INFORMATION:

For documents that were executed, signed or issued in Canada to be accorded legal effect in the Philippines, these documents must be covered with an Apostille certificate issued by competent authorities in Canada or authenticated/acknowledged by the Embassy of the Philippines in Ottawa or Consulates General in Calgary, Toronto or Vancouver.

A. IMPLEMENTATION OF APOSTILLE IN CANADA

The 05 October 1961 Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents (HCCH 1961 or Apostille Convention) took effect in Canada on 11 January 2024.  The Apostille Convention abolishes the traditional authentication certificate with a single Apostille certificate issued by a Competent Authority designated by the member country.

With both the Philippines and Canada being parties to the HCCH 1961, documents with an Apostille certificate issued by Competent Authorities in Canada will not require the authentication of the Philippine Embassy and Consulates General for use in the Philippines. Similarly, documents with an Apostille certificate issued by the competent authority of the Government of the Philippines will not require the authentication of the Embassy of Canada in the Philippines for use in Canada.

DOCUMENTS ACCEPTABLE FOR APOSTILLE

1. Public documents issued by the Government of Canada such as Birth Certificates, Marriage Certificates, Death Certificates, academic credentials, export permits and Corporations Canada documents. Some documents may require notarization before submitting them for Apostille. Please check at https://www.international.gc.ca/gac-amc/about-a_propos/services/authentication-authentification/step-etape-2.aspx?lang=eng#death
2. Private documents notarized by duly commissioned notary public and certified by provincial competent authorities.

WHERE TO SEND YOUR DOCUMENTS FOR APOSTILLE:

To Global Affairs Canada if your documents were issued or notarized by the:

1. Government of Canada
2. Province of Manitoba
3. Province of New Brunswick
4. Province of Newfoundland and Labrador
5. the Northwest Territories
6. Province of Nova Scotia
7. Province of Nunavut
8. Province of Prince Edward Island; and
9. Yukon

To the Competent Authorities of the following provinces if your documents were issued or notarized in said provinces:

APOSTILLE FORM

Canada’s Apostille certificate is in print form only. Formats of the certificate may vary among Canadian competent authorities.

B. EMBASSY ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

DOCUMENTS ACCEPTABLE FOR ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

1. Documents signed or executed by the person before the Embassy’s consular officer including affidavits, special powers of attorney, NBI form 5 and other personal instruments.

Note: The Embassy will not authenticate documents with Apostille. Documents with Apostille bear legal effect in the Philippines without the Embassy authentication.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT FORMAT

The Embassy’s acknowledgement certificate is in print form only. Since  15 June 2019, the Philippine Embassy has stopped affixing red satin ribbons on its authenticated/notarized documents, pursuant to instructions from the Department of Foreign Affairs.

Reminders:

• Examples of valid IDs are: Canadian citizenship card, permanent residence card, and driver's license.
• Templates of documents can be found at the following link: Downloadable Forms (Legalization of Documents). In accomplishing the forms, please make sure that the name on your valid ID is consistent with the name on the document to be notarized. For example, if your valid ID spells out your middle name, you must also spell out your middle name on the document to be notarized. If the name on your valid ID consists of First and Last names only, please write/type down your First and Last names only on the document to be notarized.
• The photocopies will be attached to your document. As such, please prepare one set of photocopies of IDs per document.
• Clients who choose to receive their documents via mail must submit a prepaid self-addressed courier envelope with tracking features (e.g. FedEx/DHL/Canada Post Xpresspost with signature sticker).
  • Ontario and Quebec residents need to provide a Regional Xpresspost envelope.
  • Residents of other Canadian provinces need to provide a National Xpresspost envelope.
  • Residents of Bermuda need to provide an envelope from an international courier of their choice with an airway bill number.
• The Embassy does NOT draft documents such as SPAs on behalf of the applicants. Please come to the Embassy with your documents already ready or printed out.
• For documents which require photocopies, please prepare the photocopies before coming to the Embassy. THE PHILIPPINE EMBASSY DOES NOT PROVIDE PHOTOCOPYING AS PART OF THEIR SERVICES.

WHO MAY FILE

1. A person of legal age signing or executing the document or undertaking an act. The person must personally appear before the Embassy’s consular officer. If the document requires several signatories, all signatories must appear before the Embassy’s consular officer. The person must book an appointment at https://appointment.ottawape.org/ and select from the Services “Legalization of Documents.”

WHERE TO FILE

Documents for acknowledgement are submitted in person at the Embassy of the Philippines, 30 Murray St., Ottawa, ON K1N 5M4, or at any consular outreach mission. Please monitor the Embassy’s official website and Facebook page for the schedules of consular outreach missions.

If a person is in Ottawa-Gatineau, Eastern Ontario, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nunavut, Quebec and the UK overseas territory of Bermuda, the nearest office will be the Embassy of the Philippines.

If the individual is in other Canadian provinces, please visit this link for information on the nearest Philippine Consulate General where he/she may file for acknowledgement of documents: https://ottawape.dfa.gov.ph/index.php/2016-04-12-08-35-52/contact-information-directory

WHAT TO FILE

1. The document for notarization, and its photocopy.
2. Government-issued identification card with photo and signature of each signatory to the document. 

• • Please bring either: a valid passport and one photocopy or two valid IDs and their photocopies.
  • Please bring sufficient number of photocopies of the identification card/s or the signatory/ies in accordance with the number of sets of documents to be acknowledged. For example, for three sets of a Contract to Sell, there should be three photocopies of the ID/s of the signatory/ies.

PAYMENT OF FEES

The Embassy accepts cash or debit cards for payments made in person. The fee for notarization of documents is CAD 36.25 per document regardless of the page count and type of document. For example, the fee for two sets of SPAs is CAD 72.50. The fee for one SPA and one Affidavit of Support and Guarantee is CAD 72.50.

For clients who filed their documents between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon and would like to claim it between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on the same day, they may pay an additional fee of CAD 14.50 for expedited processing. The option for expedited processing does not apply to documents filed in the afternoon.

WHERE TO CLAIM YOUR NOTARIZED DOCUMENT

If the individual opted to pay the expedited processing fee, he/she can pick them up at the Embassy of the Philippines between 3:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.

Non-expedited documents not for mailing may be picked up in 3 to 5 days. Clients must leave their contact details to be used in coordinating the release of the document.

If the individual opted to have the notarized documents mailed to them, he/she will get the documents via mail at his/her given address. Processing period is 5 days exclusive of mailing time.

PROCESSING PERIOD

1. Expedited documents: same day processing
2. Non expedited documents: 5 days (exclusive of mailing time)