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Getting a certificate of life in Canada

Are you a Dutch national living in Canada and need to have a pre-printed certificate of life signed and stamped? Or do you need a certificate of life for another purpose? Read the step-by-step guide below to find out what you can do in your situation.

Attention: If you have been asked by the Social Insurance Bank (SVB) to provide proof of life, you can submit your proof of life via the SVB app. Read how to do this on page about proof of life for AOW pension.

Step 1: Gather the documents that you need

Warning: Would you like to have a pre-printed certificate from the SVB signed and stamped? If so, all you need to do is bring a valid Dutch passport or a Dutch ID card with you.

You will need the following documents in order to have a certificate of life drawn up or signed and stamped:

  • A valid Dutch passport or Dutch identity card.
  • Proof of address. This can be proof of registration with your municipality, for example. If this is not available in your country, you can instead provide a bank statement, a telephone or utility bill from the past month bearing your name and address, or a rental contract bearing your name and address.
  • Official proof of your civil status issued by a government body in the Netherlands or elsewhere. This can be your marriage certificate, your divorce certificate or your spouse's death certificate, for example. It cannot be a self-declaration or a document drawn up by a notary.
Attention: You may need to have foreign documents translated and legalised.

Step 2: Make an appointment

Find out where and how to make an appointment:

You can have your pre-printed certificate signed and stamped or drawn up by the embassy or the consulate-general. There are several places you can go. Find out how to make an appointment at each place.

OttawaMake an appointment at the embassy by emailing: ott-ca@minbuza.nl
TorontoMake an appointment at the consulate-general by emailing: tor-ca@minbuza.nl
VancouverMake an appointment at the consulate-general by emailing: van-ca@minbuza.nl

You can have your certificate signed and stamped by a local notary. Check if you need an appointment.

Step 3: Check whether you need to pay

You don't always need to pay for a certificate of life. Select where you want to have the certificate signed and stamped or drawn up to find out what applies in your situation:

  • You can have a pre-printed certificate of life signed and stamped for free at the embassy, consulate-general or honorary consul.
  • Having the embassy or consulate-general draw up a certificate of life costs € 30.

The local authorities charge you for signing and stamping a pre-printed certificate of life. Ask the authority in question how much this costs.

Step 4: Receive the certificate

Select your situation to find out how long it will take before you receive the certificate and in what language you will receive the certificate.

  • The embassy in Ottawa and the consulate-general in Toronto will sign and stamp the certificate while you wait. 
  • The consulate-general in Vancouver will take 1 working day to sign and stamp the certificate. Check when you can collect your document from the embassy. Or ask during your appointment.
  • If you want to have the local authorities sign and stamp the certificate, ask them how long it will take.

What language will the certificate be in?

You will receive a multilingual standard form in Dutch, English, French and German.

If you need the certificate in another language, you will need to have it translated by a sworn translator. Ask the organisation requesting the certificate whether you need to have the certificate and/or the translation legalised.

Also useful

What is a consular certificate?

Contact

If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact us.