Hi
I have here some potentially useful / money-saving info about statutory declarations, which might be of help to some people frequenting these forums.
I'm in the UK, and I don't know if what I did will work / be applicable in every case (largely depending on where you are in the world) - but that said, my (London-based) visa case officer seems to have accepted the version I sent in.
The background is that my case officer recently asked me for a 'statutory declaration, signed by a notory public / Justice of the Peace / solicitor' to support my application for a PR visa in NZ. This declaration was in lieu of my providing a police certificate from a country I lived in for six years as an infant / young child.
I'd no idea what a statutory declaration is, but having contacted a number of local solicitors in my area, I was provided with quotes ranging from £65 to £200 (plus up to a fortnight's wait for an appointment) for them to draw one up for me.
The last firm I contacted said they'd sign / witness a statutory declaration for me for £5, providing I drew one up myself. Other firms had said they'd WITNESS a statutory declaration for me for £5 (the higher charge being for drawing the document up) so this seems to be something many UK solicitors will do in general.
The following is a proforma for a statutory declaration that I found on the internet:
I (insert your full name) of (insert your full address), Date of Birth (whatever yours is), DO SOLEMNLY AND SINCERELY DECLARE as follows:-
1. Whatever points
2. That
3. For example
4. The New Zealand Visa people have asked you to state in your statutory declaration
5. AND I make this solemn Declaration conscientiously believing the same to be true and by virtue of the provisions of the Statutory Declarations Act 1835.
SIGNED AND DECLARED at )
in the County of )
)
this day, the of 201 )
Before me )
)
Solicitor/Commissioner for Oaths )
Obviously you'll need to format the above a bit so there's enough space on the page for the relevant details to be written in by hand when you print it out - but that's all a statutory declaration apparently is. I printed mine out on the Monday, you have to read it out in the presence of a solicitor who signs it, which I did in about five minutes in total on the Tuesday - I paid her £5 - and that was it. Surprisingly straighforward and simple. Just thought I'd share that.