General Power of Attorney for India - Our Disclaimer

Power of Attorney - What we do

From time to time, we receive calls from people who want to appoint someone in India (their attorney) to act on their behalf in India. Sometimes it's in relation to buying or selling a property or dealing on behalf of a bank, and sometimes it's in relation to court proceedings or even applying for a divorce. Regardless of the reason, in nearly all cases, they need a power of attorney and if they're signing that power of attorney outside of India then they need to have that power of attorney notarised - this is what we do.

As a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney, we regularly notarise the power of attorney used in India. In fact, notarising the power of attorney used in India is probably one of the most common requests from our clients.

So what's involved? Generally, when clients ask us to notarise the power of attorney used in India, we basically witness them signing the power of attorney. They bring the power of attorney to us and sign it in our presence. We then sign the power of attorney confirming that they have signed it in our presence and place our seal on the power of attorney as well. That's all.

Sometimes our clients also need to sign the power of attorney in front of 2 witnesses. Sometimes they need to include their photograph (or the photograph of their attorney). Sometimes they need to include thumbprints (and I've even had a client who was asked to provide prints from all fingers and thumbs). Sometimes they must also have the power of attorney countersigned by the Consulate General of India as well. Whether or not you need those things as well, we can't say and you need to get advice from your lawyer in India - which brings me to the next part.

Power of Attorney - What we DON'T do

When it comes to the power of attorney used in India, we only notarise the power of attorney confirming that we have witnessed the person, who is giving the power, signing the power of attorney in our presence.

We do not:

• Draft or prepare the power of attorney. The power of attorney must be prepared in accordance with the laws in India, and therefore if you need a power of attorney to be valid in India you should have a lawyer in India prepare it for you. We regularly receive requests from clients for us to prepare the power of attorney for them, however we can only provide examples of what other clients have used in the past with the disclaimer that anyone using those examples should still obtain their own advice or use the examples at their own risk. We provide notary public services in Sydney, we do not provide legal advice on Indian law or legal drafting of Indian documents.
• Advise you of the requirements to sign the power of attorney. As stated previously, some clients are asked to provide thumbprints or have witnesses present or have the power of attorney countersigned by the Consulate General of India. We cannot provide you with this advice. If someone has asked you to sign a power of attorney to be used in India, you should ask them to also provide you with a list of requirements so that it is clear and easy for us to follow when notarising your document. At least then there is no confusion as to what they require you to do.
• Pre or post date the power of attorney. In all circumstances, we can only date the document on the day that you sign the document in our presence. If your document needs to be dated on another day, then you need to attend our office on that day - we cannot and do not mark the date on the power of attorney any other than the date on which the signing and witnessing occurred. 

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

What's the difference between a public notary and a justice of the peace?

In Australia, the most important difference between a public notary and a justice of the peace is that a public notary is recognised overseas (ie, outside of Australia) while a justice of the peace is generally only recognised in Australia. The role of a public notary can be best described as an 'international justice of the peace'.

You are probably reading this page because you have a document that you need to send to India, and someone has asked for you to have it witnessed or certified by a public notary. In that case, signing it or having it certified by a justice of the peace may not be sufficient and will mean that your document may not be accepted in India.

Other important differences between a public notary and a justice of the peace are:

• A public notary will generally charge a fee for their services while a justice of the peace cannot.
• A public notary must be a lawyer, but not all lawyers are or must be notaries while a justice of the peace does not have to be a lawyer.
• There are more justices of the peace than public notaries and generally justices of the peace can be easily found and more available than public notaries.

In our experience, most documents which are signed, witnessed or originate from Australia and sent to India will need to be notarised by a public notary but occasionally we are advised that documents can also be certified by a justice of the peace. For example, if you are signing documents to apply for a loan from a bank, the bank will generally need you to sign your application or the special/general power of attorney in front of us so that we can notarise it but that copies of other supporting documents (ie, identification, payslips, utility bills) can be certified by a justice of the peace. This may not apply in all cases, so before you engage our services or approach a justice of the peace, you should confirm the specific requirements.

Documents intended for India make up the clear majority of our public notary services. Accordingly, we are proud to announce that we frequently assist the local Indian community in Sydney to ensure that their documents are notarised and legally valid in India and maintain some of the lowest and most competitive rates available in Sydney.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Documents required for Indian Drivers Licence Verification (IDLV)

WARNING: from January 2015, VFS has changed its requirements and will no longer accept documents that have been authenticated. Documents must now be stamped with an APOSTILLE from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

What documents do you require for Indian Drivers Licence Verification (IDLV) in Australia?

