Translating Documents for Immigration: A Practical Checklist

Translate the whole page, not just the text

Seals, stamps, handwritten notes, marginal annotations and even the words on the reverse side normally have to appear in the translation, usually marked as [seal], [stamp] or [illegible]. Leaving them out is one of the most common reasons a file is returned.

Keep the layout recognisable

Case officers compare the translation against the original side by side. Keeping the same order of fields, table structure and page breaks makes their job easy and your file faster to process.

Names, dates and places

• Transliterate names exactly as they appear in the passport.
• Keep dates unambiguous — spell out the month when formats differ between countries.
• Do not translate place names that have an official form on the original.
• Never correct errors in the original; note them instead.

Documents most often requested

• Birth certificate and, where relevant, a long-form version
• Marriage, divorce or death certificates
• Police clearance / criminal record certificates
• Bank statements and employment letters for financial requirements
• Academic diplomas and transcripts for skilled-migration routes

Suggested workflow

Scan each page at 300 dpi in colour, upload the set, run the AI translation to check nothing is missing, then order certified human review for the documents your authority requires in certified form. Download the side-by-side PDF and keep the verification ID with your file copy.