Certified translation › German citizenship
Naturalisation document translation for German citizenship.
Naturalisation document translation for German citizenship (§10 StAG) is £45 per certificate, produced by a sworn, court-authorised German translator. Your local naturalisation authority (Einbürgerungsbehörde) wants birth, marriage and identity records as certified German translations, with names identical across the whole file. This guide lists exactly which documents to submit. Fixed price includes certification and shipping.
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§10 StAG · certified translations for the naturalisation office · court-authorised translators · DIN EN ISO 17100
Citizenship Documents translation
Which foreign-language papers need a certified German translation under § 10 StAG.
For an application under Section 10 of the Nationality Act (StAG), every foreign-language document you file must come with a certified German translation — typically your birth certificate, and, depending on your situation, your marriage or divorce certificate, foreign police record, and qualification certificates. The naturalisation office (Einbürgerungsbehörde) relies on the German version, so it has to be produced by a court-authorised translator with a certification note.
Since the 2024 reform of the StAG you can be naturalised after five years of lawful residence (three with an exceptional level of integration and C1 German), with B1 German, a passed naturalisation test and the ability to support yourself and your dependants. The translations do not change those requirements — they simply make your foreign documents usable. This guide lists exactly what to translate and how.
Step by step
The § 10 StAG conditions the naturalisation office checks after the 2024 reform.
These are the entitlement conditions under Section 10 StAG, in the form the naturalisation office checks them. Each foreign document that proves one of them needs a certified translation.
Residence: five years lawful, three with C1 German
Five years of lawful, habitual residence in Germany — reduced to three for an exceptional level of integration with C1 German. Proven by your residence permit and registration record.
Language: German at CEFR level B1
A sufficient command of German at CEFR level B1. A foreign language certificate or school report is filed with a certified translation.
The Life in Germany test: 33 questions, 17 correct
The "Life in Germany" test — 33 questions, 60 minutes, at least 17 correct. School certificates can substitute; foreign ones are translated.
Secure livelihood, without SGB II/XII benefits
You can support yourself and your family without benefits under SGB II/XII. Foreign income or pension documents are translated where required.
Do children and spouses need their own documents?
Yes. Family members included in your application (co-naturalisation of a spouse or minor children) each need their own certified documents — usually a birth certificate, and for a spouse the marriage certificate. We handle a family set together so names and dates stay consistent across every document.
Where UK-born applicants get their documents
The naturalisation office wants originals from the register that actually recorded the event: the GRO for a birth or marriage in England & Wales, National Records of Scotland for Scotland, or GRO Northern Ireland for Belfast — never a single UK-wide office. A UK police clearance record for the file comes from the ACRO Criminal Records Office (England, Wales, Northern Ireland) or Disclosure Scotland.
Documents we translate into German
What the naturalisation office asks for: birth record, police certificate, diplomas, income.
Your naturalisation office issues the definitive list, but this is the set applicants are asked for most often. Each foreign-language item needs a certified German translation; each is linked to the page that handles it.
| Document | Why the office needs it | Handled by |
|---|---|---|
| Birth certificate | Identity, parentage, correct name and date of birth | Birth certificate guide · certified translation |
| Marriage / divorce certificate | Civil status, name history, co-naturalisation of a spouse | Certified translation |
| Foreign police clearance certificate | Proof of no relevant criminal record | Certified translation |
| Diplomas, school & vocational certificates | May substitute the language or naturalisation test; integration | Certified translation · academic |
| Income, pension & employment records | Secure livelihood without state benefits | Legal & business |
| Passport & residence-status pages | Identity and lawful residence period | Certified translation |
Certified German translation
Authenticating civil-status documents: apostille, EU 2016/1191 form, or legalisation.
Often, yes. Naturalisation offices frequently ask for civil-status documents (birth, marriage) to be authenticated, so their genuineness is beyond doubt. Where the issuing country is party to the Hague Convention, that is done with an apostille — issued only by the competent authority in that country, not by a translation agency. termbase does not issue apostilles; we translate the document and the apostille once you have it.
If your documents are from another EU member state, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 removes the apostille for many public documents and provides multilingual standard forms that can spare a translation. For documents from outside the Hague system, legalisation via the German mission may apply. Because practice varies between offices, confirm the required route with your naturalisation authority before ordering.
UK naturalisation documents: the apostille is new since Brexit
Before 1 January 2021, a UK birth or marriage certificate could reach a German naturalisation office without an apostille under the old EU exemption. That exemption ended with Brexit — your GRO, National Records of Scotland or GRO Northern Ireland certificate, and your ACRO police certificate, now need an apostille from the FCDO Legalisation Office first, standard service around 25 working days. termbase issues no apostilles but tells you which UK route applies before you order.
United Kingdom
Where a UK-born applicant's naturalisation documents actually come from.
The naturalisation office wants originals from the register that recorded the event, and the UK has three: the General Register Office (GRO) for England and Wales, National Records of Scotland, and GRO Northern Ireland. Order from the register of the place of birth or marriage, not from wherever you live now. gov.uk gives the England-and-Wales certificate as “£12.50”, “sent 4 days after you apply”, or “£38.50” on the priority service.
For the police record in the file, gov.uk points you to the ACRO Criminal Records Office and notes that Scotland and Northern Ireland run different processes — so confirm with your Einbürgerungsbehörde which UK nations it needs covered before you apply.
