If you are getting married in Col., read this!

JT says on Oct 8, 2004, 00:43:

But does the notarized spanish translation need Apostille? Get the original Birth cert. an Apostille - Got it! Does the Apostille need to be translated? Or just the Birth Cert? And then does that notarized spanish translation need an Apostille? Can I translated the Birth Cert. myself and sign the translation before a notary? I dont know how many times I've asked these questions, but no one seems to be able to answer all of them. Thanks! I appreciate any info you can provide!

JT

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crazyforcolombia says on Oct 8, 2004, 00:57:

Marriage Visa I got married in Colombia without applying for a marriage visa,I am Australian,I called the Colombian consulate they told me about it,but all I could see it was useful for was being able to stay in Colombia for 6 months once you get married,plus it was a waste of money.
I got a attorney to organise the ceremony,I did'nt have all my documents,so the judge preforming the ceremony gave me three months to send back my birth-certificate,police records check and single hood certificate,than the marriage was legalised and we recieved our marriage certificate.
Why pay the money if you don't need to,you still get a 60 day visa anyway,if you take all the correct documents your marriage will be legalised.

Crazy For Colombia

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daver says on Oct 8, 2004, 09:42:

I just got married in Colombia (hey everyone, I'm back in Canada with high speed internet so I will be back up to my 5 posts a day in no time) and the reason I got the marriage visa is that in my country, for me to sponsor my spouse for immigration, my marriage has to be legal in both Colombia and Canada. If I skipped on the marriage VISA, I could run into problems. So, unless you plan on immigrating to Colombia (which people stopped doing 100 years ago) I would suggest you pay the money and get a VISA.

Dave

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Desideria (Moderator) says on Oct 8, 2004, 09:45:

daver congrats:)
Cheers,
Desi

"When shall we three meet again? In thunder, lightning, or in rain?"(First Witch in Macbeth)

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manfred says on Oct 8, 2004, 10:35:

getting married Hi Dave
since you are from Canada and as I am Canadian Citizen I have a couple questions for you. I plan to get married in Bogota early Dec this year . i am flying down Nov. 21. I have the special visa but would like to know from you what you exactly needed for the civil wedding. I have birth certicate , divorce certificate and certifcate of being single everything legalized with apostilles. Documents translated into spanish by certified Ontaro translator but the translations they told me needed not an apostille...could you help me out and let me know what you needed....also I thought when we go to the officials in Bogota with the documents that we could get married a few days later...your help is greatly appreciated
congratulations,
Manfred

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daver says on Oct 8, 2004, 11:11:

Manfred,

For one, I was told that I needed "apostille" from the notary, but the Colombian consulate said that "apostille" do not exist in Canada, and that everything is done through the consulates.

You need to send the documents you listed to the Ministry of Exterior relations in Bogota (by the way, they need your long form birth registration, not your birth certificate). They must be legalized by the Colombian conulate or embassy first, and they should have given you instructions (at the consulate)... they stamped a tiny peice of paper on my documents with instructions on where to send them to in Bogota.

After my documents were legallized in Toronto by the Col consulate, I mailed them to my fiance in Medellin, who mailed them to some lady in Bogota who runs a busisness of waiting in line at the ministry to hand in documents. It took the ministry there 3 days to mail the documents back to my finace in Medellin (I've asked her an its NOT OK to give her real name on the internet!) . The people at the ministry, unlike the confused people at the notaries, realize Canada and the USA are different countries, and you will not have a problem there.

Once the ministry puts their seal of approval on your documents, the notary will marry you, but they will then tell you that you need to get an aposille to legalize it. This is the stage that I am at, so I am not even sure if I have another step to take in the process, but I am 99% sure I am legally married in Colombia.

Anyway, I was going to make a big post on exactly what Canadians need to do to get married in Colombia, but after 4 months since our engagement, and 3 weeks since our wedding, I still don't know for sure if I am legally married in both Colombia and Canada. (I told my wife that since we don't know for sure if we are legally married, I am still entitled to sex more than once a week!)

