My Arabic paper spells my name differently from my passport. Which one do you use?
+
The passport spelling goes in the English, with a short note showing the name as the Arabic page writes it. Nothing is hidden and nothing looks changed. Simply copying a new spelling would leave UKVI looking at two people in one file. Send your passport page with the order and it is right the first time.
My papers list my father and grandfather. Do you keep all of it?
+
All of it, in the same order, including bin or bint where it appears. We never cut a long name down into a first name and a surname. Put your passport name on the form and the translation backs it up instead of arguing with it.
Will UKVI take a translation done back home with an English stamp on it?
+
Usually not. A caseworker cannot trace an office abroad, there is no UK number to ring, and it rarely belongs to a body they know. That is what gets those files refused, not the English itself. Having it redone costs far less than losing an application fee.
Does the mahr and the religious wording in my marriage contract go in too?
+
Yes, all of it. Everything on the page has to appear in English or the work counts as unfinished. Caseworkers read Islamic marriage contracts every day and the mahr is ordinary to them. Leaving it out makes a gap that draws far more attention than the wording ever would.
My birth certificate shows only a year, or the first of January.
+
It stays exactly as issued, with a note saying so. This is common on older records from Sudan, Yemen, Iraq and Somalia. We never invent a day or a month. Put the same thing on your form and the two will match.
My record is a handwritten replacement from a registry that no longer exists.
+
Send it over. Replacement records from Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen reach us all the time. We write out what the page says and describe the seal and the office that issued it. Whether UKVI accepts the document itself is their call, and we will tell you honestly if we think it may be questioned.
Do I send UKVI the Arabic page as well as the English one?
+
Both, side by side, for every document. They expect to see the original next to the translation. Uploading the English on its own is a common reason for being asked for more evidence, and that adds weeks to a decision.
I am moving to the Gulf. Which UK papers will I need in Arabic?
+
Usually your degree, your police check, and your marriage and birth certificates if the family is coming. Employers and immigration offices there want them in Arabic, with a seal and a legalisation stage. Send us the list and we will say which ones your employer really needs before you pay for extras.
How do I get a UK certificate accepted in an Arab country?
+
Three steps, in order. It goes into Arabic, then a UK notary seals it, then the FCDO adds an apostille, and a few countries want their own consulate stamp after that. Parents registering a child born here, and couples registering a UK marriage back home, go this way constantly. Our
notarised and legalised translation covers every stage in one order.
Will any UK translator do, or must the embassy pick one?
+
It depends on the embassy. Some Gulf and North African consulates keep their own approved list for papers entering their country, while others take any properly sealed UK translation. Tell us the country and the office before you order and we will confirm which one applies to you.
Do you translate Arabic papers for offices other than UKVI?
+
Every week. Register offices want your birth certificate, and any divorce or death certificate, before they take a notice of marriage. HM Passport Office wants them to prove who a child's parents are. Family courts need them for custody and inheritance. The DVLA takes them when you swap a licence, and HMRC when you explain income from abroad. Tell us the office and we set the page out to suit.
Is one copy enough for a university, the NMC and my employer?
+
Yes, and we do all three regularly. Degrees and transcripts go to universities and UK ENIC, medical papers to the NMC and GMC, and service records to employers running right to work checks. Banks and lenders take the same copy. Each of them wants the translator named with contact details on the page, which is standard on ours, so one certified copy serves them all.
