IMM 5646: one custodianship form, sworn in two countries

IMM 5646 is the form that names an adult in Canada as custodian of a child who studies here without a parent. The version on IRCC's site is dated January 2023 and runs to three pages. Two of them carry an oath and a notary's seal. The third is a privacy notice nobody signs.

IRCC sends those two sworn pages to different places: the custodian's page is notarized in Canada, and the parents' page in their home country. A custodian who lives in Scarborough or elsewhere in the GTA can have the first page done at this office, while the parents see a notary or lawyer where they live.

The two sworn pages, drawn next to each other

At a glance the pages are hard to tell apart, because the top two-thirds of each repeats the same three boxes. The differences sit lower down.

Drawn for this article from IMM 5646 (01-2023) E. It summarizes the two pages and is not a copy of the form.

Each page repeats the student's details (name as on the passport, citizenship, date of birth, the school's full name and address, the address in Canada), then both parents' details, then the custodian's. So one family's facts get typed twice and sworn twice, before two different notaries. The form's privacy notice warns that an incomplete form can delay an application or stop it being processed.

What the seal on the custodian's page says the notary received

Above the custodian's signature, page 1 prints a sentence that page 2 doesn't have. The seal, it says, confirms the notary public has received evidence of three facts about the custodian.

The form gives no list of acceptable papers for these facts. A custodian can ask the office, when booking, what to bring for each of the three.

The words on the seal block matter here too. Both pages end with "signature of notary" and "official seal of notary public". IRCC's web page describes the step as certification by a lawyer or notary. How a notary public differs from a commissioner for taking affidavits is explained in the article comparing the two appointments.

What the custodian swears to

The custodian's paragraph is short, and each part is a commitment made under the words "sworn before me":

• full custodianship of the named student during the stay in Canada, while the student is under the age of majority in the province where they live;
• arrangements already made for the student's care and support, in place of the parents as appropriate;
• a home within a reasonable distance of both the student's intended residence and the school;
• the ability to meet a custodian's obligations in an emergency.

No number of kilometres appears anywhere on the form, and it doesn't define "reasonable". The parents' page asks them to affirm that they are satisfied on the same point. The custodian's text says "solemnly declare" and the block below it says "sworn", and an oath and an affirmation carry the same weight, as the article on oaths and affirmations sets out.

Four ages that decide different things

Ages get mixed up on this form because IRCC and the provinces each set one, and they answer separate questions.

One result is easy to miss. The custodian of a 15-year-old at an Ontario high school has sworn to a role lasting until the student turns 18, although IRCC's requirement for a custodian stops being automatic at 17. The form's wording also ties the end date to the province where the student lives, so a move to British Columbia would put it at 19.

What only the parents' page asks

Two parts of page 2 have no match on page 1.

The first is where the child will live. The parents tick one of three boxes: with the appointed custodian, in the school dormitory, or with another person, whose name and relationship they write in. A custodian and a student can therefore live at different addresses, and the form allows for that.

The second is the pair of signature lines. The parents' section is headed "preferably from both parents/guardians", and each parent has a signature line and a date. Below them is one sworn block, with one place, one date and one seal. The form doesn't say what happens when two parents sign in different cities on different days. That question goes to IRCC or to whoever is preparing the study permit application.

IRCC's page on minors asks for the second page to be notarized in the home country, and the sworn block on it has a space for the country. That page says nothing about an apostille or legalization of either page, and it doesn't set an order for the two signings.

The other papers in the same file

IMM 5646 travels with several other documents, and some of them get confused with it. Guide 5269 says both pages are required when the application is submitted.

Paper	What it does, and who signs it
Letter of acceptance	Issued by the Canadian school. Generally required for a minor's study permit, and the form's school box asks for the same school's full name and address.
Letter of permission	Guide 5269 asks for it from one or both parents when a minor travels alone, along with the declaration where one applies.
Letter of authorization for the trip	Signed by both parents or the legal guardian, with contact details for the parents and for the adult caring for the child in Canada. IRCC describes it for minors travelling to Canada.
Proof of custody	Where the child is the subject of a custody order, Guide 5269 asks for proof of custody and the other parent's consent.
Translation	Any document not in English or French comes with a translation, plus the translator's affidavit unless the translator is a Canadian certified translator. Family members can't translate. Outside Canada that affidavit is sworn before a notary public.

A travel letter is a separate paper from a custodian's declaration, and the consent to travel letters page covers how those are signed. A child who comes with one parent is on another route: Guide 5269 says custodianship isn't mandatory there and looks for signed consent from the parent who stays behind, which is where the article on IMM 5604 picks up. The translator's affidavit is part of what the certified translations page describes.

Page 1 at this office

Ilya Kershtein is a notary public as well as a commissioner for taking affidavits, and a form that prints "official seal of notary public" is signed before him in the first capacity. Since the block reads "sworn before me", the custodian's signature goes on in front of him, so the page comes to the appointment typed and unsigned, along with photo identification and the papers for the three facts above.

The notarial step is confined to identity, the oath or affirmation, the evidence named on the form, the signature and the seal. Whether a custodian suits a particular child is a matter for the parents, and the decision on the application belongs to the immigration officer. The signed page goes back to the custodian, to join page 2 in the study permit application. Appointments can be made through the booking page.