How to Get Documents Translated for an Australian Visa Application (2026 Guide)

A birth certificate in Hindi. A police check in Spanish. A degree printed in Mandarin. If any document behind your visa application is not in English, the Department of Home Affairs needs an English translation alongside it, and the way that translation is produced matters as much as the words on the page.

Get it wrong, and an application that is already slow becomes slower. This guide covers which documents need translating, who is allowed to translate them, and how to get the job done without holding anything up.

Which documents need an English translation?

The rule is straightforward. Any supporting document you upload to ImmiAccount that is not in English needs an English translation, whatever you are applying for: partner, skilled, student or family visa.

The documents that most often need translating are:

• Birth certificates
• Marriage and divorce certificates
• Police clearances from overseas
• Academic transcripts and degrees
• Employment references and payslips
• Name change documents
• Relationship evidence written in another language, such as letters or messages

Partner applications usually involve the most translation work, because the evidence tends to come from two families and often two countries. If that sounds like your situation, our partner visa help page walks through the rest of the evidence you will be asked for.

Student applications look different. They lean on academic transcripts plus bank or loan documents from home. Before paying to translate financial records, check the funds you need to show, so you only translate the evidence that actually covers the amount.

Whatever your visa, translate only the documents you are relying on. Translating everything you own costs money and hands the case officer more pages to read, without making your case any stronger.

The Home Affairs rules for translations

Home Affairs keeps its requirements brief. Four of them apply to almost every application:

1. Translate everything that is not in English.All non-English documents must be translated into English.
2. Upload the original as well.You must provide both the original document and its English translation. A translation on its own is not enough.
3. In Australia, use a NAATI translator.Translations done in Australia must be by a NAATI-certified translator and should show their NAATI practitioner number.
4. Overseas, show the translator's details.A translation done outside Australia should include the translator's full name, address, phone number and qualifications. Check the "Gather your documents" section of your visa's page in case it asks for more.

For online applications, ImmiAccount's own guidance is to scan each document separately, include both sides, and scan in colour wherever the original is in colour. Apply that to the original and the translation alike.

What is a NAATI certified translator?

NAATI, the National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters, is the national body that sets standards for translators and interpreters in Australia and certifies them. It does not translate documents itself.

How to check a translator

NAATI runs an online verification tool that confirms whether a translation you received was completed by a certified translator. Use the practitioner number on your completed translation to check it.

A NAATI translation usually carries the translator's stamp or certification statement and their practitioner number. If yours has neither, ask for them before you upload. NAATI also states that a certified translation does not expire, which is useful if you had a birth certificate translated for an earlier application.

How to get your documents translated, step by step

1. List every non-English document your visa needs. Work from the document list in ImmiAccount and your visa's page, not from memory.
2. Get clear, complete colour scans of every page. Include the back of each document and any stamps, seals or handwritten notes. A translator can only translate what they can see.
3. Choose a translation provider. Use a service that works with NAATI-certified translators, such as TranslateSwift's NAATI translation service. Once your translation is done, check that it shows the translator's NAATI practitioner number.
4. Check the translation against your passport. Names, dates of birth and place names should be spelt exactly as they appear in your passport. Ask for corrections before you accept the final file.
5. Upload the original and the translation together. Attach both in ImmiAccount under the same document type and label them clearly, for example "Birth certificate, original" and "Birth certificate, English translation".

Choosing a translation provider

Plenty of providers can do the job. These four checks separate the ones that will not hold up your application:

• NAATI certification.Confirm that the provider uses NAATI-certified translators, and that your completed translation shows the translator's practitioner number.
• Turnaround against your deadline.Ask how long the work will take and compare it with your lodgement date or any deadline you have been given.
• A fixed quote before you start.Get a per-page or per-document price in writing, so the final bill holds no surprises.
• Your language pair.Make sure the provider has a certified translator for your language into English.

Common translation mistakes that delay visa applications

• Uploading the translation without the original. Home Affairs needs both, so the case officer can compare the translation with its source.
• Names spelt differently from the passport. A transliterated name that is one letter off can lead to a request for more information.
• Missing pages, stamps, or back sides. Seals and endorsements on the back of a certificate are part of the document.
• Translating only part of a document. Translate the whole document, not just the section you think matters.
• Using a non-NAATI translator in Australia. A friend who speaks the language does not meet the requirement for a translation done in Australia, however accurate their work.
• Leaving it to the last minute. If an invitation or another deadline is running, a slow translation can cost you the window.

How translation fits into your visa costs

Translation is a separate cost from the visa application charge. Providers usually price by the page or by the document, so count your pages before requesting quotes and budget for each document separately.

Partner applicants usually have the most documents to translate, on top of the largest government charge. Check what a partner visa costs in 2026 before you build the rest of your budget.

Not sure which documents your visa actually needs, or whether a translation you already hold will be accepted? Start with a free visa assessment before you pay for translations you may not need.