Since Brexit, Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 — which lets civil-status documents move between EU member states without an apostille — no longer covers UK documents for Germany or Austria. For Switzerland this is not a Brexit change at all: Switzerland was never inside that EU exemption. Where the receiving office does want the original authenticated, the UK body that issues the apostille is the FCDO Legalisation Office. gov.uk gives the standard service as “£45, plus courier or postage costs” and “usually up to 25 working days, plus courier or postage time”. termbase issues no apostilles — we tell you whether you need one and translate the document and the apostille together once you have both.
Languages we translate into and from German
Arabic, Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian — and the court-authorised translators assigned.
Germany naturalised record numbers of people in recent years, and the documents reflect where new citizens come from. termbase assigns a native-speaker, court-authorised translator for each of these.
Largest groups: Arabic, Turkish, Ukrainian, Russian
- Arabic (Syria, Iraq)
- Turkish
- Ukrainian
- Russian
Middle East and Asia: Persian, Kurdish, Hindi, Vietnamese
- Persian / Dari
- Kurdish
- Hindi
- Vietnamese
Europe and the Balkans: Polish, Romanian, Serbian, Bulgarian
- Polish
- Romanian
- Serbian
- Bulgarian
Africa: Somali, Amharic, Tigrinya — plus English
- Somali
- Amharic
- Tigrinya
- Certified German ⇄ English translation
Common pitfalls
Five inconsistencies that send a citizenship file back to the applicant.
Naturalisation is document-heavy and offices are strict on consistency. These are the recurring translation issues that send a file back — and how a certified, court-authorised translation prevents them.
| Pitfall | Why it goes wrong | How termbase solves it |
|---|---|---|
| Name inconsistent across documents | The birth, marriage and police certificates transliterate the same name three different ways; the office cannot tie them together. | We translate a family set as one project and fix a single passport-matched spelling used on every document. |
| Transliteration not matching the passport | A name from Arabic, Cyrillic or another script is rendered by sound, diverging from the ID and triggering a query. | Names are transliterated by the rules and matched exactly to your passport, character for character. |
| Document authenticated, but not translated | The apostille or foreign stamp is present but left in the original language, so the office cannot read it. | Apostilles, stamps and marginal notes are translated too, so the whole document is usable. |
| Certificate certified abroad, not in Germany | A translation stamped in the home country is filed; the German office requires a translator authorised in Germany. | Certification is by a translator authorised by a German court under Section 142 (3) ZPO — recognised nationwide. |
| Outdated civil-status extract | An old birth or marriage extract predates a name change or correction, so it conflicts with newer records. | We advise which current extract to obtain and translate it, keeping dates and names consistent with your file. |
| UK document submitted without its FCDO apostille | A UK applicant assumes the pre-2021 exemption still applies and files a GRO or ACRO certificate without the now-mandatory apostille. | We flag the FCDO Legalisation Office step for every UK civil-status or police document before translation. |
One spelling, running cleanly through the whole file
Naturalisation offices reward consistency. When one spelling of your name runs cleanly through every certified document, and each foreign stamp is legible in German, the file moves. Scattered spellings and untranslated seals are what create the back-and-forth.
Citizenship files are won on consistency, not on paperwork volume.
So: one passport-matched spelling of your name, on every certified document in the file.
What a German translation costs
What a whole citizenship package costs: one binding fixed price.
We review your document set, the languages and the field and name a binding fixed price for the whole naturalisation package. Personal certificates are usually a flat fee per document; longer texts are per standard line — certification, an advance PDF and postal delivery included.
| Certified translation by a court-authorised translator | ✓included |
| Certification note, stamp and signature (recognised nationwide) | ✓included |
| Passport-matched spelling of names | ✓included |
| Advance PDF & postal delivery of the hard copy | ✓included |
| Quality management & final check | ✓included |
Standard civil-status certificates are usually a flat fee per document; longer documents are priced per standard line (55 characters incl. spaces), from £0.75. We name the exact amount after a brief review. How the price is made up →
Sources & legal basis
Sources: the Nationality Act (StAG) Section 10, BAMF, Section 142 (3) ZPO, EU 2016/1191.
Every legal and procedural claim on this page is tied to a primary, verifiable source — German law in its official English translation, the responsible federal authorities and the relevant EU/Hague instruments. Acceptance of any individual document is always decided by the receiving authority.
FAQ
What applicants ask the naturalisation office — and ask us.
Which documents do I need to translate for German naturalisation?
What are the requirements for German citizenship since the 2024 reform?
Does my foreign birth certificate need an apostille for naturalisation?
Can a translation certified by a translator in my home country be used?
How do you keep names consistent across all my documents?
I was born in the UK — which register issues my birth certificate for the naturalisation file?
Does my UK document need an FCDO apostille for the naturalisation file?
How much does translating a naturalisation document set cost?
The German certificate of conduct only shows what happened in Germany, so my Pakistani one was asked for as well. termbase translated both, plus the birth and marriage certificates, in one order and to one deadline. Nothing came back for a correction.
Zainab Malik · pharmacist, Islamabad (Pakistan) · naturalisation file → immigration office
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Next: birth certificate, police clearance and marriage certificate translations.
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