Greek Translator and Interpreter in Tbilisi

How Greece certifies foreign document translations

Greek public authorities accept translations of foreign documents from several sources: the certified translators listed in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' registry (which replaced the ministry's own translation service), Greek lawyers who certify translations under the Lawyers' Code, and Greek consulates abroad. A Georgian notarized translation is accepted by some Greek authorities for some purposes, particularly when accompanied by an apostille on the original and, in some cases, a consular stamp from the Greek Embassy in Tbilisi, but municipalities, Decentralized Administrations handling residence permits, DOATAP and courts frequently require a translation certified in Greece. Cyprus has its own Registry of Sworn Translators, and Cypriot authorities generally require translations from it.

Our approach is to tell you what your recipient is known to require. For many applicants the practical route is an apostilled Georgian original, our Greek translation for use where it is accepted, and, when the file goes to a Greek municipality or administration, certification by a lawyer or certified translator in Greece, which relatives there often arrange. We prepare the translation so that certification in Greece is a formality rather than a retranslation.

Residence, family and school documents for Georgians in Greece

Georgians in Greece renew and convert residence permits, bring spouses and children through family reunification, register marriages and births, enroll children in Greek schools, apply for long-term residence and citizenship, and claim pensions for years worked in Georgia. Each of these needs Georgian documents in Greek: birth and marriage certificates, criminal record certificates, certificates of family status, school certificates and report cards (Greek schools place children by translated records), diplomas, work record books and pension statements, and powers of attorney for relatives managing matters in Georgia. Georgian certificates are apostilled at PSDA and translated with the apostille.

Because many older Georgian certificates were issued in the Soviet period, and because Greek registries ask for recent certificates, we frequently advise clients to obtain a modern duplicate from PSDA before translation, and we can arrange this through a representative for clients who are in Greece. Name transliteration between Georgian, Greek and Latin is handled consistently across the file, following the passport, so that a child's school record and a parent's residence permit carry the same spelling.

Repatriation and citizenship for Greeks from Georgia

Descendants of the Greek communities of Tsalka, Tetritskaro, Tbilisi and the Black Sea coast apply for Greek citizenship and repatriation status on the basis of Greek ancestry, and the evidence is archival: Soviet birth, marriage and death certificates with the "nationality" field recording Greek ethnicity, old passports and household records, church records, and PSDA archival extracts. These documents are in Russian and Georgian, often handwritten and damaged. We translate them into Greek with the nationality field rendered exactly as ethnicity (not citizenship), with place names in their historical and current forms, and with illegible passages marked rather than guessed, since the Greek authorities and consulate examine these files closely. Where a Soviet original cannot be apostilled, we advise on obtaining an archival extract from PSDA that can be.

Study, DOATAP, business and tourism

Georgian graduates seeking recognition of their degrees in Greece apply to DOATAP with diplomas, transcripts and, for some programs, course descriptions, in certified Greek translation; students applying to Greek universities present school certificates and language certificates. Business between Georgia and Greece covers shipping and logistics through Batumi and Poti, agricultural trade, tourism (Greek visitors to Georgia and Georgian visitors to Greece), construction materials and energy, and Greek companies registering in Georgia need their corporate documents (καταστατικό, πιστοποιητικό ΓΕΜΗ, πληρεξούσιο) apostilled and translated into Georgian with notarization for the Public Registry. We translate contracts, tender documents, product information and websites between Greek and Georgian, and Greek Orthodox church and cultural institutions in Georgia use us for correspondence, publications and event materials.

Greek interpreters and quality

Our Greek interpreters work at business negotiations, shipping and logistics meetings, notarial signings for Greek parties (required by law when a signatory does not understand Georgian), PSDA marriage registrations for Greek-Georgian couples, medical consultations, church and cultural events, and remotely for calls with Greek municipalities, lawyers, employers and schools. Assignments in Tbilisi can often be arranged within a day for consecutive work; modes and rates are on our interpretation page.

Translations into Greek are done by native Greek translators and reviewed by a second linguist; Greek documents into Georgian (passports, ληξιαρχικές πράξεις, ποινικό μητρώο, corporate documents, judgments, diplomas) are translated in full including the apostille and notarized in Tbilisi. Standard documents are usually ready within one working day once the original is available for the notarized copy; family, repatriation and recognition files are quoted as a set with a firm date.

Typical scenarios

A Georgian mother in Athens bringing her teenage son to join her: the son's birth certificate, the mother's residence documents, a consent from the father, the son's school transcript and vaccination record are apostilled in Georgia (the consent is drawn up before a Georgian notary and apostilled), translated into Greek, and certified in Greece by a lawyer for the Decentralized Administration and the school. We prepare the Georgian side in full, from the notarial consent to the apostilles, and format the translations for quick certification in Athens. The mother orders everything remotely, a relative in Tbilisi presents the originals, and the package is couriered to Greece.

A pensioner in Thessaloniki claiming years worked in Georgia: the Soviet work record book, employment certificates from a Tbilisi factory that no longer exists, and archival confirmations from the Georgian pension agency are translated into Greek with every stamp and handwritten entry rendered, and the institutions named with their historical and current names, so that the Greek pension fund can match the periods. A family in Tsalka applying for Greek citizenship by descent: grandparents' Soviet birth and marriage certificates with the "Greek" nationality entry, PSDA archival extracts, and the applicants' own certificates are translated into Greek for the consulate and the Greek municipality, with the family tree cross-checked for consistent names and dates across two generations of documents.

A Greek shipping agent opening a Batumi office: the ΓΕΜΗ certificate, καταστατικό and πληρεξούσιο are apostilled in Greece and translated into Georgian for the Public Registry, the Greek director's passport is translated, and an interpreter attends the notarial signing and the bank onboarding.

What to send for a Greek translation

Send every page of the document, name the Greek or Cypriot institution and the procedure, and forward their document list. Send the passport data page so that names match; for repatriation cases, send all the archival documents you have, even damaged ones, and tell us the family history so that names and places can be reconciled. Tell us whether the original has an apostille and whether a relative in Greece can arrange certification there.