WARSAW TIMELINE-Join here !!

[Sous02]

You have no idea what you are talking about. Please refrain yourself from giving misleading information.

For Polish Nationals you are required to have the long two page form of your birth certificate that is only in Polish and have this translated by a sworn translator. You don't need to have this certified by a notary unless you send a copy of your birth certificate with the original translation. The translation is already sworn; therefore does not need to be notarized.

Let me first state that you do not need to be so rude with your opening comments. The information presented by cic is confusing at best. Even the vo's themselves are not consistent in their interpretation of the rules. Answers here are provided by volunteers and there is no certainty even with a paid consultant or lawyer. Your answer itself is misleading at best.
I have no idea which polish birth certificate is the right one to submit. What I do know is this. Any required document that is submitted as a copy must be notarized and prepared by a certified translator. You do find officers that either mistake the stamp of a certified translator as notarization or simply do not care. You will find others that return your application or request new documents.
Logical if you think about it as the copy needs to be proven to come from the original document. Safest is to notarize all required documents that are not originals.

 

[Lady_Ashka]

Thanks Sous - the question here was not about notarization, however, because the document Polish offices issue is the original (so we don't copy it or do anything with it, just submit it as it is, along with a certified translation) - we simply get it translated by a certified translator.


But, I have another question: some of my Polish friends are fluent in English -do you think that they can write their letters of support for us in English, then? I didn't see any CIC requirement about that (just that if the letters are not in English they need to be translated, and 2 of these have to be notarized) - so I am wondering, did anyone have non-native-speaker-written letters in English?

 

[Sous02]

Thanks Sous - the question here was not about notarization, however, because the document Polish offices issue is the original (so we don't copy it or do anything with it, just submit it as it is, along with a certified translation) - we simply get it translated by a certified translator.


But, I have another question: some of my Polish friends are fluent in English -do you think that they can write their letters of support for us in English, then? I didn't see any CIC requirement about that (just that if the letters are not in English they need to be translated, and 2 of these have to be notarized) - so I am wondering, did anyone have non-native-speaker-written letters in English?

Yes they can write them and they do not have to be notarized. If you think about it less than perfect English looks more authentic. Like real life which is very important

 

[Lady_Ashka]

hahah, perfect, thanks!!!

we all have PhDs in English, though, so they will probably be fairly good... I'll ask my brother to write one in English, though, his will be very authentic, then

 

[Sous02]

hahah, perfect, thanks!!!

we all have PhDs in English, though, so they will probably be fairly good... I'll ask my brother to write one in English, though, his will be very authentic, then

Well then we better proof read them first!

 

[Lady_Ashka]

Well then we better proof read them first!

hhaaha, that just might happen, you know thanks for help everyone! :

 

[mega_option101]

Let me first state that you do not need to be so rude with your opening comments. The information presented by cic is confusing at best. Even the vo's themselves are not consistent in their interpretation of the rules. Answers here are provided by volunteers and there is no certainty even with a paid consultant or lawyer. Your answer itself is misleading at best.
I have no idea which polish birth certificate is the right one to submit. What I do know is this. Any required document that is submitted as a copy must be notarized and prepared by a certified translator. You do find officers that either mistake the stamp of a certified translator as notarization or simply do not care. You will find others that return your application or request new documents.
Logical if you think about it as the copy needs to be proven to come from the original document. Safest is to notarize all required documents that are not originals.

If you have no idea then you should refer to the guide (IMM 3902) - where it clearly indicates the following:

Note: Polish nationals must submit a full two-sided version of birth certificates

I do not see how this is confusing. It is clearly written here in their guide - I am not making this information up (seeing as you seem to believe that I am giving misleading information).

You are correct that this is a forum and we are all volunteers who take time out of our days to answer questions; however, I do not believe you should be giving out misleading advice such as was done - hence why I responded as such. If you do not know the answer then you should leave it to someone else who does. I would hate for someone who is going through this stressful process be mislead and have their application be delayed due to the fact that they were told from someone here that what they have is fine to submit and that it does not need to be translated as that is clearly incorrect. If you think otherwise than I have no more words to offer you.

You may have the luxury of waiting to get a document request before your application is finalized (which will delay the process), but others are not in the same position.

Please do not read more into my words - they came from a place of good intentions.

We are all trying to help each other out, not cause problems.

 

[Sous02]

If you have no idea then you should refer to the guide (IMM 3902) - where it clearly indicates the following:

I do not see how this is confusing. It is clearly written here in their guide - I am not making this information up (seeing as you seem to believe that I am giving misleading information).

