European Languages Sworn Translators of Public/Official Documents - Pretoria

Our expert certified translation services
We’re the experts in official certified translation services – we’ve been doing it for over 36 years.
Whatever your document, we can translate it. We regularly translate birth, marriage, divorce certificates; police clearances; academic documents; and all types of personal and official documents.
Our certified translation services are available in most major African and European Languages including South African official languages.
Where can you use Certified Translation?
Our translations can be used for virtually all purposes and are welcomed by virtually all South African authorities. This includes the following:
Immigration translation
These are certified translations for a visa or residence application.
This will often be a translation of your birth certificate, but can also be many other types of document.
Immigration translation requirements
We don’t need to see your original document - a scanned copy will normally be OK.
For most documents, we can do a 'selective translation' (see below). These are cheaper than a full translation.
Note: These are the normal guidelines for immigration translations, but your Immigration case manager may sometimes decide something different. You can always upgrade your certified translation from a selective to a full translation if needed.
Please email us info@hcsti.org.za if you have any questions about our Immigration translation services.
Citizenship translation
These are translations to support an application for South African citizenship to The Department of Home Affairs.
Citizenship translation requirements
We need to see your original document, as the Department will only accept translations that state they are from the original document.
For Citizenship, we can do a selective certified translation of most document types.
Translations for SAQA
These are translations of documents submitted to the South African Qualifications Authority to assess overseas academic qualifications.
SAQA requirements
We recommend documents be translated in full for SAQA, as they generally won’t accept a selective translation.
They also require the translation to be completed from your original document, not from a scan or a copy.
Note: It's not our job to decide the South African equivalence of your qualification - this is SAQA’s role. We must simply translate what your diploma or document says.
Other purposes
You can use our certified official translation services for many other purposes, including:
for universities, schools and other educational institutes
evidence for the Courts and legal matters
job applications
embassies and consulates
general private use
We can also provide a certified translation of official South African documents into foreign languages, including apostilles.
You can use our certified translation services for any of these documents:
Birth certificate translation
You typically need a translation of your birth certificate to prove who you are, or your relationship to other family members.
We normally do a selective certified translation for birth certificates, using our standard template. This is accepted by all South African authorities - but we can always translate your document in full if you prefer.
Marriage certificate translation
We normally provide a selective certified translation of marriage certificate documents. These can be used for any purpose and are accepted by South African authorities.
Some countries have marriage contracts, sometimes several pages long, instead of marriage certificates.
We will generally still provide a selective translation of a marriage contract as the authorities will accept this, and it is much cheaper for you than translating the full contract.
Police Clearances translation
These are also called 'police check', or 'criminal record certificate' translations. They are generally needed for immigration applications.

South African Home affairs has stated that we must translate these documents in full. So, a selective translation of a police certificate generally won't be accepted.
They also require the certificate to be less than six months old when you lodge your application.
Divorce certificate translation
We normally provide a selective translation of divorce certificates. These are in our standard format.
They can be used for any purpose and are accepted by all ZA authorities.
Death certificate translation
Death certificate documents come in various types – an official death certificate, an extract from a hospital report, or a doctor’s letter or certificate.
We generally provide selective translations of death certificates.
Academic translation
We translate a wide range of educational and academic qualification documents, including diplomas, certificates. and transcripts.
Most authorities require these documents to be translated in full and won't accept a selective translation. This applies particularly to SAQA.
Note: When translating the name of your qualification, we must simply give an accurate certified translation of what the text says. It is not our role to determine what the equivalent value qualification would be in South Africa.

Other documents
Our certified official translation services extend to many other types of documents, including:

•Family and household
•name change documents
•ID documents
•employment references & certificates
•support letters
•documents to establish relationships
•bank and financial documents
•and many more

Email: info@hcsti.org.za