Watch for my "How to marry a Colombian if you're Canadian" post in the near future. Hopefully it will be in time for you to read it before your wedding). Oh, by the way, congrats!!

For the time being, if you have the VISA, and the documents you mentioned returned to you stamped by the Ministry of External Relations in Bogota (or whatever its called) than the Notary has what it needs to perform the ceremony, and you will be well on the road to being as confused as I am!

Don't hesitate to reply to this post with other questions. My writing can be convoluted and confusing at times!

Later,

Dave

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manfred says on Oct 8, 2004, 11:56:

marriage in Colombia Hi again Dave
Thanks very much for your info...yes the colombian consulate here in Ottawa could not give me much info on exactly how old max documents could be etc....since my birth certificate comes from Germany (the have convenio de Haya with different countries incl. Colombia) the german government pusts the apostille on and no apostille from the col. needed and since it is an intern. document in many languages I do not need a translations...but I am still not sure if I need the spanish translaton of the canadian documents (divorce certificate and certificado soltero both legalized by foreign affaires here and legalized by the colombian consulate)by the cert. tranlator notarized and legalized by foreign affaires????
again thanks for all your input
til later
by the way I am the one moving to colombia :)
Manfred

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daver says on Oct 8, 2004, 12:07:

Manfred,

OK, you're situation is harder than mine. I have to admit, I wouldn't like being at a Colombian consulate in Canada with German documents! And for a while, I thought I had it the worst.

***but I am still not sure if I need the spanish translaton of the canadian documents (divorce certificate and certificado soltero both legalized by foreign affaires here and legalized by the colombian consulate)***

Manfred, yes, I think you will need this. The notary wants to (NEEDS to) know that you are not married to someone else. Trust me, they can't read English.

I think you need to:

1. Get them translated to Spanish
2. Get the Embassy in Ottawa to legalize them.
3. Get the Ministry in Bogota to legalize them.
4. Bring it to the notary.

Perhaps call the German embassy in Bogota and see what they have to say?

Oh, boy, I hope this works out for you. Good luck.

Dave.

Ps. Yes, I will be "immigrating" to Colombia soon too. I can't wait 2 years for immigration being apart from my wife.

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manfred says on Oct 8, 2004, 12:41:

marriage in colombia Hola Dave
just to clarify the colombian embassy in Ottawa only legalizes documents that have been legalized by can. foreing affaires ...so they did that with the certificado soltero and divorce certificate but the spanish translations of these documents they would not legalize since they are not legalized by foreign affaires here....do you know if the officials in Bogota accept the certified translations or do I have to get them notarized here and legalized by can foreign affaires..??
by the way how do you like Medellin...since my fiancee and I don't want o live in Bogota...either Cartagena or Medellin...
cao and thanks again...what a burocratic nightmare...:)
Manfred

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daver says on Oct 8, 2004, 13:46:

Manfred,

I don't think I can answer your questions. The consulate in Toronto legalized my documents, but I did not need to legalize them with Canada, as they were documents provided by the Ontario government.

My birth registration, police report, and notice of search were all provided by the goverment of Ontario, and the Hamilton police department, and were considered legal documents. The consulate put their stamp on it and instructed me to send it to Bogota.

As far as Medellin.... to be honest, the first time in Colombia I liked it, and now my opinion has gone a bit sour. When I return to Colombia to live (in about 4 months) we are going to move to Bogota.

My wife is sick of Medellin (she grew up there, but loves Bogota) and neither of us have much money. Our ability to earn a suitable income is better in Bogota. She has a degree in Psycology... that and 1000 pesos will get you a cup of good coffee. She is, however, 100% billingual, which makes her much more employable in Bogota compared to Medellin. I am going to teach English while my Spanish improves, and there is more opportunity in Bogota for this sort of thing.

I felt very isolated in Medellin. There is very little open space, and if I wasn't in El Poblado or Laurales(?), or on the Metro I felt like I was in danger (thats just my opinion). The parks in Medellin seemed full of beggars, garbage, and dog poo...all 3 parks that I saw. I found the venders in Medellin to be loud and aggresive. I found there to be beggers everywhere. I found the downtown to be a zoo, whereas in Bogota, I felt like I was in a normal city.

