English into Greek and Greek into English translation of wedding paperwork
If you're reading this, it probably means that you were recently engaged and looking to get married in Greece. First of all, many congratulations and well done for choosing Greece as your wedding destination.
Many couples choose Greece for their big day and I can see why. The country is beautiful, the weather is warm and the food is delicious. There is one problem though: paperwork. And when it's all Greek to you or it has to be in Greek, but instead, it's all in English, things can get stressful.
You'll need to go through the Greek and UK authorities and sometimes, nobody knows exactly what it is that you need to do, but most importantly in what order you need to do it! I hope that this blog post will help answer any questions you may have.
Before your wedding
First things first, if you are getting married in Greece and your paperwork is in English, it'll have to be translated into Greek. By paperwork, I mean all those documents the Greek authorities want to see in order to issue you a marriage license.
These documents are:
1. your birth certificates (the full version including parents' names and addresses),
2. your certificates of no impediment to marry (CNI) (these must not be too old, please check as they expire),
3. decree absolute, if you have been married before,
4. and your baptism certificates, if you are having a religious ceremony.
Now that you know which documents you need, here's what you need to do with them:
1. collect all documents requiring translation
2. legalise them following the step-by-step online process found here: https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised. This process will attach an Apostille to the back of each one of your documents. You will need 1 Apostille per document. So if you have 10 documents, you need 10 Apostilles.
3. Scan and email all your documents including their Apostilles to receive a free, no obligation translation quote.
It is important to note that usually Greek authorities and wedding planners require your documents to be translated by a Greek, official translator registered with the Greek Embassy and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
What happens next:
1. I will give you a quote. If you accept it and place an order, I will start working on your documents.
2. If your Greek translations need to be legalised at the Embassy, you will need to post to me your English originals.
3. Each certified translation of each respective English original is attached to the back the English original and posted back to you.
4. You take both English originals and their respective certified translations to the Greek Embassy for legalisation.
During the legalisation process, the Embassy will check the translator's signature and they will stamp your documents. You might be required to pay a fee and arrange an appointment in advance directly with the Embassy. Please check the Embassy's website for further information www.greekembassy.org.uk/en-gb/ Not all wedding planners, or local authorities require you to go via the Embassy route, so check with them first.
After your wedding
Your marriage certificate will be in Greek. You don't need to register your marriage in the UK, but if you want to do it for whatever reason, your marriage certificate will need to be translated into English. UK authorities usually do not require you to first legalise your Greek marriage certificate. But your Greek certificate might already be legalised anyway.
So, the process is easy:
1. scan and email all your documents to receive a quote
2. once you accept the quote and place an order I can start working on your translations
3. you receive your certified translations in the post
4. you present the Greek originals and certified English translations to the relevant organisations
Are your documents ready for translation?
Email them at vp@grtome.com to receive free, no-obligation translation quote.
Vasiliki is a translator, interpreter, transcreator, blogger, consultant and director of Greek to Me Translations Ltd. She works with English, Greek and French herself and has a team of trusted colleagues who can cover other languages. The offered language services serve mainly the legal, creative, marketing & advertising, fashion and media industries.
Vasiliki is a Chartered Linguist, member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists (CIOL), the Institute of Translation and Interpreting (ITI) and Panhellenic Association of Greek Translators (PEM). She is registered with the Greek Consulate in the United Kingdom as a certified translator and interpreter.
She holds a BA in English Language and Linguistics and Masters in Business Translation and Interpreting. As Member of Council to the CIOL and Board Member of the IoL Educational Trust she overseas and supports the organisations' strategic goals.
Being involved in her industry means often delivering public speaking and writing for industry magazines. Her mission is to help organisations and individuals achieve their goals through the power of words. Through The Translators Mentor, Vasiliki helps aspiring or young translators to overcome self-limiting beliefs, build a business mindset and achieve their highest potential.
