You've been asked to write a declaration but don't know how? Read on.
If you need to sign a declaration for India, it's always best for you to have your declaration prepared by your lawyer in India. This means that your declaration should be written properly according to the law and that it will be valid and accepted by whoever requires your declaration in India.
Sometimes, if your declaration is needed for some other legal purpose then your declaration may need to be some sort of statutory declaration to comply with and to satisfy specific legal requirements. Again, your lawyer in India would be the best person to advise you on the specific legal requirements and they should also prepare the declaration for you.
If you need to sign a declaration for VFS, you may find copies of the relevant forms or templates for the declarations that VFS use. Generally, the declarations for VFS are part of various applications and other documents that must be submitted to VFS. You should be able to obtain copies of the forms, templates or declarations from their website or by calling them directly.
If you're unable to determine what are the specific requirements for your declaration and you want to write your own declaration, here are a couple of tips and suggestions to consider. These tips and suggestions are for your information only and may not be relevant to your specific situation or requirements. You should always obtain advice from your lawyer in India if you need to send a declaration to India.
Tips and suggestions on what to include in your declaration
- Properly identify yourself. Since you are writing a declaration, you must clearly show who you are and you can do this by stating your full name according to your photograph identification document. Normally, this should be your passport but sometimes (depending on the purpose of your declaration) it could also be your PAN card, your Aadhar card or your visa/OCI. Other ways to identify yourself in addition to your full name can include stating your residential address, your relationship (ie, son of, daughter of or wife of) and maybe the identification number of the primary photograph identification that you intend to rely on.
- Clearly state the contents of your declaration in point form. The main purpose of the declaration is to communicate certain facts which you declare to be true. This means your declaration should be clear enough so that whoever has to read it and rely on it can also fully understand it (and what you're trying to say). Listing the contents of your declaration in point form is an easy way to separate different facts from each other to avoid confusion. Sometimes point form can be easier to read and understand than paragraphs of text. You may also want to list your point form in some sort of chronological/time order.
- Refer to the relevant statute or legislation if your document is a statutory declaration. You may need to discuss this with your lawyer in India, especially if you are expected to sign a statutory declaration (ie, that your document is valid in accordance with a specific law). Again, if you're not sure about what you should be writing here, then you should probably engage a lawyer to write it for you to avoid any problems. Declarations used in Australia generally follow the relevant state or Commonwealth legislation relating to oaths and other declarations. If you are using your declaration in India, you would have to check with your lawyer as to what kind of legislation is applicable and use the appropriate forms or templates relating to that legislation.
- Declare! Finally, a declaration must also be declared - sworn or affirmed - in front of a prescribed witness. This means if you're signing the declaration you're also declaring that the contents of your declaration are true and correct. If the contents aren't true (or you're not sure that they're true) then making a declaration or a false declaration can have other serious legal consequences. Accordingly, the declaration and signing in front of a prescribed witness are important. If you're sending the declaration to India (or sometimes to VFS) but you're signing your declaration in Australia, then the prescribed witness will generally need to be a public notary.
Other questions
- What does it mean by 'attested'? Attested simply means 'certified' which has no real meaning without context. It could mean that your document has been witnessed or that it has been certified in some way - what is required depends on your document and the intended use. Generally, attesting a declaration will mean having your declaration witnessed by a prescribed witness.
- Who is a 'prescibed witness'? Generally, a 'prescribed witness' refers to someone who is qualified to attest your document (ie, they can certify copies or they can witness signatures). In Australia, the list of prescribed witnesses will depend on whether you need to use the document for a state purpose or a Federal/Commonwealth purpose. In most cases, a justice of the peace, a lawyer or a public notary will be a prescribed witness.
- Can I sign my declaration in front of a Justice of the Peace? A justice of the peace is authorised to take oaths and witness signature for statutory declaration in New South Wales and in Australia. A justice of the peace is a prescribed witness for both the state statutory declaration and the Commonwealth statutory declaration. There are more categories of occupations that qualify as prescribed witnesses with the Commonwealth statutory declaration than with a state statutory declaration. However, if you're using your declaration overseas, a justice of the peace might not be acceptable and only a public notary will satisfy the requirements. Recently, some documents lodged with VFS have changed their requirements for NSW residents. What could be signed in front of a justice of the peace before will no longer be accepted and those documents will now need to be signed in front of a public notary. You may find that if the declaration is intended for India, some justice of the peace will not assist you but rather refer you to a public notary.
- If I can't find a Justice of the Peace, can I use a public notary? Yes, of course you can. If you can't find a Justice of the Peace to witness your declaration or certify your documents, you can have your declaration witnessed by a notary public or your documents certified by a notary public. However, you should remember that in most cases the services of a Justice of the Peace is free, but the notary public service will attract a fee.
- Does my declaration need to be notarised? Depending on where you will be using your declaration and depending on who requires the declaration, you may need to have your declaration witnessed and notarised by a notary public. A notary public is a prescribed witness for both the state statutory declaration and the commonwealth statutory declaration.
- What's the difference between an affidavit and a declaration? Both affidavits and declarations are sworn documents. Generally, affidavits are associated with court cases and the affidavits are used as a way to give evidence while declarations by nature are more general in purpose. Sometimes the name of the document is not as important as the contents.
- Do I need to print the declaration on any kind of special paper? Generally, no. If you're printing the declaration in Australia, you'll probably find that white A4 paper is the most readily available paper and that anything else could be hard to find. If you need to have the declaration printed on stamp or bonded paper, or green legal/foolscap paper, then you should probably consult your lawyer in India to prepare the declaration for you and send it to you.
- Do I need to have other witnesses or more than one witness? Generally, no. You should probably check with your lawyer in India though because some requirements may vary. In most cases, swearing and signing the declaration in front of the public notary or some other prescribed witness should be sufficient or otherwise satisfy the legal requirements in Australia and in India.
- Do I need to have my document stamped by the Indian High Commission? This really depends on who you're dealing with in India. It's quite common that lawyers in India will ask clients in Australia to have their documents 'notarised or attested by the Indian High Commission' without actually understanding the international law (both treaties and conventions) that enable documents to be valid, recognised and acceptable legally between Australia and India. Ultimately, you need to follow what your lawyer in India advises you and there are various VFS checklists that will help you through whatever process is necessary to have your document stamped by VFS.
- Do I need to print the declaration on any kind of special paper? Generally, no. If you're printing the declaration in Australia, you'll probably find that white A4 paper is the most readily available paper and that anything else could be hard to find. If you need to have the declaration printed on stamp or bonded paper, or green legal/foolscap paper, then you should probably consult your lawyer in India to prepare the declaration for you and send it to you.
- Do I need an apostille? You may need to check with your lawyer in India. Technically, documents signed in Australia to be used in India should be stamped with an apostille. Both Australia and India are signatories to the Apostille Convention and so both countries will recognise documents that have been stamped with an apostille as this is the most formal approach to mutual recognition of legal documents. Before your declaration can be stamped with an apostille, it will need to be notarised by a public notary first. Also, depending on what process you are following, if you need to have your document stamped by VFS, some of their requirements also include having your document notarised and/or stamped with an apostille as well. Just be aware that not all lawyers in India are familiar with the formal legal requirements of international treaties and conventions (like the Apostille Convention) and many clients are asked to just have their documents stamped by 'the Indian High Commission', which is basically VFS. If you have your document stamped with an apostille and you still want to have it stamped by VFS as well, VFS will ask you to sign a disclaimer to confirm that you are aware that VFS is not required once your document has been stamped with an apostille.
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.
