The letter usually arrives late in a file that was otherwise going well. A residence application has been accepted for processing, and now the foreign office wants one more thing: proof that "Daniel Ruiz" on a child's Québec birth record and "Daniel Ruiz Moreno" on the father's passport are the same person. The deadline is ten working days.
This is one of the most common last-minute requests we see, and it has a clean solution in Canada. It just is not the one most people try first.
Why the names do not match
Nobody changed their name. The documents were simply issued in different systems, at different times:
- Double surnames. Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American naming uses two surnames. Canadian forms often kept only the first, so a Canadian record says "Ruiz" while a Spanish or Italian passport says "Ruiz Moreno".
- Married names. A birth record shows one surname, a marriage certificate or passport another.
- Hyphens, accents and order. "Ruiz-Moreno", "Ruiz Moreno" and "Moreno, Daniel Ruiz" can all appear for one person.
- Transliteration. Names written in Arabic, Cyrillic or Chinese characters are rendered differently from one country to the next.
- Middle names. One document includes them, another drops them.
To the officer abroad, those are two different people until a document says otherwise.
What the foreign office is really asking for
The request comes under different names: a certificate of concordance, a "one and the same person" declaration, an affidavit of identity. The substance is always the same. They want an official document, from the country where the discrepancy arose, stating that both names designate one person, and authenticated for international use.
Your three options in Canada
1. Correct the civil record. You can ask the Directeur de l'état civil, or the vital statistics office of another province, to correct or complete the name on a record. It is the cleanest long-term fix, but it is a formal application measured in months, not days. The Québec registry does not issue concordance certificates.
2. A sworn declaration before a notary, then the apostille. This is the realistic route for a deadline. You declare, before a notary, that the names refer to you, and the notary bases the act on documents that show both forms. The declaration is then authenticated for use abroad.
3. An existing name-change document. If your name was formally changed at some point, the provincial change-of-name certificate, apostilled, may answer the question on its own. Ask the foreign office whether it will accept it.
What a strong declaration contains
The notary drafts the act, but you control the evidence. The declaration is only as convincing as the documents behind it. Bring:
- every current identity document in the full name: Canadian passport, foreign passport, foreign residence or registration certificate
- at least one official document in the shorter or older name, ideally with an identifier that also appears on a document in the full name, such as the same date of birth, student number or file number
- the document that triggered the request, for example the child's birth record
- the foreign office's letter, so the notary sees exactly what is being asked
The act should state both forms of the name, your date and place of birth, the identity documents presented, which document shows which form, a clear statement that both names designate the same person, and the country and purpose it is intended for. Ask the notary to reproduce the names exactly as they appear on each document, including accents and hyphens.
How it is apostilled
The province of the notary decides the route, not your address.
- Québec notary. The declaration first receives a certificate from the Chambre des notaires, about 3 business days on urgent service, then the apostille from the Ministère de la Justice, one to two business days on urgent service when filed in person. About one week from signature, plus courier.
- Ontario notary. The declaration goes directly to Official Documents Services in Toronto, with no intermediate step. Filed in person, it can be done within days.
You do not have to be in Canada. Québec notaries can receive the act by videoconference as a technology-based act, and Ontario notaries can act by video where Ontario rules allow it. The paper original then goes to the apostille authority, and we send you a high-resolution scan the day it is issued while the original travels by courier.
Translation
If the destination does not work in English or French, have the declaration and its apostille translated after the apostille is issued, by a translator the receiving country recognizes. For Spain, that means a sworn translator (traductor jurado). See translation before or after the apostille.
What it costs
For a Québec declaration: our Québec notarized-document service ($229, notary booking included), the Chambre des notaires certificate ($206.96 urgent or $77.03 regular), the Ministère fee ($66.50), the notary's own fee billed by the notary, and courier at cost. For an Ontario declaration: $149 plus $49 for notary coordination, the $16 Ontario fee, and the notary's fee. Details are on the pricing page.
If you have a deadline
Send us the foreign office's letter and a photo of the documents with both names at the free pre-check. We confirm whether a declaration will answer the request, book a partner notary in person or by video, and give you a fixed written price and timeline the same business day.