Passport/ID Card Translation

Passport translation is often utilized before visiting a country where your native language is not widely spoken. A translation of a personal legal document that proves identity and citizenship can be quite useful for common transactions involved in travel. Passport translations are a requirement to enter some countries.

Government and immigration agencies commonly request passport translations if the country’s official language is not the predominant language on the passport. If you are planning to travel to a country where the majority speaks another language, you should consider a passport translation — especially if the common language uses a completely different alphabet.

Below we list a few circumstances in which translating your passport could prove a good idea:

• If you plan to travel to a developing country where the use of universal languages like English or French is limited, state institutions occasionally malfunction, and regulations are chaotic. In November 2017, in Libya, new passport rules came into force according to which tourists who couldn’t provide a translation of their passports into Arabic were denied entry into the country. Hundreds of tourists landed but were not allowed to get off their planes, despite having valid visas.
• If you plan to spend a long time in the destination country. Longer stay periods are associated with higher risks of a diverse nature. Some of them include getting sick, getting involved in accidents, receiving traumas – these would imply benefiting from local health assistance. Even if you have a valid travel health insurance, it is safer to have a passport translation as well. The chances of crossing ways with state authorities increase with the duration of stay.
• If you are a medical tourist. Given that you are guaranteed to have a close interaction with the health system of the respective country, expect that this will result in significant bureaucracy. Its amount will likely depend on the complexity of the medical procedures involved. Having your primary identity document translated might prove a wise decision retrospectively. This is even more true if you expect a long convalescence period.
• If you plan to interact with local authorities or plan to sign important documents. Thus, a translation of your passport could prove handy if you plan to wed, to adopt a child, to legalize an inherited property, to engage in extreme sports that require your written consent (that you are aware of and responsible for the consequences).

A passport translation could save you a lot of time and trouble, and will assist smooth passage to your destination.