FAQ
Q: What is the difference between a legal (official) translation and a legalized translation?
A: A legal, or also referred to as an official translation, is a translation done by a sworn translator on a designated form provided by a Translation Agency, which bears the translator’s signature as well as the Translation Agency’s seal. Each official translation must be legalized through the department of Consular Relations of the Ministry of External Affairs.
Q: What is the procedure for translating and legalizing a birth certificate into the English language. I am required to provide this document in order to apply for an H1B visa for the United States of America.
A: You will need a duplicate that has been issued and authenticated (on the back of the paper) by the respective municipality. Then you will need the translated version of the document done by a Translation Agency that has received authorization from the Ministry of External Affairs. The legalization itself is done in the department of Consular relations of the Ministry of External affairs. You may choose to either do this yourself or entrust the Translation Agency with the task.
Q: What are the requirements for legalization of documents issued in another country in Bulgaria?
A: All documents issued in a country that is a member of the Hague Convention from October 5, 1961, must bear a special seal called an Apostille.
All documents issued from foreign countries that have concluded a mutual legal assistance treaty with the country of Bulgaria, must be authenticated through an administrative or notary’s seal.
In the case of failure to comply with the above-mentioned requirements, a document could still be legalized, if it bears a mark of authentication by a Bulgarian Embassy in the country/state of issue.
/Note: all authentications and seals must be original and not copied/
Q: What do I need for the legalization of a birth certificate?
A: You will need a duplicate of the original document. It must be issued by the same municipality as the original document. On the back of this duplicate a rectangular seal must be placed to provide the municipality’s acknowledgement of the validity of all other seals and signatures in foreign countries.
In this final state the document is liable to legalization.
The original birth certificate itself, a duplicate without the aforementioned seal as well as any other copies (standard or authenticated by a notary) cannot be subject to legalization.
The same applies to the following documents: marriage certificates, family status certificates, family status certificate for marrying a foreigner, family status and family member certificates, certificates of identity for people with multiple names, legal heir certificates, transcripts or excerpts from a death certificate.
Q: How is the cost per page for a translation calculated?
A: According to the Bulgarian National Stanard (BNS) a translation’s page contains 1800 symbols with intervals included. Pages are calculated on the basis of the final translation and not the original.
Pages for a translation that exceeds 1800 symbols are made round by the second position after the decimal point.
