the person signing the declaration in the affidavit is telling the truth under penalty of perjury, so the one way to show this is to have the oath-taker sign the affidavit after the declarant has done so.

princesultan said:
lastly, what if the translator, my wife's friend, is currently located in canada but he's here on a visitor's visa, is this an issue? or must he be a resident? on the affidavit, it will state that he is from canada, simply because that's where he was located when he translated the document.

hoping for some help here!
2- you can get your translation done anywhere, in Canada is fine, as long as the translator's affidavit is included.
 

canadianwoman

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princesultan said:
... does the commissioner of oaths have to sign this affidavit also? because it doesn't mention anything about that in the guide.
Someone official has to sign the affidavit as well, or else it is not an affidavit. So the commissioner of oaths must sign the copy of the original document; he/she also has to sign the affidavitn (if you choose to use a commissioner of oaths for this). The CIC guide doesn't say so directly because the signing by an official is part of getting an affidavit.
 

PMM

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Hi


canadianwoman said:
Someone official has to sign the affidavit as well, or else it is not an affidavit. So the commissioner of oaths must sign the copy of the original document; he/she also has to sign the affidavitn (if you choose to use a commissioner of oaths for this). The CIC guide doesn't say so directly because the signing by an official is part of getting an affidavit.
No it doesn't. The certified translators stamp and signature is enough.
 

Farfelu

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PMM said:
Hi


No it doesn't. The certified translators stamp and signature is enough.
From my experience, IF the translator is not a certified translator (a member of a recognized organization in Canada), then an affidavit is mandatory. So, if the OP is using a relative or friend as translator, an affidavit from him/her will be required unless that person is Certified in the province or territory they carry on their work.

Refer to the sponsorship guide in case of doubt: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3900ETOC.asp#3900E3
 

princesultan

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thanks for the help everyone. i guess it would be safe for the commissioner of oaths to sign both the translated document as well as the affidavit.

again, the person doing the translation is a friend of my wife's who is in canada at the moment on a visitor's visa. in the affidavit, it says he's located in canada because this is where he will have done the translation.

the affidavit will look like this, let me know if i should change anything:



Affidavit of ___________

I, ________, located in _________, Canada, do solemnly declare: That I am fluent in the English and Indonesian languages; that I have prepared a translation of the birth certificate of __________, attached hereto; that the attached document is a true and accurate translation from Indonesian to English; and that I make this solemn declaration believing it to be true as if made under oath.


________________
Date



___________________________________
(translator's name)



___________________________________
(Commissioner of oaths)
 

princesultan

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Farfelu

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princesultan said:
^^ anyone?
Looks fine to me, but you should include the translator's address and phone number.
 

princesultan

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Farfelu said:
Looks fine to me, but you should include the translator's address and phone number.
so he's in canada on a temporary visitor's visa. you would include his address where he's staying currently in canada?