A certified copy of documents for an Australia PR visa means the attested photocopy by the notary.
You need to either scan all your documents in color or black & white and then get them notarized. Scan the notarized copy for uploading to the Australia PR immiAccount portal.
Who Can Certify Documents for an Australian Visa
Any government-recognized authority in your country can Certify documents for an Australian Visa outside Australia.
Example:
- A notary public can certify documents in India for Australian PR or visa.
- A first-class gazetted officer can also use their stamp and signature to certify a Xerox (photocopy) of original documents like a passport, university transcripts, and work experience letters.
- In the USA, the public notary is available with public banks like Bank of America, Chase, etc, including mail companies like USPS, UPS, and FedEx for a fee.
- Sometimes, in the USA, a notary would issue a ‘notary acknowledgment form’ which is a separate paper and no stamps on actual documents.
- This is acceptable for Australian immigration. But, a stamp on the actual document copy is preferred.
- In Australia, a Justice of Peace is acceptable as a notary.
Sample Notary Stamp for Australia 189/190 Visa
These are sample notary stamps as used in the USA.
Stamp 1: This stamp is mandatory to show the Notary’s validity and registration number.
Stamp 2: The content of the stamp mentioning the document type can also be written by hand.
Sample notary stamp for Australia 189 – 190 visa documents
Valid Certification – Notarization Requirements
- Should be marked as ‘ CERTIFIED TRUE COPY OF ORIGINAL ‘. – Either you can write this by hand or use a rubber stamp (as shown in the above image).
- Should have Notary signature.
- Should have Notary official stamp.
- Should have Notary date of signing.
- Date format: ‘dd/mm/yyyy’ If using any other date format, then write the date with the month in English letters like 4 Apr 2024.
You need certified or notarized copies of all your education and work experience documents for your ANZSCO code‘s assessment.
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There is no need to get the notary for Salary Slips or Income Tax return documents. Just scan them in color and upload them to the immiaccount.
Example,
You can upload Form 16 or Indian Income Tax ITR for the last 3 years scanned in color for an Australia PR invite.
Similarly, if you are applying for an Australia PR from the USA, upload the last 3 years’ W2 and the last 6 months’ pay stubs to prove your continuous employment.
A notary is NOT required for Police Clearance Certificates but is recommended. Your choice.
Example:
There is no notary needed for FBI clearance from USA or Indian Police Clearance from Indian Embassy.
If the English language Test result is sent directly to Australia Immigration like in the case of the PTE exam, there is no need to get the Notary.
If the results are NOT sent directly to Australia Immigration like sometimes in IELTS, you should get a Notary for the IELTS result.
If the Assessment report is sent directly to Australia Immigration like in the case of the ACS Assessment, there is no need to get the Notary.
If the results are NOT sent directly to Australia Immigration, you should get a Notary for your work and education assessment report.
