A Power of Attorney must be signed in the presence of a Canadian lawyer / notary. This originally signed and notarized document will then be suitable for the Canadian authentication and legalization process.

A Power of Attorney can definitely be in more than one language. For example, it can be in either of Canada’s official languages: English or French as well as the language of the country where it is intended to be used. For joint language documents there are some additional processing steps that are typically required. We will happily discuss your specific situation.

If the notary is fluent in both languages, they can indicate that below their signature and seal. In the event that the notary is not fluent in both languages then there may be a need to have the Power of Attorney translated by a certified Canadian translator. Our staff would be happy to offer our expert guidance to ensure that your document is processed correctly.

A Power of Attorney that is signed and sworn in Canada can be in a foreign language text. Before a foreign language Power of Attorney can be authenticated by Global Affairs it will need to be translated into English or French by a certified translator. The notarized translation would need to be presented to Global Affairs along with the foreign language Power of Attorney. We would happily discuss your unique requirements.

Our office has access to certified Canadian translators that are capable of assisting with the translation of your document when required. The speed at which a document can be translated or the cost of translation can vary depending upon a few factors such as the length of the document and complexity. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss your needs while offering cost effective solutions.

The speed at which a document can be authenticated and legalized can vary depending upon the particular diplomatic mission. Reach out to our office and we will happily discuss your requirements and offer the expected timelines.

To make it easier to understand, we have grouped the authentication and legalization fees. Our office offers four different processing options depending upon urgency. More importantly, we employ a system that we refer to as “The Completion Time Method”. When suggesting prices, we balance the total time expected to take to have the document(s) authenticated by Global Affairs and then legalized by a particular Embassy or Consular Office. Employing our method translates into lower fees for our customers.

We suggest using a national courier such as FedEx, Purolator, DHL or Canada Post “Xpresspost”.  Each of these courier options offers a form of tracking and considering that the documents are sensitive in nature the ability to track your item is strongly recommended.

Once the authentication and legalization services have been completed, our clients can provide a prepaid return courier to our office.  If however it is more convenient, our office will happily arrange for the return courier either to our client directly or to an authorized third party of their choosing.

At Capital Authentication we do not like to return documents to a client using regular lettermail.  Regular lettermail is not encouraged given the sensitive nature of the documents.  However, where a client has specifically requests this method of return, we will comply.

This is a very good question and it really depends upon where one intends to use the document.  As long as the document is a Canadian document, Global Affairs Canada will generally authenticate either an original document or a notarized copy of the document.  If using a notarized document, the notary must be a Canadian notary.   The more important question to ask is whether the diplomatic mission in question will accept notarized documents instead of original documents.  It is always best to consult the diplomatic mission to determine if original documents and/or notarized documents can be used.  There are some diplomatic missions that will only accept original documents.

Should a problem arise with the processing of your documents due to a change in policy or requirements by Global Affairs Canada or at a particular diplomatic mission our office will be in contact with our clients immediately, by e-mail and/or telephone, so as to identify the problem and determine the best possible solution.

There are many instances when it is more convenient for a client to have documents sent directly to our office as opposed to their receiving them first.  For example, government issued documents such as birth certificates can be sent directly to us.  We can receive them and start compiling a client dossier with the authentication and legalization component to commence once we have all of the documents.