El Poblado is very nice, but the traffic is aweful and getting much worse. And, we can barely afford to live there anyway.

Bogota had more parks, restaurants, bars etc... The sidewalks were larger, and the city seems more progressive and worldly, where Medellin seemed backwards and isolated. Bogota has a network of very nice bike paths, very large safe parks, and a much larger variety of decent barrios.

I shouldn't say anymore. People from Antioquia are VERY proud, and I am just begging for hate mail by what I have said. But, I strongly prefer Bogota.

I have not been to the Caribean, so I can't tell you about it.

Dave

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manfred says on Oct 8, 2004, 14:23:

marriage in colombia thanks dave for all your input, yes it's funny how the different colombian consulates or embassy handle things.. with you the legalize documents without foreign affaires stamp with me here they would not unless stamp from foreign affaires even though in both our cases documnets were from ontario government...but I will check it out and try to get the translations notarized and all the stamps possible..:)
in regards to Medellin ..interesting to get your feelings...I try to go there after my visit to Bogota and Cartagena...when I spent a month in Bogota in the summer I thought it was a beautiful city but the traffic!!!...too much for me and the climate is a bit cold for my fiancee ...she comes originally from hot Cartagena...I was 6 times in San Andres Island and love the caribbean atmosphere so it might come to Cartagena...we will see...
cao for now
Manfred

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daver says on Oct 8, 2004, 14:42:

I didn't mind the cold in Bogota! I'm Canadian... I was breast fed snow!

My wife found California cold, so she'll have to get used to Bogota, but then again, she wants to immigrate to Canada, so she'll have to adjust at some point.

As far as hearing different things from different places (the consulates and notaries) this has been happening with us from day one. It takes me real effort not to go crazy. I guess you will have to be patient!

Good Luck

Dave

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Patrick says on Oct 8, 2004, 17:08:

Answer for JT JT,
When I had my Birth Certificate translated I had it done by an Official Translator and he translated the Apostille as well as the birth record, he then notarized the whole thing. You can not get an Apostille on the translation and it is not necessary. If your Spanish is good enough to do the translation I don’t see why you can’t do it yourself, but I don’t think it’s a good idea. I was told it had to be translated by an Official Translator and then Notarized. I found out later that it was not necessary to use an Official Translator as long as it was properly notarized. However, I would not take a chance, pay the extra couple of dollars, have it done by a proper translator and then you don’t have to worry about hearing “ Sorry sir we can’t except this it was not done by an Official Translator”.
All the best,
Patreick

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JT says on Oct 8, 2004, 18:00:

Question for Patrick or Non-Canadian Im in the US and so we do need the Apostille. Patrick, it seems are are saying that the Spanish translation of my birth certificate doesn't need the Apostille, but only to be notarized? All the instructions say that all the Spanish translations need to have the Apostille. But then again,I do see how the State Dept. might think its wierd that they are giving an Apostille for a Spanish translation of the Apostille.

As far as the "Certified Translator" thing goes: Here is what one translator told me when I asked if his ATA certification was recognized by the US government and/or other governments. He lead me to believe that there aren't any "Certified Translators" in the USA because the Government doesn't regulate that. Here is what he emailed me:
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Regarding certification: As far as I know, there is no government agency in the US that certifies translators; when agencies such as INS ask for a "certified" translation, what they are looking for is for the translator to include a statement certifying that the translation is accurate, with the translation signed by the translator and then notarized. So a translator does not have to be "certified" in order to "certify" his/her translation.

This is different from other countries in Europe and South America, where one can become a "sworn translator" which basically is a government stamp of approval on the translator's qualifications and which therefore extends to his/her work.

In the US, ATA is the only widely-recognized certification credential for translators. It gives the consumer a good idea of the quality of translation that they are receiving.

(Of course, interpreter certification is an entirely different issue.)

