When you apply for an Irish passport, the Passport Service asks for certified translations of any supporting document that is not in English or Irish. In practice that usually means a birth certificate issued abroad, the parents' marriage certificate, or a record showing a change of name. We translate those documents in full, sign a statement of accuracy on each one, and send them back as PDFs you can use with your Passport Online application, with paper copies posted if you need them.
Most of the passport enquiries we get are from parents applying for a baby's or child's first Irish passport, where the child was born outside Ireland or one parent's records come from another country. The names on the translation have to match the passports in the application exactly, so we ask for those spellings before we start rather than guessing from the original script.
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Where passport-related translations are usually submitted
The Government's own passport guidance is short on this point: certified translations are required if documents are not in English or Irish, and the originals are generally needed too. So the translation goes in alongside the foreign document, it does not replace it. Which documents you need depends on how the applicant is Irish and where they were born, and the Passport Service checklist for your application type is the final word on that list.
From the files we see, a first-time application for a child born abroad usually brings the child's full birth certificate, and often the parents' marriage certificate if it was registered in another country. An adult who has become Irish by naturalisation may need a foreign birth certificate again, or a marriage certificate that explains why their current surname differs from the name at birth. Where the link to Ireland runs through a parent who was born abroad, the Foreign Births Register usually comes first, and the same translated records can carry over.
One thing worth knowing early: if you already had documents translated for a citizenship application, check whether those translations show the names exactly as they appear on the passports you are now submitting. Most of the re-translation requests we get come from small spelling differences between an older translation and a newer passport, not from mistakes in the translation itself.
Based on the passport enquiries we receive
The full or long-form version, showing both parents, with every annotation translated.
Where it was registered outside Ireland and is part of the application.
Often needed again for a first passport after naturalisation.
Marriage, divorce or name-change records that explain a different surname.
Only where a page you are asked to provide is not in English.
These are the situations that bring people to us most often. The documents differ in each one, and so does the detail that matters most in the translation.
The child's foreign birth certificate is the core document. The parents named on it have to match the parents named in the application, letter for letter, so we check the spellings against their passports before we deliver.
A marriage certificate from another country often goes in with a child's application. We have translated these from Korean, Portuguese and Spanish for exactly this purpose, keeping the registration numbers and dates in the original order.
Once your certificate of naturalisation arrives, the next step is usually the passport. If your birth certificate was translated for the citizenship file, we can reissue or update it so it lines up with the passport you hold now.
If you married or changed your name in another country, the record that explains the change usually needs translating. We render both names exactly as written, so the link between the old name and the new one is clear on paper.
When Irish citizenship comes through a parent or grandparent born abroad, registration on the Foreign Births Register normally comes before the passport. The birth and marriage records that link the generations are the ones we translate.
Irish families living abroad often apply with documents from the country they live in. We work fully online, so the translation reaches you wherever you are, and posted copies can be sent to an Irish address if someone is handling the paperwork here.
Birth certificates look simple, but the ones that come in for passports vary a lot from country to country. A few examples from requests we have handled this year show where the care goes.
Spanish certificates with a verification code. Many Spanish civil registry extracts now carry a CSV code (código seguro de verificación) that lets anyone check the document online. We translate the code line and the note explaining it, rather than dropping it as "small print", because it is part of what makes the extract official.
Greek certificates issued through gov.gr. Digitally issued documents have no wet stamp. Instead there is an electronic signature block and a validation reference. Our translation describes that block clearly, so a reader in Ireland understands why there is no ink seal.
Two-page Portuguese and Brazilian birth records. The back page often holds notes added later, such as a parent's name being corrected or a marriage being recorded. Parents sometimes send only the front page. We ask for both sides, because those notes can explain a difference between the certificate and a passport.
French, Swiss and Latvian birth certificates. Here the main question is usually format: full copy or extract. For a passport we always suggest the full version showing parents' details, because an extract without them may not show the parent-child link the application depends on.
These five points save most rework
Including the back of the certificate, even if it looks blank or only has stamps.
For the child and both parents, so names are written the same way.
A long-form certificate with parents' details is usually the safer choice.
We post signed copies anywhere in Ireland when a paper set is needed.
The Passport Service decides which documents your application needs.
