Notarized and Certified Greek Translation - the Register, the Lawyer and the Georgian Notary

Επίσημη μετάφραση after 2021: the Register, the lawyer and the Georgian notarized translation

Until 2021 the Greek Ministry of Foreign Affairs ran a translation service whose stamp was the standard official form. Law 4781/2021 abolished it and created the Register of Certified Translators (Μητρώο Πιστοποιημένων Μεταφραστών) under the Ministry, whose members produce επίσημες μεταφράσεις with an electronic signature; alongside it, Greek lawyers have always been able to certify translations under the Lawyers' Code, and this remains widely used. Greek offices accept either. Neither, however, is recognized directly in Georgia, where the official form is the translation notarized by a Georgian notary, who certifies the signature of a translator registered with that notary as competent in Greek.

The systems connect through legalization and re-certification. A Georgian notarized translation becomes a foreign public document that many Greek offices accept once apostilled; where an office insists on Register or lawyer certification, a partner certified translator or lawyer in Athens certifies our text, which is faster and cheaper than translating from scratch there and avoids the errors Greek translators unfamiliar with Georgian documents make. A Greek επίσημη μετάφραση is, from Georgia's point of view, a foreign document; for use in Georgia the translation must be notarized here.

The Greek Embassy in Tbilisi: visas, family reunification, ομογενείς and citizenship

The consular section handles national visas for work, family reunification and study, Schengen visas, and the procedures specific to this pair: recognition of ομογενείς status for Pontic Greeks from Georgia, Greek citizenship by descent, and consular registration of Greek citizens' marriages and births in Georgia. Its checklists require Georgian documents with apostille and Greek translation, and for most categories a translation legalized abroad is accepted; for citizenship and ομογενείς files the consulate may specify Register or lawyer certification. The documents vary by category - the conviction certificate and marriage certificate for family reunification, the employment contract for work visas, and for ομογενείς files the chain of Soviet-era birth, marriage and residence records proving Greek descent, often in Russian and Georgian with faded stamps. We assemble the translated set to match the consulate's list, with your name's transliteration identical across every document and a translator's note reconciling the Greek, Russian and Georgian forms of Pontic Greek surnames.

In Greece: Ministry of Migration, ληξιαρχεία, ΑΑΔΕ, ΕΦΚΑ, ΟΑΕΔ/ΔΥΠΑ

The Ministry of Migration and Asylum's decentralized offices issuing and renewing the άδεια διαμονής require official translations of foreign documents; the ληξιαρχεία registering a marriage or a birth and the δημοτολόγια registering citizens are the strictest offices and require Register or lawyer certification of apostilled Georgian civil status documents; ΑΑΔΕ for tax, ΕΦΚΑ for social security and pensions - where Georgian employment records matter for pension rights - and ΔΥΠΑ for employment accept certified translations for many purposes but official ones for formal decisions. Greek courts and συμβολαιογράφοι handling Georgian heirs or property owners require official translations of apostilled documents. For all of these we prepare the Greek text and arrange re-certification where required.

Cyprus: sworn translators, the Civil Registry and Migration Department, courts

Cyprus replaced the Press and Information Office's translation service with the Register of Sworn Translators in 2019, and Cypriot authorities - the Civil Registry and Migration Department for residence permits, the district administrations for marriages, the Ministry of Education for recognition, the courts and the Registrar of Companies - require translations by a Cypriot sworn translator or legalized foreign translations. Cyprus is a frequent structuring jurisdiction for investment into Georgia, so Cypriot corporate documents - certificates of incorporation, memoranda and articles, director and shareholder certificates, powers of attorney - come to Georgia in English and Greek and are translated and notarized here; Georgian documents go to Cyprus for company formation, bank account opening and residence, translated into Greek or English and re-certified by a Cypriot sworn translator where required.

Greek documents for Georgian authorities

Any Greek-language document used in Georgia must be translated into Georgian and notarized here. The most frequent are διαβατήρια, ταυτότητες and διπλώματα οδήγησης (translated from a photo, no visit needed), ληξιαρχικές πράξεις γέννησης and γάμου for marriage registration and family residence permits, the ποινικό μητρώο for residence permits, πτυχία for work permits and recognition, πιστοποιητικά ΓΕΜΗ, καταστατικά and πληρεξούσια for company registration, συμβάσεις εργασίας and τραπεζικές κινήσεις for proof of income, and βεβαιώσεις from ΕΦΚΑ or ΑΑΔΕ. Greek public documents must carry an apostille - issued by the Decentralized Administration (Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση) for administrative and civil status documents and by the court of first instance (Πρωτοδικείο) for judicial and notarial ones - before the translation is notarized; the ποινικό μητρώο is now issued electronically through gov.gr with an apostille available online. We also offer e-Notary certification with a qualified electronic signature.

Marriage, family and residence files, and certified translation without a notary

Georgians marrying in Greece present to the ληξιαρχείο the Georgian πιστοποιητικό γέννησης, a marital status certificate serving as πιστοποιητικό αγαμίας, and for previously married applicants divorce decisions, all apostilled and officially translated; the ληξιαρχείο wants recent documents and may ask for a βεβαίωση on Georgian marriage law. Greek citizens marrying in Georgia need a πιστοποιητικό αγαμίας from their δήμος, apostilled, translated into Georgian and notarized. After a marriage in either country, the certificate is apostilled and translated for the other country's registry, and Greek spouses register Georgian marriages at the Ειδικό Ληξιαρχείο in Athens through the embassy. Children born in Georgia to Greek parents follow the same route for citizenship.

Not every recipient needs the notary or the Register. Greek universities for admission, employers for initial screening, landlords, insurers and online portals often accept a certified translation with our agency stamp, which is quicker and cheaper. The embassy, the Ministry of Migration, ληξιαρχεία, Georgian courts, registries, the Public Service Hall and banks do not. Tell us who will receive the document and we recommend the right level; a certified translation can be upgraded later without re-translating.

Greek translation - frequently asked questions

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