One of our most requested notary public services relates to the Indian Drivers Licence Verification or IDLV.

If you are qualified to drive in India and you hold a valid and current Indian drivers licence, you might be able to apply for a drivers licence in Australia that acknowledges your driving history and past experience. If accepted by the authorities in Australia, it may also mean that you can be issued with a full drivers licence or a licence that matches your driving history rather than a learners licence or a probationary licence (ie, you do not have to 'start at the bottom').

In our experience, passports or other primary identification documents normally display a person's full legal name, however occasionally the Indian drivers licence may reduce that person's name to initials or omit 'family' names or father's name. There are various combinations of inconsistencies, but whatever the reason may be, any inconsistency will mean that the authorities in Australia will not recognise any prior driving history. Your name on all documents must be exactly the same.

If your name on your Indian drivers licence is different to your name on your passport or other primary identification documents then you need to follow the Indian Drivers Licence Verification (IDLV) process to confirm that you are the one and the same person.

For Indian citizens, the IDLV process to verify your Indian drivers licence is outlined by the VFS.

There are two options available to you IF your name on your Indian drivers licence and your passport are different.

Option 1 requires you to provide an affidavit from a court in India confirming that you are the one and the same person. That affidavit must also be notarised in India and attested by the Consulate or High Commission in India. Generally, this option is not practical if you live in Australia or otherwise are not present in India.

Option 2 of the VFS process involves documents prepared by a notary public to verify that you are one and the same person. As a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney we regularly provide this service and have been doing so for many years and for countless number of clients/applications.

In order to complete the notarisation, you must:

1. Attend our office in person. Our office is located at 6/83 George Street, Parramatta.
2. Produce your original passport and your original Indian drivers licence.

You do NOT require this service if your name on your Indian drivers licence and your passport are EXACTLY the same. You can submit your application directly to VFS.

We will verify that you are the one and the same person and prepare a notary certificate attaching copies of your passport and your Indian drivers licence. Please be aware that we will compare you to your photograph appearing on your Indian drivers licence and your passport, and we will compare your date of birth and other personal details (such as father's/parents' names).

The second step in the process is to have the certificate authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). DFAT will authenticate any document that we have notarised by verifying our notary public's details and confirming that the documents (ie, the certificate, the passport and the drivers licence) have been properly notarised.

As a regular part of our notary public services, our clients enjoy the confidence and peace of mind knowing that we are able to assist them with the Indian Drivers Licence Verification process quickly and without hassle.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

NRI sponsorship and undertaking for Indian students

Sponsoring Indian students overseas

Do you have relatives overseas looking to enter university?

We are often asked by clients to assist them with sponsoring their relatives in India in applications for further education. The sponsorship form generally needs to be signed and witnessed by a notary public before being returned to the university.

Each university has its own form and own requirement, but generally the requirement is for the sponsor to pledge a specific amount to cover the students expected fees and expenses for the duration of the course.

As a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney, we offer low cost fixed fees and appointments on short notice so that you can avoid the delays and hassles when you are on a limited budget and in urgent need of assistance.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Hindi English Translation

Hindi translations

Translating your birth certificate from Hindi to English

Looking to translate your birth certificate from Hindi to English so that it can be used in Australia? It's likely you'll need to have your birth certificate translated by a NAATI accredited translator. As part of our notary public services to the Indian community, we are regularly asked by our clients to arrange for translations of various documents and we maintain a panel of NAATI accredited translators to assist us in providing this service.

If you need to translate your birth certificate, or any other certificate or official document, from Hindi into English by a NAATI accredited translator, contact our office on +61 2 9687 8885 to arrange for a no obligation quote.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta CBD, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at http://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/tag/india/. For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see http://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Mei Phang
Director

Mei holds a Masters of Commerce from the University of Sydney, Bachelor of Arts (International Business Administration) (Hons) from the University of Northumberland (UK), and is currently studying the Bachelor of Laws at the University of Western Sydney.

Mei handles property and conveyancing services (buying and selling property) and translation services.

Verifying your Indian Drivers Licence in Australia

WARNING: from January 2015, VFS has changed its requirements and will no longer accept documents that have been authenticated. Documents must now be stamped with an APOSTILLE from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Drivers licence from India

Converting your Indian Drivers Licence in Australia

Many clients have asked us how we're able to provide our low cost fixed fee notary public services to assist our Indian clients with converting their Indian Drivers Licence in Australia. The simple answer is that we're doing a lot of them, which means we know what to expect and how to deal with it in the most efficient way.



