Passport Translation.
Professional translation of foreign passports, passport identity pages, visas, entry stamps and relevant passport endorsements for immigration, citizenship, legal and official use.
The original passport is never altered. Premium Lingua prepares a separate translation, where required by the receiving authority.
Passport documents we translate.
Premium Lingua translates the pages and elements of a passport that a receiving authority has asked for. The scope depends on the application, not on the passport as a whole.
- Foreign passport bio-data pages
- Passport identity and details pages
- Visa pages where translation is requested
- Entry and exit stamps
- Passport endorsements
- Observation and amendment pages
- Temporary or emergency travel documents
- Certified or notarised passport copies requiring translation
If you are not sure which pages need translating, send the receiving authority’s instructions along with the relevant pages and we will confirm the scope.
Send your passport pagesWhat information can be included in a passport translation?
The translation reflects the visible information on the pages supplied so that the receiving authority can read and compare it with the original. Depending on the pages involved, this may include:
- Full names
- Nationality
- Date of birth
- Place of birth
- Passport number
- Date of issue
- Expiry date
- Issuing authority
- Sex or gender marker where shown
- Visa information
- Entry and exit dates
- Official stamps
- Endorsements
- Observations
Premium Lingua creates a separate translation. Nothing is added to, stamped on, or altered on the original passport. Where a stamp or endorsement contains meaningful text, it is translated or described according to standard translation practice.
Which passport pages need translation?
The pages that need translation depend on what the receiving authority has requested. In some cases only the passport bio-data page is relevant. In others, visa pages, entry and exit stamps or endorsements also have to be translated.
If the authority, embassy or institution has given you a list, send it with your enquiry. It is the quickest way to get an accurate quote and to avoid paying to translate pages that are not needed. If you do not have written instructions, tell us what the application is for and we will advise on a sensible scope.
Foreign passport translation for use in South Africa.
For a South African immigration or other official application, foreign supporting documents may, where applicable, need to be translated into an official language of the Republic and certified as correct by a sworn translator.
A foreign passport does not automatically require translation simply because it is foreign. Translation depends on the language, the particular pages involved and the requirements of the South African authority receiving the documents. If the relevant information is already in a language the authority accepts, a separate translation may not be needed.
Send the pages you have been asked to submit, tell us the receiving authority, and we will confirm whether a translation is required and in what form.
Sworn TranslationPassport translation for immigration and residence applications.
Visa applications
A visa application may require translated passport particulars or specific stamp and endorsement pages.
Permanent residence applications
Residence applications often list a valid passport as a core identity document and may ask for translated pages.
Citizenship procedures
Nationality and citizenship processes may use passport evidence to establish identity and immigration history.
Proof of identity
Where a passport accompanies other translated records, its identity page may need to be translated for consistency.
Family and spousal applications
Family-based applications may require translated passport details for more than one applicant.
Foreign court or legal proceedings
A court abroad may request a translated passport page where identity or travel history is relevant.
Professional or educational applications
Regulators and institutions sometimes ask for a translated passport page as supporting identity evidence.
Whether a passport is accepted as supporting evidence, and which pages must be translated, depends on the receiving authority and the application. Tell us where the pages will be submitted when requesting your quote.
Passport translation vs certified passport copy.
Passport translation
Converts the relevant passport text into the language the receiving authority requires, as a separate document alongside the passport.
Certified or notarised passport copy
Confirms that a copy corresponds to the original passport that was presented to the authorised person. It does not translate anything.
These are not the same service, and an embassy or foreign authority may request one or both. DIRCO refers to copies of travel documents among the private documents foreign missions may require, and notes that such documents may need to be certified by a Public Notary or translated by a sworn translator, depending on the requirement, before following the relevant High Court legalisation route.
Certified TranslationPassport translation vs Apostille or legalisation.
A passport copy or a translation of passport particulars can form part of a legalised document package, but a translation and an Apostille do different jobs. A translation makes the information readable in another language; an Apostille or authentication speaks to the official origin of a public document.
Where documents follow the sworn-translator or Public-Notary route, DIRCO explains that the relevant High Court verifies the translator or notary, and an Apostille may be issued there when the destination country is party to the Apostille Convention.
You would not normally put an Apostille on your original passport. It is the translated or certified copy, prepared for a specific application, that goes through those steps where the destination requires it.
South African passport used overseas.
A South African passport already serves as an official identity and nationality document for international travel, so it is not usually translated to be used as a passport.
A foreign organisation may, however, request translated passport particulars, translated stamps or endorsements, a notarised or certified passport copy, or a sworn translation of that copy, as supporting evidence in an application. The destination authority decides what it needs. Send us its instructions and the relevant pages.
Names must match your passport.
Names are handled with particular care in a passport translation, because the translated document may be read alongside a Birth Certificate Translation, a Marriage Certificate Translation, a Police Clearance Certificate Translation or residence documents, and any inconsistency is noticed.
Where a person’s name has more than one possible transliteration, for example from Arabic, Cyrillic, Chinese or another non-Latin writing system, the passport’s established Latin-alphabet spelling should generally be followed when preparing related translations. If you have other official documents that already use a particular spelling, send them so the terminology stays consistent across the set.
What if my passport is already multilingual?
Many passports present their information in more than one language. That does not necessarily mean a translation is required.
If the relevant information is already shown in a language accepted by the receiving authority, a separate translation may not be needed. The authority receiving the application decides this. If you are unsure, send the bio-data page and the authority’s instructions and we will tell you whether a translation adds anything.
What should you send us?
- A clear colour scan or photograph of the pages that need translation
- The bio-data page
- Any visa, stamp or endorsement pages requiring translation
- The source and target language
- The destination country
- The receiving authority
- Instructions showing which pages must be translated, if you have them
- Whether a notarised or certified copy is also required
- Your deadline
For your security, send only the pages required for quotation and processing. There is no need to send the whole passport if only the bio-data page is involved.
Send your passport pages for a quoteNeed your passport pages translated?
Upload only the pages that need translation and tell us where they will be submitted. We will review them and provide a written quote. Required fields are marked with an asterisk (*)
