Overseas Citizen of India applications
When people call us and say "I want notary for OCI..." it doesn't actually explain what they require.
Applying to be an Overseas Citizen of India requires you to submit various documents to VFS in support of your application, however, what documents you must submit depends on you and whoever else you may be applying for (ie, spouse and children etc). To simply state that you need notary services does not provide enough information for us to confirm whether we can assist you or what would be the cost for those services.
If you're not sure what documents you must submit in support of your OCI application or you're not sure what documents must be notarised, then you should visit the VFS website for more information.
You can also find the OCI Checklist here.
What services can we provide in support of the OCI application?
We can notarise certified copies of Australian government documents. If you need to provide certified copies of Australian or international documents (ie, passports, Australian birth certificates, Australian marriage certificates, Australian change of name certificates), then we can assist with certifying and notarising copies of those documents. If any of those documents must also be stamped with an apostille from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, we can also assist with that process.
We cannot notarise copies of documents issued by governments of other countries. Although the VFS checklist indicates that there are some documents, like birth certificates or marriage certificates issued from India, which must also be notarised, this requirement cannot be satisfied by our office on the basis that they are foreign documents and not Australian or international documents. Documents issued from India should really be either attested by VFS (which it refuses to - not sure why) or by a notary public in India, but not by a notary public in Australia. Potentially since this is a requirement from VFS, which does not consider the legal jurisdiction of notarisation in Australia, then there may be some notaries who are still providing this service even though legally they are not supposed to.
Interestingly, as VFS highlights in their checklist, if a document was not issued in Australia (or in India) but some other country, then that document must be attested by the embassy/consulate or foreign office of that country. However, despite acknowledging the limitations of what notaries in Australia can or should be doing with other foreign documents, the reality is that the same applies to documents issued from India (ie, they cannot be notarised in Australia and should be attested by the embassy/consulate or foreign office of India, being VFS).
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.
Frequently asked questions regarding our notary public services can also be found at https://www.notary-parramatta.com.au/faqs/.
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.
