Marriage Certificate and Document Translation

Japanese and English translations of marriage and birth certificates, and certificates of no impediment to marriage

Samurai Translators handles translations of birth certificates, marriage certificates/documents, certificates of legal capacity to contract marriage otherwise known as certificates of no impediment amongst others and can offer helpful advice regarding the submission of such documents to embassies and immigration departments based on the wealth of experience we have acquired over our long years of handling translations and queries from our clients in this area. Official documents and certificates are, as a rule, issued by competent authorities and attested and signed or sealed by an authorized official. To accurately translate these types of official documents and certificates, background knowledge of the law is often required. We pride ourselves on our comprehensive and expedient service.

In the case of international marriages with a Japanese national where the marriage partner intends to stay in Japan, a Japanese translation of the marriage certificate obtained from the issuing country may be required for visa purposes, etc. In this situation, please take advantage of our marriage certificate translation service. We handle hundreds of birth and marriage certificates and certificates of no impediment (or affidavits) for international marriages between Japanese nationals and overseas spouses.

On the flip side, in case of international marriages (or prospective marriages) where a Japanese national intends to move the country of his/her spouse, an English translation of the marriage certificate (family registers, certificates of registered matters on the family register, certificate of matters in the alien registration records) and certificates of no impediment, etc. may be required for the visa application process. We have an excellent track record for delivering translations to our clients to accompany their visa applications to embassies and immigration departments of the U.S.A., Canada and Australia.

We always deliver a "Certificate of Translation" (see more below) with our translations of certificates and official documents. The certificate of translation contains a written and signed declaration by the translator in charge of the translation stating that s/he is "a qualified translator, proficient in both languages and that the translation is true and faithful" printed on company letter headed paper with the company's seal affixed thereon and the location responsible for the translation clearly indicated and publicly declared.

We have an excellent performance record when it comes to any of the following documents.

Below we have provided some information which we hope you will find useful and assist you in determining which service you require.

Translation Requirements Depending on the Country of Submission and Institution

When it comes to visa applications, there are many frequently asked questions and much confusion. "Can you translate family register certificates yourself?"; "Do you need to have translations of marriage certificates, etc. handled by a third party?" We frequently see these types of discussions on information exchange bulletins, etc. from spouses in international marriages applying for visas. The reason for so much disagreement regarding translation requirements for visa applications is that these discussions are based on the assumption that one specific example will apply to all and fail to recognize the differences between each individual case. The people involved in such discussions on bulletins, etc. tend to discuss issues without distinguishing where documents are to be submitted to, which country not to mention which institution the documents were submitted to, all of which should be clearly specified and this leads to a lot of confusion. Depending on the organization, official documents to be submitted do not necessarily need to be translated by a third party (in this case, self translated documents will be accepted), therefore we recommend that you check the translation requirements of the organization you intend to submit your documents to. In this case, even if you hire a translation company to translate your documents, you can submit them as your own translations. Based on our current understanding, we have provided a summary of the translation requirements for each country in the following.

U.S.A.: If you are submitting documents to the Embassy in Japan, self-translated documents will not cause a problem. If you have a document translated by a translation company, you do not need to notarize it. However, if you are intend to submit documents to government agencies in the U.S.A. and not the American embassy in Japan or schools and other institutions, in many cases translations will need to performed by a third party, also in most cases, they will request translations to be notarized by the consulate. Therefore, in general translation by a third party is considered to be a requirement.

Canada: In most cases documents to be submitted for Canada are required to be translated by a third party namely speaking a translation company and the translations should be notarized.

Australia: Documents for Australia are required to be translated by a translation company, however, a certificate of translation from the translation company handling your documents is sufficient and in this case and they do not require translations to be notarized. We are often asked the reason for this. Clients often ask "Is your company a translation agency specified by the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship?", however, the Australian Department of Immigration and Citizenship does not specify any translation agency. Please confirm with the Immigration and Citizenship website.

We have covered briefly the translation requirements by country based on our experience from the types of translations we are requested to do, however, it is inevitable that the individual circumstances of the applicant and the institution to which documents are to be submitted will in turn alter the requirements for the translations of such documents and therefore we recommend that you confirm with the relevant websites of the institutions, etc.

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Certificate of Translation

In Japan there is no nationally recognized license for the translation industry. Also unlike in a number of other countries, Japan does not have a standardized translator's qualification accredited by a translation association, where documents translated by translators not certified by such an association are not accepted as translations of official documents. In this situation, a Certificate of Translation including the translation company's address, telephone number, translator's name, and company seal is recognized by many institutions as being equivalent to a certified translation. Usually, the Certificate of Translation is printed on the company's letterhead and is signed and sealed. This is generally applied to certificate translations. This is equivalent to what is referred to as a Certified Translation in English.

It is standard for us to issue a "Certificate of Translation" with the translated version of marriage certificates and other official documents as it is more often the case that these documents together with the originals will be submitted to immigration offices, legal affairs bureaus and other governmental agencies or educational institutions or other highly public institutions. Our translation fees include the fees for the issue of the Certificate of Translation. Click here to see a sample of our Certificate of Translation

As explained above, depending on the organization, official documents to be submitted do not necessarily need to be translated by a third party (in this case, self translated documents will be accepted), therefore we recommend that you check the translation requirements of the organization you intend to submit your documents to. In this case, even if you hire a translation company to translate your documents, you can submit them as your own translations.

For translations requiring certification by a translation company, it is beneficial and cost effective to turn to a translation company with experience in translating official documents and a wide range of certificates. Here at Samurai Translators, we have been involved in the on-going business of certificate translations required for visa applications, therefore, our certificate of translation has been widely used in application documents to immigration offices of countries around the world and other institutions. Our translations are word for word translations of the original official document and as such it is extremely easy to handle translations of official documents originally in Japanese for the overseas official reviewing the documents. Our translations also allow officials who cannot read the original Japanese to check with ease as we also keep strictly to the original format of the document.

If the Certificate of Translation is for a Japanese to English translation to be submitted to the U. K., America, Canada or Australia or other country using English as its official language, an English version will be issued and likewise if it is for an English to Japanese translation of a birth certificate, marriage certificate, certificate of no impediment or other document translated to Japanese to be submitted to government offices in Japan, etc., a Japanese Certificate of Translation will be issued.

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Please also take a look at our smaller site Family Registers for more information on marriage certificate and other official document translation.

For English and Japanese translations of marriage and other official certificates and documents, it can only be Samurai Translators!