For visa and immigration filings
Certified translations for visa and immigration filings
Most immigration authorities do not want a notary. They want the complete document in English, with a signed statement from the translator that it is complete and accurate. This page sets out the shape of that rule, which Israeli documents end up in a filing, and where the detailed destination guides are.
The rule most filings share
Immigration authorities that accept translator certification generally ask for roughly the same three things: the complete document, in English, with a signed statement from the translator confirming that the translation is complete and accurate and that they are competent to make it. The statement carries the translator's name, signature, date and contact details — so the authority can reach the person who signed it.
Two things are usually not asked for, and are often paid for anyway: a notary, and an apostille on the translation. Our detailed US guide quotes the governing regulation in full, along with the Policy Manual sentence that rules out a summary translation, and the certified-versus-notarized guide untangles the three words people use interchangeably.
By destination
United States — USCIS
The requirement is a full English translation plus the translator's certification of competence and of the translation's completeness and accuracy. No notary, no apostille on the translation, and no summaries. Our USCIS guide quotes the regulation itself and works through what an E-2, EB-5 or adjustment-of-status file is built from.
United Kingdom — the Home Office
GOV.UK publishes what a translated document must carry for UKVI purposes: the translator's confirmation that it is a true translation of the original, the date, and the translator's full name and contact details. Read the current page for your own route before you file — requirements change and it is published in one place.
Australia
A separate question, because Australia has its own accreditation body. Whether a NAATI-accredited translator is required depends on where you are applying from; our Australia guide sets out the distinction.
Elsewhere in Europe
Several countries — Germany, Spain, France, Italy among them — require a translator sworn or registered by a local court or authority for official submissions. That register is not open to a translator working from Israel, and we will say so plainly rather than sell you a translation that will be refused.
Which Israeli documents end up in a filing
Immigration files are financial files more often than people expect. Sponsorship, proof of funds, investor capital and maintenance requirements are all answered with the same Israeli paperwork a bank would ask for.
Payslips and Form 106
Income evidence for a sponsor or an applicant. Form 106 answers the year in one page; payslips answer the months.
Bank statements
Proof of funds and of maintenance. Filed in full — an opening balance, a closing balance and a total is a summary, and summaries are the thing most explicitly refused.
Annual balance confirmation
A single bank-issued statement of everything held, which can answer a proof-of-funds requirement more cleanly than months of statements.
Credit data report
Where liabilities or guarantees have to be disclosed.
Tax assessments and financial statements
For self-employed applicants and for investor routes, where declared income and a company's accounts are both in evidence.
National Insurance and pension confirmations
Entitlement and contribution histories, often requested alongside income evidence.
What our certificate carries, and where our responsibility ends
Every delivery comes with a signed certificate of translation accuracy on request: the translator's declaration of competence and of the completeness and accuracy of the translation, his name and signature, the date, and contact details, plus a serial number recorded in our register that ties the certificate to the exact documents it covers. An authority is welcome to contact us to confirm a serial.
Each authority sets its own requirements and they change; confirming what your route requires rests with you or your immigration adviser. We do not advise on immigration requirements, we do not notarize, and we do not issue apostilles — where a notary is required we can refer you to one.
How the work is done
Every total is recomputed against its components. On machine-readable documents, identity and account numbers are additionally read a second time by an independent method, and the two readings must agree. On fixed-layout documents the layout is compared against the original by measurement rather than by eye; on flowing documents the comparison is made page by page. A reviewer who took no part in producing it reads the finished translation before delivery.
Turnaround is quoted per order, before you commit. Recent single-document orders have been delivered within 24 hours; if you are filing against a deadline, tell us the date when you write.
Common questions
Do I need a notarized translation for USCIS?
No. The regulation asks for a full English translation and the translator's certification of competence and accuracy. A notary certifies a signature, not a translation, and adds nothing the regulation asks for. Our USCIS guide quotes the rule in full.
Can I translate my own documents?
Nothing in the US rule bars it. What is true is that the certification is a statement about competence and accuracy made by the person who did the work, so a translation signed by someone with an interest in the outcome invites exactly the question the certification exists to close. An independent translator removes it.
Do the numbers need translating at all?
The figures stay as they are — but everything around them is what makes them readable: column headings, transaction descriptions, dates in an unambiguous order, and the document's own structure. That is the difference between a translated statement and a table of numbers.
We were asked for evidence about a translation. What now?
Send us the request itself — its wording is what has to be matched, and it tells us whether the objection is to completeness, to the certificate, or to both. If the objection is to an error of ours, we correct it and re-issue at no charge. Our USCIS guide goes through the possibilities in detail.
Which countries can you not serve?
Those that require a translator sworn or registered by a local court — Germany, Spain, France and Italy among them — for official submissions. We will tell you before you order, not after.
Filing abroad with Israeli documents?
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