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What is a Certificate of Residency?

What is a Certificate of Residency? Who can get a Certificate of Residency? What is Authenticating & Legalizing or Apostille a Canadian Certificate of Residency? 

A certificate of residency is a document issued by Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) confirming the taxpayer is resident in Canada and is held responsible for taxes in Canada.  It is applicable to a person whether it be an individual, corporation, or trust.  Certain countries would ask for a certificate of residency to prove that a taxpayer is a resident of Canada and is entitled to tax treaty benefits on income earned in their residing country. 

It is important that you have filled your tax returns before you request a certificate of residency.

Who can get a Certificate of Residency? 

An individual, a corporation, a trust, a charity, a non-profit organization can get a certificate of residency, as long they are residents in Canada for income tax purposes. 

What is Authenticating & Legalizing a Canadian Certificate of Residency

In order for a Canadian certificate of residency to be used outside Canada, it must go through several steps to be legally accepted in a foreign country.  Countries that have a special tax treaty with Canada including taxpayers should apply for tax treaty benefits to show that they are residents of Canada. They required certificates to be notarized.  It is a complex procedure as each country has certain requirements, but we at Document Legalization of Canada can help you apostille a Canadian certificate of residency. It means to authenticate and legalize a certificate from Global Affairs Canada and legalized it at the embassy

How can I obtain a Certificate of Residency?

Certificates of Residency are issued by the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA). Individuals and Corporations can request a Certificate of Residency for a given tax year in order to prove Canadian residency and take advantage of tax relief. You will need to make the request in writing for the Certificate of Residency and include the following:

Individuals:

  • full name and address
  • social insurance number
  • name of the foreign country
  • year for which the certification is required

Corporations:

  • business name and business number
  • mailing address
  • name of the foreign country
  • year for which the certification is required

CRA has stated that it takes 8-10 weeks for the request for the Certificate of Residency to be processed. More details can be found on the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) website.

How long will it take to authenticate and legalize it? 

This will depend on the timeline of the embassy or consulate.  Usually, the processing time of most embassies or consulate is up to 2 weeks.  But with our good relationship with embassies and consulates, we at Document Legalization of Canada can short the timeline by half.  Also, not forgetting that authentication of certificate of residency at Global Affairs Canada will take a minimum of 4 weeks if sent by mail.  But, using our services will authenticate the certificate within a  few days.  To find more call our Toll Free number 1-833-700-5342 and our Legal Team is ready to assist you.

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