A birth certificate is an important identification document required for many purposes and official processes. For one thing, your birth certificate proves your citizenship to a country by birth. In most instances, it also shows your parental ties and time and date of birth. Many documents and processes may require this as proof of age, citizenship, and relation to a place and people. If you are seeking immigration or a visa for Romania, you may also require it then. Alternatively, you may require it to prove ties to Romania through parents who are citizens of the country. Regardless of your cause or reason for its use, one thing is for sure: You will certainly need to authenticate and legalize your Canadian birth certificate for use in Romania.
The short or the long form?
Birth certificates come in two forms of length: the short form or the long form. The short birth certificate includes the staple information such as your name, date and country of birth. This one is good for most purposes, however, does not suffice for several important government processes. The long form includes more details, such as the names of your parents and the place of birth. In order to have Global Affairs Canada (GAC) authenticate your document, you must bring the long form birth certificate. In fact, even if GAC did authenticate the short form, it would still be a good idea to use the detailed version. This is because the country where you intend to use it, such as Romania, may only accept the long form.
The First Step: Birth Certificate Authentication for Romania
In Canada, the attestation process is fairly standard. You will need to collect your Canadian birth certificate from a government service office first. Then, you need to submit it to Global Affairs Canada (GAC). GAC will, in turn, review your document and validate the signatures on it and stamp it with a red seal. This completes authentication.
The Second Step: Birth Certificate Legalization for Romania
Following authentication, you will need to submit your document to the Consulate General of Romania for legalization. The Embassy will also review the document for verification of GAC’s stamp and that your document has met their standards for legalization. It’s important to note that this legalization step is just as required as the authentication step. Your document needs to successfully pass the Embassy’s guidelines to be valid for use in Romania.
Why Contact Us?
One thing to note about attesting your birth certificate is that authentication and legalization themselves are tedious processes! Because of the time each process takes and the limited offices where the services can be completed, you may face hurdles in completing this otherwise easy procedure. To facilitate you along the way, there are professionals such as at Legalization Service Centre who can help you ease some of those difficulties. Call us today if you have any questions or require assistance!
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