Questions about the Authentication and Legalization Process?

This question comes up often as many of our clients have been told to get an Apostille for their Canadian document and then find out that it is not possible to get an Apostille Stamp in Canada. Since Canada has not signed the Hague Apostille Certificate Convention our government does not issue them. If you […]

There are multiple reasons that Global Affairs Canada may decline to authenticate documents. In most cases, it may be due to the document missing an original signature or stamp, or the signature cannot be verified. Global Affairs Canada will not Authenticate documents issued by religious institutions such as baptismal certificates or religious marriage certificates. Global […]

No, an Authentication from Global Affairs Canada does not expire. Although the Authentication remains valid the contents of your document may expire and/or the Embassy of the country where you wish to use the document may require that the document has been issued within a certain timeframe in order to process.

ALSC has Service Centers across Canada in most major cities, where you can drop off documents in person on appointment and pick them up upon completion. All documents received at our Service Centers will be forwarded to our Ottawa Headquarters, as Global Affairs Canada only has an authentication office in Ottawa. Contact us for more […]

ALSC assists clients daily from around the world to authenticate their documents at Global Affairs Canada. If you are outside of Canada, it can be difficult to navigate the Authentication process for your documents. Contact ALSC to help you get your documents authenticated while being outside of Canada.

Yes, our experienced agents attend in person at both Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services Section and your required embassy in Ottawa. This allows us to ensure that your document meets the requirements of Global Affairs Canada and the embassy, and to confirm with the embassy how long the legalization is expected to take ensuring that […]

Depending on what document you have to process, Global Affairs Canada will have different requirements as to whether the document must be an original or a certified true copy made by a Canadian Notary Public. Vital Statistics documents must be original documents that have been issued by the provincial or territorial Vital Statistics office. Either […]

Yes, Global Affairs can authenticate either your original Canadian degree-diploma or a notarized copy the choice is yours. Many of our clients choose to have a notarized copy made for authentication since it saves the processing and stamping on your original. This helps keep the original in pristine condition for future use but also raises […]

A Commissioner for Oaths in Canada is generally not authorized to certify a true copy of a document, where their authority is governed by the province or territory of appointment. A Commissioner for Oaths is generally only authorized to witness signatures for certain documents such as a Statutory Declaration or an Affidavit. When you require […]

Yes, in most cases the requesting party in the country you will be using the document will provide you with it in the native language. This happens because documents containing a foreign language are usually governed by the laws of the country in which they will be used. Before explaining, it is important to know […]

ALSC cannot Authenticate your documents on Fridays with our same day priority service because Global Affairs Canada has reduced their operating hours for the public and are closed on Fridays. We are, unfortunately, unable to provide same day priority authentication on Fridays due to this hour reduction. The new operating hours for Global Affair Canada […]

No. If you are only using our Authentication Services once completed the authenticated document will only be returned to you or a third-party individual who can accept the sensitive document on your behalf. This is done for privacy and security reasons amongst others.

Yes, there is no Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services Section office in Vancouver, Victoria, Calgary, Edmonton, Regina, Winnipeg, Toronto, Montreal, Quebec City, Fredericton, Charlottetown, Halifax, or St. John’s. Canadian documents can only be federally authenticated at Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services Section located in Ottawa close to our office. If you are dealing with Global […]

No, in fact, Global Affairs Canada Authentication Services Section will not authenticate provincial authentication signatures. In order for your document to be authenticated, it must have a signature that is in the Global Affairs Canada registry and falls within their requirements for processing. In a few cases, the embassy or consulate may ask that you […]

Even if the documents are identical, they would be considered two documents. Documents are calculated by volume, not by content. Another way to consider it would be that if you require both identical documents to be processed then each would need its own Authentication and Legalization stamp making them two separate documents.

All Canadian education documents, like a degree or diploma, must be sent for attestation to the UAE Embassy here in Ottawa or the UAE Consulate in Toronto depending on where you went to school. We call this step Legalization in Canada, but it means the same as Attestation in the UAE. Before you Attest your […]