You are correct that this is a forum and we are all volunteers who take time out of our days to answer questions; however, I do not believe you should be giving out misleading advice such as was done - hence why I responded as such. If you do not know the answer then you should leave it to someone else who does. I would hate for someone who is going through this stressful process be mislead and have their application be delayed due to the fact that they were told from someone here that what they have is fine to submit and that it does not need to be translated as that is clearly incorrect. If you think otherwise than I have no more words to offer you.

You may have the luxury of waiting to get a document request before your application is finalized (which will delay the process), but others are not in the same position.

Please do not read more into my words - they came from a place of good intentions.

We are all trying to help each other out, not cause problems.

I am not the one who gave out what you call misleading advice. Where I had no knowledge I clearly state. I was calling you on your aggresive response to the other post.
By the way your answer about a translated copy not needing to be notarized is incorrect.

 

[mega_option101]

I am not the one who gave out what you call misleading advice. Where I had no knowledge I clearly state. I was calling you on your aggresive response to the other post.
By the way your answer about a translated copy not needing to be notarized is incorrect.

I never said this. All copies need to be notarized.

 

[Sous02]

I never said this. All copies need to be notarized.

These were your words "The translation is already sworn; therefore does not need to be notarized."
My point is that this whole process is very confusing and patience needs to be given to everyone in this process. Even those who give advice. Some people do give incorrect advice but we should be patient with our criticism.
My advice to readers is to view many answers before coming to a conclusion.

 

[mega_option101]

These were your words "The translation is already sworn; therefore does not need to be notarized."
My point is that this whole process is very confusing and patience needs to be given to everyone in this process. Even those who give advice. Some people do give incorrect advice but we should be patient with our criticism.
My advice to readers is to view many answers before coming to a conclusion.

A sworn translation does not need to be notarized. How is this incorrect? Please do tell me as I spoke with the Consular Section at the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw and they told me exactly this: a sworn translation is considered to be a notarized translation.

If not you would need to consult with a notary that is a certified translator, which in Warsaw there are about two that I know of and they would charge you quite a lot for it all.

I sent in only sworn translations for all my Polish documents and I received DM in 95 days since I submitted.
Don't see how I am giving misleading information.

 

[Sous02]

A sworn translation does not need to be notarized. How is this incorrect? Please do tell me as I spoke with the Consular Section at the Canadian Embassy in Warsaw and they told me exactly this: a sworn translation is considered to be a notarized translation.

If not you would need to consult with a notary that is a certified translator, which in Warsaw there are about two that I know of and they would charge you quite a lot for it all.

I sent in only sworn translations for all my Polish documents and I received DM in 95 days since I submitted.
Don't see how I am giving misleading information.

This is one of the most confusing directions cic gives. They themselves most often only refer to certified documents. But when you dig further cic definition of certified includes notarized and certified. It is beyond me why they do not clearly state this. The best way to think of it is that first proof needs to be shown that the copy is valid and from the original. Then the translator certifies the translation of the notarized document. Having said that the vo's themselves sometimes accept just certified translations and sometimes the do not. The safest is to get all required documents notarized and certified. You may not have any issues but that is the ruling by cic. That cic is inconsistent in the application of the rules lends itself to confusion.
Remember it is the foreign language copy before translation that gets notarized. Not the translation.

 

[ScottishPolish]

This is one of the most confusing directions cic gives. They themselves most often only refer to certified documents. But when you dig further cic definition of certified includes notarized and certified. It is beyond me why they do not clearly state this. The best way to think of it is that first proof needs to be shown that the copy is valid and from the original. Then the translator certifies the translation of the notarized document. Having said that the vo's themselves sometimes accept just certified translations and sometimes the do not. The safest is to get all required documents notarized and certified. You may not have any issues but that is the ruling by cic. That cic is inconsistent in the application of the rules lends itself to confusion.
Remember it is the foreign language copy before translation that gets notarized. Not the translation.

Just to throw my own experience into this string, since we just went through it all, including an interview in Warsaw:

- it is not the foreign language copy before translation that gets notarized. The birth certificate is an original 2 page document. The sworn translation from a certified translator is what you need. In our case, we had the translation notarized, but that was because we had it done here in Canada and it only cost $25 to have it notarized. The point being, that anyone could translate the document, CIC wants to ensure that it is a sworn translation and accurately reflects what is on the document. I agree with Mega on his comments....make absolutely sure that you have everything correct in your documents. Not just based on what you read or can find on a website. Its better to go with information from those who have experienced it.

- you need certified translation of anything that is in Polish - so birth certificate, police report, etc.

