Rules regarding required documents and formats

When you send documents to support an application to the Ministère de l’Immigration, de la Francisation et de l’Intégration, you must respect the required formats.

When you submit documents to support your application, you must attach them in the required format. If not, your application will be rejected or will be returned to you.

The format is specified in the forms that you must fill out with your application. The required format can be:

An original document 

Do not provide the original unless otherwise specified.

A certified true copy

The Obtaining a certified true copy of a document section details the requirements to be respected.

A photocopy 

We recommend that you submit colour photocopies. When you submit the copies of the documents, make sure that the resolution is high enough so that the information is legible.

When the format required is a certified true copy of the original, you must ensure certification of all pages in the copy of the document.

The certification must be done by a recognized authority in the country or territory in which the original documents were issued. To find out which authorities are recognized to certify copies of official documents, consult the list of recognized authorities .

The authority certifies that the copy of the document submitted is identical to the original document.

You must have the following certified as a true copy by a recognized authority:

• Any electronic document
• Any original document that:
  • Bears in electronic signature; or
  • Does not bear an original seal or signature.

Note that the following professional organizations in Québec are not considered to be recognized authorities:

• Commissioner of oaths
• Lawyers
• Translators
• Counsellors at local employment centres

The documents that you send to the Ministère de l'Immigration, de la Francisation et de l'Intégration must be in English or French.

Documents or parts of documents in a language other than French or English must be accompanied by a translation signed and authenticated by a professional translator.

If this is your case, you must provide:

The document in the original language

The required format will be indicated on the form.

The original of the complete translation done by a recognized translator.

The translation must bear the name and seal of the translator.

All the elements of the document in the original language must be translated. This includes seals and signatures.

If the document is written in English or French, but has a seal in another language, you must have this seal translated.

You must staple each translation to the document to which it corresponds in the original language.

Translation outside of Québec or Canada

If you will have your documents translated outside of Québec or Canada, only translations by the following will be accepted:

• A translator who is a member of a professional order or authorized to act as such;
• A translator who works for a translation department;
  • The establishment who issued the original document; or
  • The embassy or consulate of the country or territory that issued the original document; or
  • The Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Ministry of Justice of the country or territory that issued the original document.
     

For the following countries, we accept translations that do not bear a translator’s seal, but are accompanied by a notarial act:

• Azerbaijan
• Armenia
• Belarus
• Russian Federation
• Georgia
• Israel
• Kazakhstan
• Kyrgyzstan
• Moldova
• Uzbekistan
• Tajikistan
• Turkmenistan
• Ukraine

The notarial act accompanying the translation must comply with the following rules:

• It must be written in English or French.
• It must include the following:
  • The notary’s name,
  • His or her professional seal,
  • His or her signature,
  • His or her contact information.
• It must indicate the name of the translator who translated the documents.

Translation in Québec or Canada

To be accepted, your translation must have produced by a translator who is a member of one of the following institutions:

• Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec  (OTTIAQ)
• Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario  (ATIO – Association des traducteurs et interprètes de l’Ontario)
• Society of Translators and Interpreters of British Columbia  (STIBC – Société des traducteurs et interprètes de la Colombie-Britannique)
• Corporation of Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters of New Brunswick  (CTINB – Corporation des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes du Nouveau-Brunswick)
• The translation department of the embassy or consulate of the country or territory issuing the original document, if applicable.