A marriage certificate translation for immigration purposes

If you come to live permanently in a country, like Australia, and you have the visa to do so, you will be asked for some of your key legal documents which help to prove your identity before you are finally accepted for entry into the country. One of these is likely to be your marriage certificate.

If you were married outside your new country and that country does not share the same language, you will need to get your marriage certificate translated before it is presented to the immigration authorities for approval. In Australia, the main way you can get an approved translation is if it is undertaken by a NAATI translator.  NAATI stands for National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters. This is the translation organisation in Australia responsible for accrediting translators and to be approved for accreditation the translator must sit and pass an examination in his/her pair of languages.

Choose your marriage certificate translator carefully.

One thing you should never do is choose the first translator you find when looking in places like the internet. Remember, a poorly translated marriage certificate presented to an immigration authority will not be accepted. This means your application may be delayed or even rejected if there are any hold-ups. You could even lose your job opportunity if your arrival in Australia is delayed by a poor marriage certificate translation. Do not just select one translator but choose two or three and ask to see testimonials proving their marriage certificate translations have been accepted by the immigration authorities.

Get your marriage certificate translation certified

The best marriage certificate translator should have full confidence in their ability to do a good translation. This means s/he should be prepared to certify the translation with a signature and vouching the marriage certificate has been accurately translated.

A marriage certificate translation for the family court

Some people when they move to a new country have the misfortune to face a divorce whether it is sooner or later after they have settled down. In Australia, if this has happened to you it is essential that you attend the Family court and bring with you a translation of your marriage certificate. There are specific requirements when submitting a marriage certificate translation and that is it needs to include an affidavit. As long as you tell your chosen translator your marriage certificate translation is required for a divorce s/he will know an affidavit is required. This is usually included at an extra cost.

Below you will find an excerpt from the Family Law Rules

The 2004 Family Law Rule 2.02(4) requires:

The person who is filing the marriage certificate must do so in English. This means if it is in a language other than English a translation is required. Also, the affidavit that is required must be provided by the translator who must verify the translation and provide his/ her NAATI accreditation.

The most common languages provided by most NAATI accredited professional marriage certification translation services are Arabic, German, Chinese, Dari, Dutch, Sinhalese, Bosnian, Greek, Nepali, Malay, Ukrainian, French, Persian(Farsi) Indonesian, Portuguese, Urdu, Czech, Korean, Latin, Polish, Japanese, Malay, Serbian, Spanish, Tamil, Thai, Vietnamese, Croatian, Danish, Spanish.

A marriage certificate translation to change your name

If you got married outside Australia and your marriage certificate is written in a language other than English, you may need a translation to show your change of name when you return to Australia. There are some official documents like your driving license, your Medicare card and the name change in your passport that you will need to change. The ATO will want to know your new name as well. They will not accept name changes using a marriage certificate that is not written in English.

You will have to get a NAATI accredited translator to do your translations as these are the only translators accepted by official agencies in Australia. You may need to get the translations certified by the translator before you forward them on to the agencies that need to know your name change.

How long does a marriage certificate translation take?

Most marriage certificate translations by NAATI translators can be completed at least within 3 working days of providing the document. If you require the translation sooner this is normally possible. Before a translation is finalised the translator will typically send a draft of the translation via email for you to approve. As soon as you have approved it the final certified marriage certificate translation will be forwarded to you by email and you will be sent a hard copy as well. If the marriage certificate translation requires an affidavit the translator may require additional time to complete the process.