Oh, I forgot to answer another part of your question: foreign officials/governments have their own requirements for certified translations. Sometimes they want someone that has been certified by their own country; sometimes they want someone that has been approved by their consulate in the U.S.; sometimes they just want the translator to provide a notarized statement of translation so that the notary public's signature can be apostilled. You'll have to check with the officials who will be receiving the documents you want translated.

---------------------------------------------------------------------
So Patrick, when you say that a certified translator did your translation, how did you know he was certified, and certified by whom? I'm just concerned becuase the Notary I'm working w/ in Cartagena says they have to be certified, but I'm thinking 'if there aren't any certified translators here in the US, how does she know whether they are or not? Thanks!

JT

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Patrick says on Oct 8, 2004, 19:46:

Second answer for JT JT,
It seems you know more about translators than I do. Why did you ask the questions if you already know the answers?

I did not ask you any questions; I only tried to help you because I thought you sincerely needed advice on the subject.

I live and work on the island of Curacao; I had my documents translated here by a government licensed translator. They were signed and sealed by the translator and readily accepted by the Marriage License folks in Cartagena. Even though Dutch is the official language here, all my notary seals were in Dutch. No Problem.

Although you are correct, there are no government licensed translators in the United States there are nationally recognized organizations that certify translators. Such as the American Translators Association www.atanet.org , you alluded to this in your previous post. If you have your documents translated and signed by a translator who is a member of this organization and have them notarized you will have no trouble in Colombia. When I said you should use an Official Translator this is what I was talking about.

You CAN NOT, I repeat CAN NOT have an Apostille affixed to a translation. No Sectary of any State will put an Apostille on a document that was not issued be his or her state. The document must be an official document issued by the state period. Regardless, it is not necessary to have an Apostille on anything but the original documents. Colombia dose not require, nor could they, an Apostille on the translations.

You say you are working with a Notary in Cartagena why don’t you ask her these questions? You say you could translate your own documents, ask her if she would be willing to notarize your translations if you did them in front of her. I don’t know the answer to that question but I’m sure she does.

Finally, don’t make a mountain out of a mole hill, have your documents Apostilled and translated properly and you will have no trouble in Colombia. I got married in Cartagena and the folks there are very helpful as long as you have you papers in order.

Best of luck,

Patrick

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utopiacowboy says on Oct 8, 2004, 22:48:

I had my translations made by a woman who attached her notarized statement that it was an accurate translation. I was able to get an apostille for the notary quite easily. My birth certificate was issued by the Province of Quebec and I had to have that authenticated by the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa and then have it authenticated by the Colombian Consulate in Montreal. Normally it should then have been authenticated by the Ministry of External relations in Bogota but the notary in Medellin said this last step was no necessary.

Sorry to hear you're sick of Medellin, Daver - you are right, Bogota is a much more cosmopolitan city - it feels less Colombian than the other Colombian cities I have visited. Still, I have a soft spot for Medellin.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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daver says on Oct 8, 2004, 23:55:

Cowboy,

I didn't say I was sick of Medellin, my fiance... errrrr wife is sick of it, and my opinion got a little sour. She has the right to be sick of it, as she has lived there for 24 of her 28 years.

I guess a few bad things happened during my one month stay. Everything from people trying to dupe me out of money, people stealing off me, and many so called "high-class" El Poblado people coming to our wedding, not even bringing a card or a gift.

One of these "high-class" Poblado women asked me how much maids were in Canada. I told her I didn't know, and that the majority of people don't have them, as people won't work for such demoralizing low wages. She replied (and I still can't believe this) "well, who cooks and cleans then?". And this "high-class" Poblado women, who won't lift a finger to feed or clean up after herself, neglected to get us a gift, or a card, and hi-jacked the photographer we hired to take pictures of her and her boyfriend. Now they are asking my wife when they can have pictures of the wedding!

Now, I just got off the phone with my wife about 3 hours ago (I'm staying up late on this fine Canadian Thanksgiving weekend) and a guy a I met from Medellin the first time I was there, just found out that his brother was shot in the head in a road rage incident today, with his wife and baby in the back seat.

