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Why offcial translations and certifications matter

A file is judged not only on its substance but on the form of the documents that accompany it.

WHO HANDLES THIS

This work is carried out by our lawyers in Greece, before the competent authorities and courts.

The chain that must not break

A foreign public document reaches the competent authority through a chain: it is issued, legalised, translated and filed. If one link fails, the authority does not examine the content. It returns the file.
Legalisation always precedes translation, and the apostille is placed on the original, never on the translation. A translation prepared earlier, or one that omits the apostille, has to be repeated, with the loss of time and cost that follows

A translation reproduces the document, not its sense

An official translation is not a free rendering of the content. It reproduces the whole document, including stamps, signatures, marginal notes and subsequent amendments, because any of these may carry legal significance. A note on the reverse of a certificate that was not translated is enough for the file to be treated as incomplete.

Names decide the case

The most common ground of rejection is not substance but the rendering of names. Where the same person appears with a different spelling in two documents, the authority does not interpret: it treats the details as not matching. For that reason translation follows a review of the whole file, so that names, patronymics and places are rendered consistently throughout, in line with the passport and with the existing Greek entries.
Where the divergence already exists in the documents themselves, it is not cured by translation but through the correction or identification procedure.

Certified copies protect your originals

In many procedures a certified copy suffices, while in others the originals are filed and retained by the authority without being returned. Knowing from the outset what each procedure requires allows more than one original to be obtained in good time, so that your own copies stay with you.

QUESTIONS

Frequently asked

Can the apostille be placed on the translation?

No. It is placed on the original and translated with it

Why are several originals needed?

Because in certain procedures they are not returned.

Must the whole document be translated?

Yes, including stamps and notes.

What if the names differ?

A correction or identification procedure is followed, before or alongside filing.

Sources

  • Ministry of the Interior, legalisation of foreign public documents and apostille.
  • Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Centre for Citizen and Diaspora Services.

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