frequently asked
FAQs- Frequently Asked Questions
What people ask us on the phone before they order, while we work, and long after the visa is granted.
Both my surnames are on the certificate. Which one goes on the visa form?
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Use whatever your passport shows, and keep both names in the translation. Our English copy lists both and adds a line saying which came from your father and which from your mother. Officers see this every day once it is explained, but they cannot guess it on their own.
What is the difference between a literal certificate and an extract?
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The extract gives the basic facts on one small page. The literal copy shows the full entry, including anything added later such as a marriage or a name change. Those extra lines are often the point being proved, so order the literal copy if you have a choice.
There is a long code printed at the bottom of my certificate. Does it matter?
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Yes, and please do not crop it out. Certificates downloaded from a government site carry that code so anyone can check the paper is genuine. We translate it along with the rest, and a scan that cuts it off can be sent back to you.
Ours is an old handwritten record from Peru. Can you still read it?
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Usually yes. Old registry books from across Latin America are handwritten, faded, and sometimes hard going. Our translators work with them regularly. If a word is truly unclear, we ask you rather than guess, because a guessed name causes far more trouble than a question.
Could my mark of 9 out of 10 be shown as a UK first?
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No, and be careful with anyone who offers. Spanish and Latin American marking scales differ by country and even by university. We print the mark as it is and translate the wording next to it. UK ENIC or the university decides what it equals here.
Our papers are from Mexico, not Spain. Is it the same service?
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Same service, same price, different translator. A Mexican acta, a Colombian registro and a Spanish certificado are laid out differently and name their offices differently. We match your file to someone who knows that country, which is why nothing gets described wrongly.
Should my Latin American document have an apostille before you translate it?
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Get the apostille first if the receiving office wants one, because it is added in the country of origin and forms part of the paper. Then send us everything together. For a UK visa an apostille is often not needed at all, so ask us before paying for one.
Once my visa is granted, can I use the same translation again?
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Yes. It is not tied to one application and it does not run out. The same stamped file works later for a university, a bank, a wedding or a citizenship form. Keep the PDF somewhere safe and ask for a printed set if a counter is likely to want paper.
If the Home Office asks a question weeks later, who deals with it?
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We do. Our name and contact details sit on the certificate so an officer can come straight to us. If anything needs correcting on our side we reissue it free, no matter how long ago you ordered it.
Does a register office or university take the same copy as UKVI?
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They all take it. A register office reads your birth record before a wedding, universities and UK ENIC read your degree, the NMC reads nursing papers, the DVLA reads your licence and banks read your statements. One certified copy covers every one of them.
We are moving to Spain. Can you translate UK papers into Spanish?
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Yes, English into Spanish is normal work here. Spanish offices usually want your birth certificate, marriage certificate or police check in Spanish, and often with an apostille on top. Our
notarised translation services handle those extra stages in the same order.
My employer in Madrid wants my UK degree in Spanish. Is that possible?
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It is, and we do it often. Degrees, transcripts and work references go into Spanish for employers, universities and professional bodies there. Tell us which organisation is receiving it, because some ask for a sworn translator inside Spain and we will say so honestly.
