Notarise documents?

[wowsers]

I'm assuming the 2 statutory declaration needs to be written by the declarants (friends/family) affirming and supporting me and my partners relationship?

Correct: describing the relationship over the period during which they have known you both. So, if you are applying as common law, for at least one year, but the longer the better.

 

[Tynen]

Correct: describing the relationship over the period during which they have known you both. So, if you are applying as common law, for at least one year, but the longer the better.

Do I have to be present with the declarant, if we are getting it signed and witnessed at a public notary? Or can they just get it signed and send it back to us after?

 

[wowsers]

I understand that you are in Australia. I know nothing of Australian law. If you were in England or Wales you would not need to be present at the signing. You would simply hand the document to the declarant and tell him/her to take it to a solicitor to get it signed (promising to pay the fee on his behalf!) I see that you are still referring to a notary (or rather 'public notary'). I am not going to enter further into that issue. Find out first whether you need to go to a 'public notary'. That would surprise me but I do not claim any knowledge of Australian legal procedure. A statutory declaration suffices, In the UK it is cheaper and easier and it is all that is required by CIC. That is all that I provided for my application and I sailed through!

 

[kangamoose]

Good to hear that someone has such faith in lawyers! After 50 years in practice as a lawyer I read that as if it were music to my ears! A pity that what he was told is wrong.

My sister in-law is an excellent lawyer, so yes I trust her advice To be fair on her what she said was declarations documents going out of province in Canada should be witnessed/certified by a notary (in other words a lawyer). That last bit was my interpretation...

In Australia (well Victoria at least) the list of people who can witness a statutory declaration is quite extensive (includes occupations such as chartered accountants, police, doctors, engineers and pharmacists) but it was my understanding that they can only witness the declaration if it is being used in Victoria, anything going outside of Victoria especially to another country should meet the requirements of that state/country. I'm not a lawyer, but that seems logical.

 

[Tynen]

Thats the only confusing part, I live in NSW and I am not sure If a Justice of Peace would be recognized outside of Australia...which is why im assuming the notary is the place to go

 

[wowsers]

Thats the only confusing part, I live in NSW and I am not sure If a Justice of Peace would be recognized outside of Australia...which is why im assuming the notary is the place to go

My last contribution to this thread. Via Google I have discovered that the Immigrant's Documents Checklist relevant to Australia is for present purposes identical to the requirements of the checklist relevant to the UK. It requires two 'statutory declarations' (that is a quotation, from the Australian list). You definitely do not need to get the document 'notarized'. If you Google 'Statutory Declarations Australia' you will find the same information I have found which is that the relevant Australian Act is the Statutory Declarations Act 1959, which requires that the declaration be made in front of one of a long list of persons (incidentally including a licensed chiropractor, number 1 in the list) but also includes a Justice of the Peace. The list includes a notary public but you do not need to go before a notary public unless you feel particularly wealthy and profligate. In the UK certifying important documents is their only function and since that forms part of their livelihood their fees will be commensurate!