There are many different styles of Birth Certificates in Canada. The most common are a credit card sized Birth Certificate, a polymer or half a letter-sized Birth Certificate either with parents’ information (long form) or without parents’ information (short form), and the longest available form which can be called a Statement of Birth, Registration of Birth, Extract of Birth or Copy of an Act of Birth depending on which Provincial or Territorial Vital Statistics Department you are requesting to issue the document. Global Affairs Canada or the Provincial Authorities can apostille or authenticate all different versions, except for the credit card sized Birth Certificate, since it is too small for the stamps and signatures of both Global Affairs Canada and the foreign Embassy to be affixed to the document.
When it comes to the Legalization of the Birth Certificate, some embassies can only legalize the longest available form Birth Certificate being the Statement of Birth, Registration of Birth, Extract of Birth, or Copy of an Act of Birth especially when it comes to immigration related matters such as applying for a visa, residency or citizenship in a foreign country. In other cases, where the Embassy can legalize all different types of Birth Certificates which type Global Affairs Canada or the Province can authenticate, is dependent on the purpose of the legalization, the longest available form might also be required in the destination country. It is always best to confirm in advance with the requesting party in the foreign country or with the Embassy Consulate of the foreign country in Canada which type of Birth Certificate you need to have apostilled, authenticated and legalized. If you are not sure how to proceed, contact one of the friendly Global Document Solutions experts via phone or simply request more information.