Feedback wanted
As a leading provider of notary public services, we assist many people within the Indian community with notarising documents for use overseas - mainly India. Naturally, this work often involves and overlaps with VFS and so when our clients have issues with VFS, we know about it.
Recently, we've received a number of queries from clients about their dealings with VFS and some of it has been confusing and concerning. In particular, we've been told that:
- Clients must have their Indian birth certificates or marriage certificates notarised in Australia. The public notary in Australia should not be notarising foreign public documents, like these personal certificates. Foreign public documents should be notarised in the country where those documents were issued - not Australia.
- Clients must sign notary certificates issued by a public notary in Australia. The notary certificate is a document that is issued by the public notary and signed by the public notary. It isn't a document that would normally be signed by clients (ie, the certificate is given by the public notary, it's not a self-certification by the client).
- Clients must have their utility bills and other statements notarised by a public notary in Australia. The challenge with many bills and statements in Australia is that they are mostly issued electronically. While it's still possible to notarise these documents, the process is more involved which translates into cost - and of course that's not what many of our clients are happy to hear.
What's happened?
According to the VFS website, a number of checklists for different processes and applications changed on 31 August 2020. This means some things are now being done differently at VFS, especially for clients who live in New South Wales. Documents that could be previously signed by a justice of the peace or a public notary now have to be signed by a public notary only. Unfortunately, this means the process is going to be more expensive for clients because while having documents signed by a justice of the peace is free, having the same documents signed by a public notary isn't free.
Of course we remain committed to assisting our clients with their public notary requirements for documents intended for India or for submission to VFS, but these recent changes at VFS are likely to create confusion as well as raise more problems and incur additional costs than before.
What next?
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.
