Certified Translations by Sworn Translators

As of 1 July 2019 the system of translation of documents which was provided by the Press and Information Office has been terminated, according to Law 45 (Ι)/2019, providing for the registration and regulation of the services of the Sworn Translators in Cyprus. Therefore, all individuals or public bodies interested in officially certified translations, must refer directly to the certified translators who are registered in the Register of Sworn Translators of the Council of Sworn Translators according to the relevant Law. In the Register of Sworn Translators there are the names, contact details (telephone number and e-mail) as well as the work address of the Sworn Translators. Sworn Translators operate in Nicosia, Limassol, Larnaca, Paphos and the Famagusta government controlled area.

According to the above Law, ‘certified translation’ is the written version of a written text or document from a foreign language into Greek or into Turkish and vice versa, bearing the official seal of the Republic, which is duly marked. Certified translations are not carried out from English to French, but first from English to Greek and then from Greek to French. 

Therefore, as regards certificates issued by the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus, such as marriage certificates, for which a certified translation into a foreign language (e.g. Italian) needs to be carried out, it is useful that interested parties ask the issuing authority to issue the documents in Greek for direct translation into the foreign language.

Sworn translators translate documents intended for official use inside or outside the Republic, such as educational documents, marriage certificates, birth certificates, death certificates, criminal records certificates, passports, identity cards, bank accounts, deeds of ownership, company documents, medical reports, legal documents.

Languages offered for translation into Greek and vice versa: Albanian, Arabic, Armenian, Bosnian, Bulgarian, Chinese, Croatian, Dutch, English, French, Georgian, German, Hebrew, Hungarian, Italian, Lithuanian, Persian, Polish, Portuguese,   Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Spanish, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian, Japanese, Danish, Slovenian, Latvian, Czech.

INFORMATION ON DOCUMENTS TO BE TRANSLATED

1. All documents submitted for translation must be authentic, in the original and duly certified as the ‘Apostille’ or with the stamp of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (diplomatic certification). The verification must be made before they are translated. For EU countries, as provided for in Regulation (EU) 2016/1191, interested parties are free to choose whether or not to have their documents sealed. For further information, you can read the Ministry of Justice and Public Order's Information Sheet on document certification, and for States participating in the Hague Apostille Convention you can find out more here.
2. For documents submitted for translation which do not require the stamp (Apostille) but the stamp of the diplomatic confirmation (Ministry of Foreign Affairs), those interested in additional information may contact the competent Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
3. Regarding the translation of secondary school certificates, certificates can be issued directly from the school for a fee of eight (8) euro, for the following languages:

Bulgarian
Czech
Danish
Dutch
English
French
German
Hungarian
Italian
Polish
Romanian
Slovak
Slovenian
Swedish

Kindly note that the Apostille validation procedure is the following:

I. The certificate should be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Culture in order to validate the signature of the principal (for Nicosia contact MOEC- Department of Secondary General Education, for other districts contact the Secondary Education District Offices)

II. Then submit it to the Ministry of Justice and Public Order (Nicosia) or to a Citizen Service Centre (in your city of residence) for Apostille

Please note that services of Sworn Translators should be procured in the following cases:

• School leaving certificates issued before June 2006 (for all languages)
• School leaving certificates that will be translated into a language different than the 14 languages mentioned above
• School leaving certificates issued from Lower Secondary Schools (Gymnasium), Technical Schools, Private Schools, etc.

Kindly note that the Apostille validation procedure is the following:

I. The certificate should be submitted to the Ministry of Education and Culture in order to validate the signature of the principal (for Nicosia contact MOEC- Department of Secondary General Education, for other districts contact the Secondary Education District Offices)
II. Then submit it to the Ministry of Justice and Public Order (Nicosia) or to a Citizen Service Centre (in your city of residence) for Apostille

III. Submit it for translation

 For further information you may call the Press and Information Office at the following numbers: 22801105, 22801151, 22801124, or send an email to  translations@pio.moi.gov.cy