If there are inconsistencies between your name as it appears on your passport and your Indian Drivers Licence you may have difficulties in converting your Indian Drivers Licence in Australia. The solution to is fairly simple, and one option is to obtain verification from a notary public confirming that you are the one and the same person and have that verification authenticated by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. We've already provided details of this process in a previous article:

http://india-notary.blogspot.com.au/2011/10/verifying-your-india-drivers-licence-if.html

We encourage you to check it out if you want to know more about that or the notary public services that we offer in relation to converting your Indian Drivers Licence in Australia.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.

Power of Attorney - Authorising your family in India

Indian Power of Attorney

Working or studying overseas

One of the biggest challenges of working or studying overseas is being able to practically and legally continue to manage your personal and financial affairs in India. In many cases, other people expect you to be present in India to provide instructions or to sign and verify documents, but if you are now working or studying overseas the prospect of traveling home just for that purpose is expensive and impractical.

Authorising a family member to look after your personal and financial affairs in probably the safest and easiest option, which avoids the need to travel back to India regularly. According to the law, authorisation must be in the form of a General Power of Attorney or a Special Power of Attorney prepared by your lawyer in India and signed by you. If you are not in India when you sign the Power of Attorney, then you need to sign the Power of Attorney in front of a notary public or similarly qualified person. You may also find that depending on the country, you may also need to have the Power of Attorney countersigned by the Indian High Commission or consular office after the Power of Attorney has been notarised.

If you reside in Sydney, Australia, and you want to appoint someone in India to look after your personal and financial affairs, then the Power of Attorney that you sign in Sydney must be notarised by a notary public in Sydney.



Examples of the General Power of Attorney used in India. We have prepared these examples of the General Power of Attorney based on similar documents commonly used by our clients for various dealings with banks in India.

Before using these documents you must check with your lawyer (or whoever you may be dealing with) in India that they are legally valid and will be acceptable for their purposes.

• Power of Attorney for India(DOCX)
• General Power of Attorney for India (DOCX)
• Power of Attorney for India (PDF)
• Basic Power of Attorney for India (PDF)

Completing the templates for the General Power of Attorney for India

The templates contained on this website are incomplete. If you download the WORD versions (see here), the template will prompt you to fill in the key details of the executant's name and address (ie, the person who is giving the power), as well as the attorney's name and address (ie, the person who is receiving the power), as well as the attorney's father's name. If you do not fill in these details while editing the WORD versions, the template will be left with blank spaces for you to complete before signing the General Power of Attorney.

Filling in all the details, whether on the computer or by hand, is important as the information required determine who is giving the power and who is receiving the power. If at any time you feel that the power granted by the General Power of Attorney is too wide, or not wide enough, then you should make your own changes to the document to properly reflect your wishes. However, you should check the proposed changes with your attorney and/or your lawyer in India to ensure that it is legally valid according to their laws as well as practically possible to fulfill.

If you provide powers that are too wide, you may be exposing yourself to too much risk in terms of an 'abuse of power' by your attorney, but if you make the powers too narrow you can potentially restrict and limit your attorney in being able to complete the tasks that you require them to complete on your behalf. Again, when in doubt, check with your lawyer in India before making the changes.

Disclaimer

We disclaim any liability arising in connection with the use of these documents or reliance on their contents either in original or altered form. We give no warranties and we make no representation in respect of the documents including, without limitation, any warranties as to quality, standard or legal efficacy.

To obtain a quote on our notary public services for India, please visit https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/notary-fees/.

Acknowledgements

This blog is supported and maintained by Phang Legal. Phang Legal is a leading provider of notary public services in Sydney. With offices conveniently located in Parramatta, Phang Legal supports and services the Indian community across Sydney with readily available and easily accessible notary public services at highly competitive rates.

For more information regarding notary public services for documents going to India, view our notary publications at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/jurisdiction/india-notary/.

Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.

For Hindi to English translation services by NAATI accredited translators, see https://hindi-naati-translation.blogspot.com.au/.

Ern Phang
Notary Public

Ern Phang is the solicitor director of Phang Legal and a notary public. Ern regularly writes about his experiences as a notary public, including the kinds of problems and solutions that his clients face when sending documents to India.

IMPORTANT: the information in this article is correct at the time of publication, however the law constantly changes. This means you should always refer to the most recent articles because we try to update this blog on a regular basis with the most current information.