Notary for Immigration Documents in Toronto: Declarations, Invitation Letters and Copies

Civitas Law is a team of legal professionals under the leadership of lawyer Nasibeh Mehrpouyan, a lawyer, commissioner for taking affidavits and notary public. We commission and notarize immigration documents for people coming to Canada, people sponsoring family, and people sending documents to Iran, Russia, Serbia and other countries, and we explain them in English, French, Farsi, Russian and Serbian before anything is signed. Our office is at 4789 Yonge Street, Suite 402, at Yonge and Sheppard in North York.

A notary or commissioner confirms identity, administers the oath or declaration and certifies copies. That is different from advice about the application itself, such as which program fits or how to explain a gap in your history. For that, see our immigration lawyer page; a 30-minute consultation is $150 plus HST, paid when booking. For our full list of notary services, see the notary public page.

A statutory declaration is a written statement of facts that you solemnly declare to be true before a commissioner or notary. Immigration files use several kinds:

• Statutory Declaration of Common-law Union (IMM 5409). Partners declare that they have lived together in a conjugal relationship. IRCC's form sets out who may witness it; in Canada that includes a commissioner of oaths or notary public.
• Declarations of marital status or single status for marriage abroad, sponsorship or foreign registries.
• Declarations explaining missing or inconsistent documents, such as a name spelled differently in two passports or a birth record that cannot be obtained.
• Supporting declarations from relatives or friends about a relationship, a person's identity or financial support.

When IRCC or another office supplies its own form, use it exactly. Leave it unsigned until the appointment, because the signature must be made in front of the commissioner. Everything in the declaration must be true and within your knowledge: misrepresentation can lead to refusal and a ban on applying, and a knowingly false declaration is an offence under the Criminal Code. Our commissioner of oaths page explains how declarations and affidavits are sworn.

IRCC's guidance on letters of invitation lists what the letter should say. About the visitor: full name, date of birth, address and phone number, relationship to you, purpose and length of the trip, where they will stay, how they will pay, and when they will leave. About you: full name, date of birth, address and phone number in Canada, job title, whether you are a citizen or permanent resident with a copy of proof of status, and the names and dates of birth of your spouse and dependants.

A super visa letter for a parent or grandparent must also include a promise of financial support for the whole visit and the list and number of people counted in your family size. The letter does not make you legally responsible for the visitor after entry, and it does not ensure a visa will be issued. IRCC does not require notarization, but some hosts have the letter notarized so the signature can be relied on, and a few visa offices or third parties ask for it. If you decide to notarize, bring the letter unsigned with your photo ID and proof of status.

Documents that are not in English or French need a translation. Under IRCC's translation requirements, as of November 2026:

• The translation is of the original or of a certified copy, and if you send a certified copy, the translator stamps both the copy and the translation.
• A certified translator who is a member in good standing of a provincial or territorial translators' association does not need an affidavit.
• Any other translator swears an affidavit before a notary public, commissioner of oaths or commissioner for taking affidavits, confirming the translation is accurate and that they are proficient in both languages.
• The applicant, the applicant's family members and the applicant's representative cannot translate or swear the affidavit, even if a family member is a lawyer, notary or translator.

We commission translator affidavits and certify copies of the original document so the translation can be attached to the right version. For copies, see our certified true copy page.

Many countries ask a foreigner who wants to marry there for a certificate of non-impediment, a document proving that nothing prevents the marriage. Canada does not issue that certificate. Global Affairs Canada instead issues a statement in lieu of certificate of non-impediment to marriage abroad, a letter confirming that Canada does not issue such certificates. It says nothing about your marital status, and a single status affidavit or declaration is among the documents submitted with the request.

Before you start, ask the foreign authority whether it needs the statement at all and which other documents it accepts. Often it is a sworn declaration of single or marital status, notarized here and then authenticated or apostilled. We prepare and notarize those declarations, and our apostille page explains the authentication step.

Government fees (set by Ontario, November 2026): authentication or apostille of an Ontario document costs $16 for each notarized document and $32 for each Ontario government, court or postsecondary document, paid to Official Documents Services. Ontario sets no fee for the notarial act itself.

How we measured this: we reviewed the fees that 15 notary offices and law firms in Toronto and the GTA publish on their own websites, checked in November 2026. Figures are before HST unless stated. These are typical market fees, not Civitas Law's fees. Civitas Law tells you its fee in writing before any work starts, and any government fee is paid on top of the notary fee.

How Civitas Law can help

Affidavits and statutory declarations can also be commissioned by live video where Ontario's remote commissioning rules allow it, so you do not always need to come to the office. If a document is not in English or French, the translation can be attested before Nasibeh Mehrpouyan as an Ontario notary public, one of the translation routes that Official Documents Services accepts. Mobile appointments at a home, hospital or office in Toronto can be arranged for an additional fee, which we confirm in writing before the visit.

Many of our clients send documents to family, courts, registries and universities abroad. The country decides the final route:

• Russia and Serbia are parties to the Hague Apostille Convention as of November 2026. A document notarized by an Ontario notary and apostilled by Ontario's Official Documents Services is generally accepted without consular legalization, although the receiving office often wants a translation into Russian or Serbian, sometimes done in that country.
• Iran is not a party to the Convention, and it has had no embassy or consulate in Canada since 2012. Ontario issues a certificate of authentication rather than an apostille, and the Iranian authority receiving the document decides what further steps it requires. Ask that office first, preferably in writing.

Powers of attorney for property in Iran or Russia, consents, declarations for inheritance matters and copies of Canadian documents are common requests. Foreign authorities often supply their own wording; bring it, and we will review it with you in Farsi, Russian, Serbian, English or French. Where the document gives someone power over property, see our power of attorney page first.

• Before the appointment, tell us the program or destination, the form numbers, who is signing and the language of any foreign documents.
• At the appointment, each signer brings government photo ID and the unsigned document; we review it with you in your language, administer the oath or declaration, or witness the signature, and add the jurat or notarial certificate.
• For copies, bring the originals; we compare and certify each copy.
• For use abroad, we tell you whether the next step is an apostille, an authentication certificate or a consulate.

Related pages: travel consent letters for children travelling with one parent, and our immigration law services. To book, call (647) 271-1646 or use our booking page.

Book a consultation online or call (647) 271-1646 (the phone is answered Monday to Friday, 9 am to 8 pm, and Saturday, 10 am to 6 pm). 30-minute consultation, $150 plus HST, paid when you book. Legal fees after that depend on the work involved, and we explain them in writing before you retain us.