Notarised Document Translation Services in Singapore
Migrating to another country? Applying to work in foreign country whose language is different from your home country? You may need translated documents for your immigration procedures. Here’s what you can do.
Migrating to another country can be quite a hassle especially when it comes to dealing with the immigration procedures.
Besides attending pre-migration interviews and preparing for your new accommodation, there is another important segment you need to cater time for – getting the necessary legal documents ready for approval with the relevant local and overseas embassies of the country you are migrating to.
Some of these documents include birth certificates, identity cards, driving license (especially if you need to have an international driving license to drive on the left/right hand side), your education/vocational certificates and professional certificates as well as the legal documents of your new car/house.
And if you are relocating for a job and need to apply for a working visa or permanent resident card, you may even need to submit your previous/current payslips, CPF contribution statement, an employment letter or your employment contract.
While English documents may be sufficient for your migration/relocating procedures for an English-speaking country, you may have to submit documents in the language of the migrating country to get the necessary approval and visas.
In such instances, not only will you want to make sure that to get notarised document translation services for your documents and are legally equivalent in the jurisdiction of the country of migration/relocation, you will also want to ensure that these documents are translated by translators who are trained in the legal aspect to ensure they are 100% accurate, legally usable and enforceable as required.
The consequences of mis-translation
If a judge, barrister, prosecutor, lawyer or embassy spots an error in translation – for instance, a wrong term being used, the entire translation may no longer be admissible. As such, on top of ensuring that the translation agency you hire carry out thorough proofreading, you should also check through the translated documents (if you are able to understand the language) and provide all the necessary details that could help the translator increase/pinpoint the accuracy.
Need legal notarised translation for your documents?
Congratulations, if you simply need a translated version of your documents to submit to your new overseas job’s Human Resource department for their understanding.
However sometimes, you will need to notarise certain documents in order to fulfil the requirements of the approving authorities such as courts or embassies. You may wonder why is there a need to do so.
The purpose of having a legal document notarised is to witness, validate and ensure the authenticity of the signatures that appear on the document, so that they are legally effective under international law.
Notarisation typically serves three purposes:
- To ensure the person signing a document is properly identified.
- To ensure the intended person signs the document under their own free will.
- Lastly, to ensure the transaction can be independently verified after the fact.
The typical process of notarisation involves having your translated documents sworn/attested in-country, sealed and stamped for the relevant authorities. A properly notarised documents will contain the notary’s mark and seal.
When should you notarise your documents?
Notarising documents is a very specialised service, and although different countries have different requirements, notarised documents are recognised as valid throughout the world.
For most countries, a signature of a solicitor/lawyer on a document that’s meant to be used abroad is not sufficient. In case you are unaware, you still need to have them witnessed by a Notary Public.
If you have a legal document which you need to submit for overseas use (ie. Such as in the case of obtaining a working visa, or relocating/migrating to another country), you probably need to have your documents translated and notarised. However, note that not every country requires a notarised copy of all the relevant documents. The types of documents to submit is very subjective from embassy to embassy and relevant authorities. You will have to check with the relevant embassy/authorities for the exact list of documents which need to be translated and notarised.
While it is quite straightforward and definite that you need not translate your English documents for use in English-speaking countries like Singapore, United States of America, United Kingdom, and many more), it is necessary to translate your documents to Simplified Chinese (for countries that mainly use Simplified Chinese as its first language like China), and Traditional Chinese (for countries that typically use Traditional Chinese like Taiwan and Hong Kong – though Hong Kong uses English as well, so it all depends).
Also, it is good to set aside sufficient time (for instance, 3 weeks to 2 months) to get the necessary documents translated, checked and notarised. Some authorities require upfront advanced appointments. So be sure to set aside enough time to accommodate unexpected delays.
Notarising documents for individuals are used in many different situations, for instance:
- Buying or selling a property abroad
- Proving that you are still alive so you can receive a pension in your new/old country.
- Confirming your degree or other certificate is genuine so you can work in another country
- Giving permission for your children or immediate family members to travel, relocate/migrate with you
- Proving that your instructions to a foreign bank are genuine
- Witnessing affidavits and statutory declarations required by overseas courts and authorities
- When you want to get married overseas
Notarised documents for companies are often used to:
- Prove that a certain company is still in existence, and the person signing a document is authorised to do so
- Validate a Power of Attorney for your overseas agent so that he or she can help you oversee certain matters while you remain in your own country or another country.
- Assert trade mark and other intellectual property rights in foreign jurisdictions
- Confirm necessary legal documents
- Apply for visas for employees working overseas/coming to work in your country
- Ensure that contracts and other documents are legally effective and binding where they need to be used
WhizWordz also provide legal translation services for other types of legal and compliant documents.
At some point, it is likely you will need to engage with a client who requires some form of language support. When you do encounter a client who has limited grasp of your language, it is quite possible that you will need various files translated into one or more languages.
A wide variety of documentation may require legal translation. This could be anything from financial documents, contracts, legal statements and reports, property deeds, transcripts, patents, witness statements and even personal documents – the list is non-exhaustive. Nevertheless, whichever document it is, accuracy and prompt delivery are key when it comes to legal translation services.
Some of our legal translation services:
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Need legal translation for your documents?
At WhizWordz, we work with legal translation experts to translate your documents to its original meaning, as well as collaborate with trustworthy lawyer firms to notarise your documents, so that the documents that you and we sign are effective wherever they are to be used.
Call or email us to find out how we can help!
You can also click here to learn more about our other legal translation and localisation services.