Also during my stay, we had a real uncomfortable run in with a taxi driver who demanded that we give him more money or he would not leave my wife's driveway (her dad's house where she lives). He felt he deserved more than what the meter said. I normally tip them (and most cabbies don't expect it), but the guy was a dumbass who took two wrong turns, and played the music way too loud.

Now in Canada, if a cabbie gave me that kind of lip, I'd a pulled him out of his car and dragged him off my driveway, but in Medellin I was scared shittless that this guy was a nut.

My fiance said she would call the cops, and the guy said that he would tell the cops we were stealing off him. This made my wife so mad, she started to raise her voice, then he starts to yell and point at her, and finally I lost it and started to run at his door screaming at him in English to "get the f*ck out of my face" before I strangled him. Luckly it worked (he didn't know what I was saying, but I guess I looked pretty pissed) and he backed out of the drive quite quickly. I hate confrontations, especially nasty ones, and I was shaking for about 1 hour after the affair. Not to mention looking out the window to make sure he wouldn't come back.

Well I guess this can happen in any city in Colombia, but so many things happened, it gave me some bad karma about Medellin. Also, I'm a big outdoors person, and in Medellin it seemed like I was trapped in a bottle.

The unfortunate thing is, I had many many many more good experiences in Medellin than bad, but the bad ones over-shadowed everything.

Dave

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JT says on Oct 9, 2004, 07:19:

Thanks to everyone Daver, yeah, those types of experiences would overshadow a lot of good experiences for me too. I wanted to say thanks for answering my questions. Although it may look like I know a lot about how to go about the translation thing, I'm really not sure what will fly with the Notary, so I'm asking all of you all about your personal experiences. The Notary hasn't been answering the phone, and my fiancee has been too busy in Med School to stop by her office lately. But you're right, the best thing is to check with the Notary in Cartagena, and ask the Chicago Consulate to recommend a translator in the area. Thanks again!

Is your wife able to leave Colombia to be with you? Or do you now have to get a spouse visa for her?

JT

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daver says on Oct 9, 2004, 10:46:

***Is your wife able to leave Colombia to be with you? Or do you now have to get a spouse visa for her?***

It is a much more difficult process to enter Canada, than to enter the US for spouses. There is no "spousal" VISAs. I have to sponsor her for permanent residency as a spouse... she will get a permanent residency VISA, but she cannot enter until the process is complete.

For standard cases, it takes people about 1 year to sponsor their wives to come to Canada. In the case of Colombia, the average time is something like 20 months.

Even to begin the process, you are required to provide a mountian of information to a processing centre in Canada. This includes police, and medical check of your spouse, and her/his entire family (even though the family members are not coming to Canada).

This is my big delay now, as my spouse lived in the US for a while, and we are waiting to get the police report (from the US) before we can even start a process that is likely to take almost 2 years.

So, I will be a Colombian for a little while it seems.

Dave

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teppar says on Oct 9, 2004, 23:53:

ok here's an even more complicated situation.... i am marrying a colombian. now the problem or should i say confusing part is i was born in the UK, i was baptised in the UK, i am a naturalised US citizen (my father was naturalised when i was 15 so i got the passport through that), my US passport is the only valid passport i have at this time (i also have an expired lebanese passport and i can get british and armenian), and i live in the united arab emirates....any one have any clue what kinds of documents i need to get married in colombia legally??

we are planning on getting married both in the UAE where we are living and in colombia. only one will be the legal ceremony (i'm still trying to find out what the rules are here for marriage) but we'll do religious ceremonies in each country (he's catholic, i'm armenian apostolic...kind of like greek orthodox for anyone who is curious).

anyone have any idea what we do? :-)

cheers

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Yag says on Oct 11, 2004, 07:09:

consulate in Chicago I am from Illinois. I want to marry a lady from Cali Colombia and then we will make our home there. My questions are concerning getting my visa to marry in colombia.
I know that I need to go to Chicago to the colombian consulate. Do I need an appointment or do I just go and wait my turn?
How do I get an application? Will I recieve and fill the application out there or how do I get the correct application over the internet?
They will not answer the phone(only recordings)

can somebody help me with this?

