Canadian divorce adheres to the federal law outlined in the Divorce Act of Canada. According to this legislation, a spouse residing in Canada for at least one year can file for divorce with the Provincial Supreme Court. Ultimately, the court issues a dual-court divorce judgment and divorce certificate to the involved parties.
Courts only recognize the termination of the marriage by overseas courts in their judgment recognition of divorce. However, judgments from overseas courts concerning issues such as marital property division, child custody, and property ownership are not recognized.
An Apostille is a specialized form of authentication recognized by countries that are parties to the Hague Convention. The process aims to simplify the authentication of documents for international use by eliminating the need for further Consular legalization.
There are two approaches to authenticate a Canada divorce certificate for Hague recognition. One option involves authenticating a copy of the divorce certificate, while the other requires authenticating the original document. Applicants have the flexibility to choose the method that best suits their individual circumstances.
A scanned copy of the divorce certificate
Obtaining apostille on a copy of the Canada divorce certificate typically takes around 5 business days, excluding shipping time.
Steps: Original divorce certificate is sent to competent authorities of its issued province , or by Global Affairs Canada for Apostille.
Divorce Certificate issued in Ontario is sent to Ontario for authentication;
Divorce Certificate issued in British is sent to Ministry of the Attorney General of British Columbia for authentication;
Divorce Certificate issued in Alberta is sent to Ministry of Justice of Alberta for authentication;
Divorce Certificate issued in Quebec is sent to Ministère de la Justice du Québec for authentication.
Apostille by competent authorities of its issued province is around 5 business days, excluding shipping time. While obtaining apostille on the original Canada divorce certificate by Global Affairs Canada typically takes 2-3 months for authentication.
Apostille by competent authorities of its issued province is around 5 business days, excluding shipping time. While obtaining apostille on the original Canada divorce certificate by Global Affairs Canada typically takes 2-3 months for authentication.
Original divorce certificate