Notary Public Services for Indian Residents

For Indian nationals either living in Australia or looking to move to or holiday in Australia, they may need the services of the Indian Consulate or even the Embassy /Indian High Commission.  Having the right documentation certified by the right bodies is crucial for a smooth and stress-free experience. From organising Indian passport renewal in Australia through to arranging Power of Attorney or changing names on an Indian licence, important matters like these need documents notarised by a notary public.
Before making an appointment with VFS India or the Indian High Commission in Melbourne, be sure to have your documents notarised by Charles Reichman of Forbes, Reichman and Galasso.

Documents from India Do Not Need to be Translated to English

Generally documents in another language do not require to be translated in order to be notarised.  Documents for India can be in Hindi  as long as the signature on the documents is in Hindi and written in Roman style.

Documents from India are Required to Have a Duty Stamp

Most documents before they are produced in any office in India are required to have a duty stamp. The duty stamps or electronic imprint can be affixed in India by an authorised stamp vendor.

• Please ensure that the document has the correct duty affixed before it is presented to any office .
• Documents for use in India (unless these involve an application for a passport, visa or licence) do not have to be presented to the Indian consulate in Australia.
  • Although IVS Pty LT D who acts for the Indian consulate in Australia does affix consulate stamps these are not necessary .

Indian Passport Renewal / Reporting Lost Passport

When it comes to renewing an expired Indian passport or reporting a lost Indian passport in Australia, International Civil Aviation Organisation laws require that only passports that are machine-readable printed can be accepted for international travel.

• This means that short validity or emergency passports will no longer be issued, making the need for the process of Indian passport renewal in Australia to be very strictly adhered to in order to avoid complications getting back in or out of the country.

Lost or Damaged Passport

In a case where a passport has been damaged or lost,  a form of V needs to be lodged with IVS Global services Pty. Ltd.  (a private company authorised by the Indian consulate to certify the form). We will provide you a form V, so that you do not need to go through the trouble of producing one.

• We can certified the form but we have to see the damage passport.
• A lost or stolen passport requires you have to have a police report indicating the circumstances.
  • This information also needs to be included in a form V which we can assist in completing.

Different to Name on India Licence Compared to Passport

This is a common situation, where the name on the passport differs from the name shown on the Indian licence.

• The reason for the difference between the name on the passport and licence  is usually where there is an abbreviation of the surname on the licence, as Indian licences show the name of the father and therefore in many cases do not show the full surname.
• There could be other reasons as well, such as spelling mistakes or using a different name upon marriage.

The Information that we Require

When a person from India wishes to apply for the Australian licence on the basis of the Indian licence, the Australian authorities require a declaration confirming that it is one and the same person.

We prepare the necessary statutory declaration for this category of notarisation.

In order to prepare the correct statutory declaration we need the following information to be provided we require information to be sent in to us prior to the appointment:

1. Full name, name of father and address in Australia.
2. Full name shown on the Indian passport
   • Including passport number date of issue and date of expiry.
3. Names shown on the Indian licencee
   • Including licence number and state of issue.
4. Reason for difference in the name shown on passport and licence
   • For example licence does not show family name ias father's name is shown all name changed upon marriage.

Power of Attorney in India

We can prepare the necessary power of attorney to be used for India related purposes.

For this, we require the following information:

1. Full name, name of father and address in Australia.
2. Full name shown on the Indian passport.
   • Including passport number date of issue and date of expiry.
3. Full particulars of land.
   • Iincluding land registration particulars of the subject of the power of attorney.
     • In the case of a deceased estate, full particulars of the deceased estate.
     • In the case of bank accounts, full particulars of the bank accounts

Otherwise, you can arrange for your lawyer in India to prepare a power of attorney and we can notarise it

• In addition to the notary, it requires the signatures of witnesses who must state their name and address on the form. Please note that we can provide to witnesses for appointments during normal office hours from 9 AM to 5 PM we are happy to arrange appointments after those hours but the witnesses are not available after hours. If you require after our appointments you will have to arrange for to witnesses who need not have any special qualifications but need to be over the age of 18 and provide their identity.
• Passport size photographs and thumb-print is required to be put on the form.
• This form can be sent directly to India if it has the duty paid, or duty can be paid in India. It is not required to have an Apostille and can be sent directly to India without any further legalisation.

Affidavits for Indian Court Proceedings

We can notarise affidavits that are required for any court proceedings in India. These affidavits generally do not have to have any other authentication.

Providing a Life Certificate

Persons receiving pensions from India are generally required to have an annual certificate to confirm that they are still alive.

• We charge $44.00 for this service being half of the usual notarisation fee.

Surety for Students in Indian Institutions

Some educational institutions in India, for which an Australian based Indian resident wishes to guarantee the fee, has to provide a surety.
We can assist with providing the relevant documents and help guarantee the student's financial status.

Other Matters and Issues

We have found that some authorities in India, especially in these smaller regional areas, are not familiar with the fact that generally an Indian consulate stamp is not required.
If you are having difficulties with these authorities we have an Indian-based agent who can assist with  these difficulties without further charge to you.

Contact Us Today

Our Werribee office is conveniently located nearby Indian commuinites in the Western Suburbs of Melbourne, such as in Point Cook, Tarneit and Wyndham Vale.
In fact, our other offices in Footscray and Birrengurra make us available for all western greater Melbourne and beyond.
Contact us today by phone to book an appointment with our qualified notary specialist or just visit us in our offices.