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Steve-88 says on Oct 11, 2004, 07:49:

family Hi Dave,
You mentioned the entire family of your wife needs to get all these background checks for the permanent resident application. When I read the instructions on the CIC website it only states that the people you need to include in this procedure are "family members over the age of 18" who are either a "spouse or common-law partner" or any "dependent children". My understanding is that, for example, you dont need medical checks for any family members not in these 2 categories, I mean, lets say she has 50 relatives in colombia, uncles aunts cousins grandparents, It would not be possible to do these checks for all these people. Is this correct? Did you need to get background checks for your wifes entire family who arent coming to canada, e.g. parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, cousins, could this be possible??? Thanks for your information...
p.s. How long did it take to get the RCMP clearance letter? Thanks very much!!!

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Gator says on Oct 11, 2004, 08:39:

Here is What the Consulate Will Require This site will give you access to a online fillable visa application:

http://www.colhouston.org/forms/fillvisaapp.pdf

I went to the web site of the consulate in Chicago and saw it was in Spanish; however the requirement are exactly the same as I posted. DO NOT FAIL TO GET THE APOSTILLE, IF REQUESTED. Good luck and go for it.

A la orden,

Gator

EMPORARY SPECIAL VISA FOR MARRIAGE (TS)
The following documentary requirements must be completed to satisfy the Civil Law regarding marriage in Colombia. Please note that even if a religious ceremony is planned, the civil requirements must also be completed. A foreigner with a tourist visa CANNOT get married in Colombia: Decree No.2668/88 and 1556/89

Complete documentation must be received before 12:00m. Pick-up time: 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday- Friday.

REQUIREMENTS

1. Valid Passport with at least 3 available pages and valid for a minimum of 6 months.
2. Two (2) passport copies, including the information pages as well as all used pages.
3. Two (2) original Visa Application Forms fully signed and completely filled out in duplicate.
4. Three (3) color passport-type photograph (1.5”x1.5”).
5. Original of the Certificate of Record Search. This is a police clearance certificate showing applicant's criminal record (if any) and is known as a "Certificate of Record Search." This certificate must be updated (issued within the last six months), translated into Spanish and both versions (English and Spanish) must be notarized and certified with an APOSTILLE from the Secretary of State of the state where it was issued. This certificate is required ONLY if you do not hold a current Colombian visa.
6. Original of the Letter from the applicant stating the purpose of the trip, possible date and place of marriage, and name of future Colombian spouse and his/her Colombian Citizenship ID number (Número de Cédula de Ciudadanía). This letter must be translated into Spanish if originally issued in a language other than Spanish. Both versions (English & Spanish) must be notarized and certified with an APOSTILLE from the Secretary of State of the state where it was issued. If issued in Colombia, a Colombian Public Notary must notarize it.

7. Original of the Notarized letter from the Colombian citizen, requesting a visa for the future spouse, indicating the place and date where the marriage will take place. It must include all his/her contact information.
8. Original of the Notarized copy of the Colombian Citizenship ID document (Cédula de Ciudadanía). This is a copy of the Colombian Citizenship ID Card fully authenticated as a true copy of the original.

Consular fee: US$175. Cash or Money Order only (Exempt for US citizens).

OTHER REQUIREMENTS - Needed in Colombia for marriage

It is necessary that the applicant takes to Colombia the following documents translated into Spanish if originally issued in a language other than Spanish and properly notarized and certified with an APOSTILLE by the Secretary of State of the state where it was issued.

- Birth Certificate. If born outside of Colombia, applicant must obtain a certified copy of his/her birth certificate issued within three months prior to the wedding.
- Certificate of Bachelorhood (Certificado de Soltería): The foreigner must present an original of a written statement, executed by two family members or close friends who have known him/her for more than ten years, stating that he/she is not married at the moment.
- Divorce decree. If the foreigner had previously been married, an original of the certified copy by the court of the divorce decree must be presented.

