Canadians in Argentina
What the apostille replaced
A Canadian document bound for Argentina carries an apostille from the authority of the province where it was issued or notarized, or from Global Affairs Canada for federal documents and the remaining provinces and territories. Since 11 January 2024, when the Apostille Convention took effect in Canada, that single certificate replaces the old chain of federal authentication plus legalization at an Argentine consulate. Argentina has been a member since 1988.
The route follows the document rather than the address on the envelope. A Toronto resident with a British Columbia birth certificate sends it to British Columbia, and an RCMP criminal record check goes to Global Affairs Canada wherever its owner lives.
The apostille speaks to one thing: the signature and seal on the page are genuine. Whether the document meets the requirements of a residence category is a judgement Migraciones, Argentina's immigration office, makes on the file.
Which office apostilles your document
Ontario: Official Documents Services (ontario.ca), for Ontario birth, marriage and death certificates issued through ServiceOntario and for documents signed by an Ontario notary.
Québec: the Québec government apostille service (quebec.ca), for civil-status records from the Directeur de l'état civil and documents signed by a Québec notary.
Alberta: the Government of Alberta authentication service (alberta.ca), for Alberta vital statistics records and documents notarized in Alberta.
British Columbia: the provincial authentication service (gov.bc.ca), for BC Vital Statistics Agency records and documents notarized in BC.
Saskatchewan: its own provincial authority, for documents issued or notarized in Saskatchewan.
Global Affairs Canada: federal documents such as the RCMP criminal record check, plus documents issued or notarized in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Labrador, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.
Step by step, from Canadian original to Argentine file
1. Order the original from the registrar that recorded the event. If you must prove a family link, such as a child's parentage, order the long-form birth certificate that lists the parents.
2. Request the RCMP certified criminal record check. It is fingerprint-based: an accredited fingerprinting company takes and submits your prints, and the RCMP returns the certified result.
3. Notarization applies to photocopies and private papers such as bank or pension letters: a notary certifies them first, and the apostille follows in the notary's province. Government certificates signed by a registrar go to the apostille authority as issued.
4. Send each document to its authority with that authority's request form, and keep a scan of every original you mail.
5. In Argentina, have the document and its apostille translated into Spanish, then file the original, apostille and translation together with Migraciones.
Documents Canadians usually apostille for Argentina
Criminal record check: Migraciones asks applicants aged 16 and over for a police certificate from every country they lived in during the last three years. For Canada that is the RCMP certified check, apostilled by Global Affairs Canada.
Birth certificate: proves identity and parentage in family files. Apostilled by the issuing province or by Global Affairs Canada.
Marriage certificate: the core record for residence based on marriage, including family reunification with an Argentine spouse. Same route as the birth certificate.
Pension and income letters: CPP, OAS, private pension and bank letters for rentista and pensionado residence. Have a notary certify them, then apostille them in the notary's province.
Spanish translation happens in Argentina, after the apostille
Migraciones requires a Spanish translation by a traductor público, a sworn public translator registered in Argentina, whose signature is then legalized by the Colegio de Traductores Públicos where they are registered. Translate after the apostille, so the Spanish version covers the apostille too.
Québec records go straight from French into Spanish; an English version in between adds cost and nothing Migraciones needs.
The complete set, original, apostille and Spanish translation, is filed with Migraciones as one packet.
Questions that change the plan
Do I still need the Argentine consulate to legalize Canadian documents?
No. Since 11 January 2024 an apostille from the competent Canadian authority replaces consular legalization for Argentina.
Does every Canadian document go to Global Affairs Canada?
No. Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Québec and Saskatchewan apostille documents issued or notarized in their province; Global Affairs Canada handles federal documents and those from the other provinces and territories.
I live in Ontario but was born in British Columbia. Where does my birth certificate go?
To British Columbia. The route follows where the document was issued or notarized, not where you live.
Where do I apostille an RCMP criminal record check?
At Global Affairs Canada, because it is a federal document.
Does an apostille replace the Spanish translation?
No. After the apostille, a traductor público in Argentina translates the document and the apostille, and the Colegio de Traductores Públicos legalizes the translator's signature.