Each document is translated by a native speaker of the source language. Where a name is written in another script, such as Greek, Cyrillic, Korean or Chinese, we follow the spelling already used in the passports in your application rather than creating a new transliteration. These are the languages that come up most in passport files:
Four steps, all online. Most families send a phone photo or scan, get a price the same hour, and have the signed PDFs within one to two days.
Upload clear photos or scans of every page through our form, WhatsApp or email, and tell us the names as they appear on the passports.
We confirm what each document is, flag anything missing such as a back page, and send an itemised price within about 15 minutes.
A native-speaking, ITIA-affiliated translator translates every line, then a second person checks names, dates and registration numbers against your passports.
You get signed PDFs in 24–48 hours, or the same day when your appointment or travel date is close. Posted copies follow if you asked for them.
Below is an illustrative set for one family applying for a child's first passport: the child's birth certificate and the parents' marriage certificate. The names and numbers are sample data. Notice that the parents' names are written the same way on both documents, matching their passports.
Send us a photo of what you have. We will tell you, before you pay anything, whether it shows what a passport application normally needs.
Every order comes as a complete package, ready to go in with your application.
A complete English version of every page, including stamps, margin notes and verification codes.
A dated statement of accuracy signed by the named translator, with their contact details.
Child and parent names spelled as on their passports, the same way on every document.
Clear, secure PDFs you can attach to a Passport Online application.
Signed paper copies posted anywhere in Ireland when a paper set is needed.
Add Notary Public certification or a DFA apostille if a document is also going abroad.
Most passport documents are one or two pages, so pricing is per document. When a family sends several documents together, such as a birth certificate and a marriage certificate, we quote the set at a reduced per-document rate.
Per Document
24–48 hour delivery
Family Document Set
Reduced per-document rate
Same-Day / Urgent
Per document · 4–6 hours
These are starting prices. The final price depends on the number of documents and pages, the language, and whether you need posted copies, notarisation or an apostille. You see an itemised quotation and approve it before any work starts. The translation fee is separate from the Passport Service's own application fee.
A passport application is often time-sensitive, with a trip booked or a baby who needs to travel. These are the things we put first.
If the Passport Service asks about anything in our translation, we revise and reissue it at no cost.
We ask for the passport spellings before translating, so the child's and parents' names do not need correcting later.
Every translation carries the name of a qualified, ITIA-affiliated translator who can be contacted about it.
Standard delivery is 24–48 hours, with same day available when a trip or appointment is close.
If we translated your documents for citizenship, we can update the same set for the passport instead of starting again.
Birth records are sensitive. Files are kept secure and confidential and handled in line with GDPR.
| Feature | IrelandTranslations.ie | Generic agencies | Freelancers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Names matched to the passports in the application | ✓ | Sometimes | Varies |
| Back pages, margin notes & codes translated | ✓ | Sometimes | Varies |
| Free revision if a document is queried | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Reduced rate for a family set + itemised quote | ✓ | ✗ | Varies |
| Same day, urgent & priority delivery | ✓ | Sometimes | Depends |
Reviews from people who used our certified translations for Irish applications, from citizenship and immigration files to passports.
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"My Indian medical degree translated and certified for Medical Council registration. Knew exactly what the Council's format requires. Got it in 36 hours. Now working in the HSE."
"Translated and apostilled for Brazil — birth certs, marriage cert, everything. They handled the whole DFA apostille chain. We didn't have to do a single extra step. Worth every cent."
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"I needed a Ukrainian birth certificate translated for my Temporary Protection application. Same-day certified and ready to submit. The team were incredibly kind throughout."
If the passport follows a naturalisation decision, our citizenship and naturalisation document translation page explains how we prepare a full set for ISD. For a single foreign birth record, see our certified birth certificate translation, and for a wedding registered abroad, our marriage certificate translation service.
Need your existing foreign passport put into English for a bank, employer or the NDLS? That is a different service: translating a foreign passport into English. If a document is also going abroad, we can arrange apostille and DFA legalisation, and when time is short there is our same-day certified translation.
For civil records issued in French, Spanish or Greek, our language pages explain the formats we see most often: French to English certified translation, Spanish certificates translated into English and Greek to English translation for Irish applications.
Send us a photo of each document and the names as they appear on the passports. We will tell you what needs translating, give you a fixed price, and deliver signed certified translations within 24–48 hours, or the same day if your travel date is close.
Prefer to ask first? Message a translator on WhatsApp and describe your situation. There is no charge for checking which documents you have.