When all these documents have been prepared as indicated, they should be delivered to a Colombian Notary Public (Judge) in Colombia for processing. The Colombian fiancé should at that time provide to the Notary in Colombia an authenticated birth certificate issued within one month prior to the wedding, as well as an authenticated copy of his/her Colombian Citizenship ID document (Cédula de Ciudadanía).

NOTES

- Applicant is required to appear in person at the consulate's office either when submitting the documentation or when the approved visa is ready for pick-up. No exceptions.
- Documents issued in a language other than Spanish must be translated into Spanish and then Notarized and certified with an APOSTILLE from the Secretary of State of the state where it was issued.

- Documents notarized by a Public Notary must be certified with an APOSTILLE from the Secretary of State of the state where it was issued.

- For US citizens the visa takes 3 working days to be reviewed, non US citizens it might take up to two (2) weeks, and is subject to the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia.

"Credidi pretio parvo emere et magno vendere tibi in animo fuisse!" .

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utopiacowboy says on Oct 11, 2004, 16:29:

The Colombian consulate in Houston was great. I drove over there one morning with my documents and passport and the consul looked them over and gave me the visa while I sat in his office. They have a very good web site too but forget about calling them on the phone!

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Yag says on Oct 11, 2004, 19:06:

Police clearance certificate Who notarizes the police certificate? I sent off for my police certificate but I am only going to recieve one original. Can I make a copy of that.......then get it translated into spanish.....and then get them both notarized(by who?) The translator?

Thanks a lot Gator for web link and the information. I appreciate that very much. I have the application now.

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JT says on Oct 12, 2004, 18:29:

Response to Yag I went to the local police dept. They can just print out a document with a stamped signature of the Department head. But I knew it needed to be notarized so I went back, had them print out a new one, had the records dept. supervisor sign it and they had a notary there so it was notarized too. He was hesitant to sign the spanish translation of it that I made since he couldn't read it. I called the Chicago consulate and told them that the police didnt want to notarize the spanish copy. The consulate said that its ok, just bring the english version w/ the Apostille. My question is whether he will require a spanish version w/ Apostille or not. I'm going to get the spanish translation notarized and Apostilled just to be safe. I had the same question: Who notarized the spanish translations? I was wondering if the town/county clerk had to stamp and certify the spanish translation of my birth certificate, and if the Police Dept. needed to notarized the spanish translation of my Police Report. No matter how many times I asked this, none of the responses from people on this site clearly told me what to do. They would just say, get the spanish translation notarized. But by who?????
I now, think I know what they meant, and they probably think I'm an idiot for not understanding them the first time. but, what you do is, whoever translates these documents attaches a statement saying that they are qualified to translate, and the translation is accurate. They sign this in front of a notary, and then its off to the State Dept. I think thats what everyone has been trying to tell me.

JT

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Yag says on Oct 13, 2004, 07:08:

notarize Thanks JT........Your post helped me a lot.

1 more question. Can you recommend a good qualified translator who will do the translations and send my documents back to me quickly?

I assume that you are going to marry in colombia soon also and you have questions and experiences similar to mine.

If I can be of any help to you.......let me know.
yagowconst at altamont.net

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utopiacowboy says on Oct 13, 2004, 16:02:

JT, you are exactly right in your last paragraph. That is what everyone was trying to tell you to do.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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steve-o says on Feb 25, 2005, 22:23:

good luck Well, now there is another in the club of frustrated canadians in love with beautiful colombians. I am from BC, Canada, and am engaged to una calena. I do not know when I will see her again as our Temporary Resident Visa was rejected, like I knew it would be, but had to try the easiest way first. Now I am planning on working till the fall and going down to Cali to marry mi prometida. I can not say I am asking for advice at this point, seeing as how everyone has their own special circumstances, but just wishing all good luck and thanking all for posting this information. I am sure you will hear from me again shortly.

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