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Important question for Utopiacowboy!

Cowboy, in a discussion we had a few weeks ago you wrote:

****Canada is not a signatory to the "Convention de le Haye du 5 octobre 1961" also known as "The Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirements of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents." The convention eliminates the need for authentication above the level of the Secretary of the State and is only accepted by countries that have signed the treaty. The United States and Colombia are both signatories to this treaty which is why an American document which has an apostille attached to it is accepted as authentic in Colombia. The notary in Medellin who married us required either an apostile or authentication by the Colombian consulate in Canada.*****

I am in the final processes of getting married. I have my marriage VISA, and the consulate has signed and stamped my birth registration and notice of search document. They tell me, all I have to do is send the last two documents to the External Affairs Ministry in Bogota to be legalized, and then I will have the documents to present to the Notary.

The problem is, the Notary in Medellin (my fiance is going to the 5th Notary of Medellin) insists that we need the "apostille" stamp. The proceded to tell her that Canada is a part of the "Convention de le Haye du 5 octobre 1961". This is really bugging me because I CANNOT GET AN APOSTILLE STAMP IN CANADA (It simply does not exist here)! I know for a fact the notary is wrong, and when I call the Colombian Consulate about it I get yelled at "NO YOU DO NOT NEED THE APOSTILLE STAMP!!!... CANADA IS NOT PART OF THE TREATY!!!...THE NOTARY DOESN"T KNOW WHAT THEY ARE TALKING ABOUT!!!"

I agree with them, but we still need to get married somewhere. So back to your last line in the above comment: ***The notary in Medellin who married us required either an apostile or authentication by the Colombian consulate in Canada***

Since I have the authentication from the Colombian Consulate in Canada, I can assume that the Notary who married you and your lovely wife, would also marry me and my lovely fiance. Could you please help me by answering the following:

1. What Notary did you get married at in Medellin?
2. Do you have the contact name of the person (at the Notary) who actually accepted your documents? I have a feeling that the person who married you knows what they are talking about, unlike the Notary that we are dealing with.

This is very stressful as it has been awefully difficult to get all the required documents... I have worked hard to do everything by the book, I have gotton everything in order, and now we have to deal with a Notary that does not know what they are talking about!

If you can help me in anyway to find a Notary that knows there is a difference between Canada and the USA, my fiance and I would be extremely greatful...

Thanks,

Dave

By daver on Aug 20, 2004, 12:10 in Friendly Talkzone.

utopiacowboy says on Aug 20, 2004, 15:15:

I just asked my wife and she This is a mystery to me. I just asked my wife and she said that we were married at Notaria No. 5 near Unicentro in Conquistadores barrio near Universidad Boliveriana. The person we dealt with was the secretary - I have no idea what her name was and neither does my wife. In my case, I had to have my birth certificate authenticated by the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa - they put a stamp on the back and signed it. Then I had to send it to the Colombian Consulate in Montreal and they attached a paper to the front. Normally the next step in the process is to take it to the External Affairs Ministry in Bogota but the notaria said that this was not necessary. They did seem to understand that you could not get an apostile from Canada. Why have they changed, I wonder? As an aside why isn't Canada a signatory to this treaty? It makes life a lot easier when dealing with foreign countries just to get the apostille. It must be a nightmare for Canadian businessmen. No wonder so much of Canada's trade is with the US - in the US we usually accept Canadian documents on their face. My wife says you should just keep trying different notarias in 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 Aug 20, 2004, 15:40:

hmmmmm... we are trying Notary #5 and they want Apostille stamp.

I did tell my fiance to try other notaries. The problem is, she is skeptical about what I am telling her, as she wants to believe that the notary is correct... Oh well, I will assume there is other notaries that can do this.

A question, what do you think my chances are of getting a) the consulate in Toronto to contact the Notary to tell them whats going on, or b) the notary contacting the consulate to ask whats going on.

It would seem like a logical thing to do, but somehow I think niether will.

Oh well,

One more thing:

***In my case, I had to have my birth certificate authenticated by the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa - they put a stamp on the back and signed it.***

Why did you have to do this? I mean, who instructed you to do this? I was told that I only needed to provide the consulate with a long form copy of my birth registration + a copy translated into spanish. I have sent nothing to Ottawa, and was told I didn't have to.

Thanks again,

Dave

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utopiacowboy says on Aug 20, 2004, 21:23:

Having the birth certificate authenticated by the Department of External Affairs in Ottawa and then by the Colombian Consulate is the substitute for the apostille. The Colombian Consulate in Montreal would not attach their paper to the birth certificate until I had it authenticated in Ottawa - they were the ones who told me to do this. Originally I went to the Colombian Consulate in Houston with my birth certificate and they told me I had to send it to the Colombian Consulate in Montreal since it was from Quebec. Also I sent copies of all these papers to my wife ahead of time and she took the copies to the notaria's office to make sure they were acceptable. My wife says the notarias are all supposed to follow the same requirements but they interpret them differently. I doubt very much the notaria will contact the consulate but you might get the consulate to contact the notaria. If your novia doubts you all she has to do is look on the internet - it is well-known and easy to find that Canada is not a signatory to the 1961 Hague Convention - consequently no apostilles!

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.

0 funny, 0 helpful.