Your Guide to the Statutory Declaration of Identity

Key Takeaways

• Protected persons without the necessary identity documents can apply for permanent residency in Canada using a Statutory Declaration of Identity.
• The declaration legally affirms the applicant’s identity and explains their inability to provide official documentation.
• In addition, the applicant must submit a second statutory declaration provided by a close family member, someone who knew them before their arrival in Canada, or a community official representing their country.
• Statutory Declarations of Identity can be accessed through the Canadian government website, or professionally drafted with assistance of services like NotaryPro.
• All Statutory Declarations of Identity must be commissioned by a Canadian notary public, and NotaryPro presents both in-person and online notary services.

However, in a few situations, a protected person may not have the appropriate, or any, documentation of identity for submission. Instead, the individual may submit a Statutory Declaration of Identity.

What is a Statutory Declaration of Identity

Statutory declarations are commonly used to allow a person to declare something to be true for the purposes of satisfying some legal requirement or regulation when no other evidence is available. They are thus similar to affidavits, which, however, are made under oath.

A Statutory Declaration of Identity is used for the replacement of ID to establish and declare the identity of the individual applying for or renewing a PR card, to immigrate to Canada. 

If an individual does use a Statutory Declaration, he or she will need to first explain in the document the reason for the request and provide a verifiable explanation as to why they cannot obtain related country conditions for the applicant’s inability to obtain the identity documents.

In addition to the above, the individual will also need to acquire:

• A statutory declaration of a person who knew the applicant, a family member of the applicant, or the applicant’s father, mother, brother, sister, grandfather or grandmother prior to the applicant’s arrival in Canada, attesting to the applicant’s identity, or
• A statutory declaration of an official of an organization representing nationals of the applicant’s country of nationality or former habitual residence attesting to the applicant’s identity.

How to get a Statutory Declaration 

You can easily get your Statutory Declaration on the Canadian Federal Government site. At NotaryPro, we can also provide you with help in drafting and creating your Statutory Declaration. Discover more about our drafting services.

How to commission your document

All Statutory Declarations of Identity need to be commissioned. Any notary public based in Canada can provide you that service. With NotaryPro, we offer a network of in-person notaries throughout Canada, as well as remote online notary services.

About NotaryPro

At NotaryPro, we can help you get your Statutory Declaration document created and commissioned. Discover our in-person location and how we offer remote online notary services to our clients at www.notarypro.ca.