Hi, I am planning to make a visit to the Indian consulate to get a property related power of attorney attested. However, I am confused about one point:

http://www.cgitoronto.ca/consular/consattest.html

Should the PoA be first notarized? (What's the point of that anyway?)

HERE IS THE POINT :

You live here in Canada and live lawfully and obey the system that is in existence here. When you want to issue a POA to a second party here in Canada, You not only need the ID and proof of the second party, it also calls for TWO witnesses of repute to witness YOUR signature and then attest that document with theirs with their signatures to make it legally binding upon you. Because it is what YOU want. (They may also ask that the TWO witnesses also produce their authenticity of their signature with a proof or IDs with their signatures in it. )

Now to get this done, you with your two good friends will have to proceed to the Ministry of Government Services, located at 700 University Avenue, 6th Floor in Toronto, and complete the formalities and obtain that POA. Have SIX copies of the same on you. Get Three copies completed at that location. Leave ONE for them. Now it is registered at that location and it stays in their records, if at anytime it needs to get verified by any court of law. (From Any Country.)

While you are there ask for the booklet on POA. It is free. It will give you a better idea as to what POA's are.

What you have accomplished upto this point is generating a NOTARIZED POA within Canada.

Now having obtained Three legal copies and TWO unsigned copies, GO to the Consulate General's of India's (CGI) offices in the (next) morning, with photos and fees and do the signing and pay the fees there, in front of the embassy official. They will retain ONE LEGAL Copy out of the three. With the use of the TWO unsigned copies and attesting it in front of the CGI official, you are generating a VALID in INDIA POA duly attested by you, for its use in any of the registries that demand such a POA. (In locations such as Land and Property registry at a location in India.)

{ANYONE CAN GENERATE A POA OF YOURS HOLDING A GUN TO YOUR HEAD IN ANY PART OF THE WORLD. But this one is done on your behalf duly attested by witnesses that you know and also attested by the CGI. So, the Registrar at the land registry now knows he can surely believe your POA.}

This second CGI attestion of the same POA, makes it more legal and binding. You can make as many photocopies as you want for your use. BUT, the only one that will function at the registry is the one with your picture in it.

Just in the passing, for your safety, you should have a COPY of a valid ID of the person who acts on your behalf, there in India.

Also, Carry the first three and the last two pages of your current Passport.

Copy of your PR Card.

Proof of address. One Utility Bill or a copy of your Lease or the title to your property here.

There are specific formats for the POA's for specific purposes which you will have to obtain from India and through legal sources there. That is a must.


FH.
All of this could be accomplished there in India on your next visit, if it can wait.

Here in Canada, they only attest the first and the last page. But in India they need attestation on EACH page of any document, with multiple pages. If the POA is on one LEGAL Sheet, then, it is O.K. Some courts there will want Only GREEN paper for legal usage.

So here is my experience.

It is much simpler than what is described on the CGI website. From Full House's post, it looks like notarization is required if the PoA holder is in Canada.

But I just went with the document along with the photograph pasted as specified in the cgi website. An identical copy is required along with the photograph, one of them will be called 'the original' which will be attested and returned to you. The consulate opens at 9 am, I reached at 9.20. There must have been 40 people ahead of me waiting. This is going to be a long wait, I thought. However, the counter to accept applications did not start until about 9.40 (I was quite annoyed that they started so late)!! When it did start, at the initial verification most people were sent away to the post office to get the money order. So I got my turn soon enough by 10.30, I had my draft ready so I was able to sign in front of the officer and submit the PoA. They asked me to return at 3 pm and the attested PoA was ready by then.