- anybody can be called for an interview, and as Owl mentioned in her posts, it can be random. We had a rock solid case and a 550 page application package, but still got called to Warsaw.

- only the applicant goes to the interview, the spouse is not allowed in - we tried.

- the requirements for the interview were to show up with the original birth certificate (mine and my husbands) and original marriage certificate, as well as any other new supporting documentation.

- my husband said that when he went into the interview room, the officer had the original application file in front of him, plus all the additional stuff we brought (another 250 pages) - and they had gone through every single page of it prior to talking with my husband.

- in our case, my husband was asked 6 questions in total, interview was under 10 minutes long. But here is an interesting point - he was asked only one question about me specifically and it was "where is your wife right now", and my husband's response was "standing outside the embassy waiting for me". The rest of the questions were "where did you learn english", "what does your wife's father do", "does her son live with you" , "what does her son do and does he work" and "have you met your wife's father". That was it. The next statement from the officer was "welcome to Canada, your documents will be ready in a few minutes".

The key point? They can ask you anything at any time for any reason, whether it makes sense to you or not. Whether that's just a document or a question. As long as they have no doubts at all, there will be no problems. A sworn translation from a certified translator is fine. They just want to make sure that its not been translated by a friend or family member, and that it accurately reflects the document from an objective standpoint and that it leaves them with no doubts. To them, each file is just a number. They could care less about what actually happens - we just made sure that it was an airtight application with zero ability for them to find a flag or a hole. Case in point was the interview. The questions they asked were ones it seems they had to come up with to suit a requirement from their side - so they came up with 6 questions that were totally irrelevant to our relationship. Just saying..

 

[Lady_Ashka]

Thanks so much for this, it's really helpful!

So tell me, what more or less did your friends and family write in those letters of support for your relationship? in the guide it only says 'supporting that your relationship is genuine' which is quite vague, so i am wondering = what is a good way to get round to it (what to tell my friends)? Do they need to describe how they've met us, or focus more on how they think we are together, or whether they think we're a good relationship, or maybe on how we both make each other happy, etc?

 

[Sous02]

Just to throw my own experience into this string, since we just went through it all, including an interview in Warsaw:

- it is not the foreign language copy before translation that gets notarized. The birth certificate is an original 2 page document. The sworn translation from a certified translator is what you need. In our case, we had the translation notarized, but that was because we had it done here in Canada and it only cost $25 to have it notarized. The point being, that anyone could translate the document, CIC wants to ensure that it is a sworn translation and accurately reflects what is on the document. I agree with Mega on his comments....make absolutely sure that you have everything correct in your documents. Not just based on what you read or can find on a website. Its better to go with information from those who have experienced it.

- you need certified translation of anything that is in Polish - so birth certificate, police report, etc.

- anybody can be called for an interview, and as Owl mentioned in her posts, it can be random. We had a rock solid case and a 550 page application package, but still got called to Warsaw.

- only the applicant goes to the interview, the spouse is not allowed in - we tried.

- the requirements for the interview were to show up with the original birth certificate (mine and my husbands) and original marriage certificate, as well as any other new supporting documentation.

- my husband said that when he went into the interview room, the officer had the original application file in front of him, plus all the additional stuff we brought (another 250 pages) - and they had gone through every single page of it prior to talking with my husband.

- in our case, my husband was asked 6 questions in total, interview was under 10 minutes long. But here is an interesting point - he was asked only one question about me specifically and it was "where is your wife right now", and my husband's response was "standing outside the embassy waiting for me". The rest of the questions were "where did you learn english", "what does your wife's father do", "does her son live with you" , "what does her son do and does he work" and "have you met your wife's father". That was it. The next statement from the officer was "welcome to Canada, your documents will be ready in a few minutes".

The key point? They can ask you anything at any time for any reason, whether it makes sense to you or not. Whether that's just a document or a question. As long as they have no doubts at all, there will be no problems. A sworn translation from a certified translator is fine. They just want to make sure that its not been translated by a friend or family member, and that it accurately reflects the document from an objective standpoint and that it leaves them with no doubts. To them, each file is just a number. They could care less about what actually happens - we just made sure that it was an airtight application with zero ability for them to find a flag or a hole. Case in point was the interview. The questions they asked were ones it seems they had to come up with to suit a requirement from their side - so they came up with 6 questions that were totally irrelevant to our relationship. Just saying..

Sorry although each vo is different and seems to make their own rules CIC rules are notarized and certified translations. The confusion comes because what satisfies one officer may not satisfy another. Again anytime you make a copy of a required document the copy must be notarized. Then the translation is certified.