FAQ: I’m an American living in New York. However, I have an Israeli birth certificate with an apostille which is in dual language English/Hebrew.
I need a court sworn Italian translation of my birth certificate plus apostille.
I would like this to be done within Italy so that it will be accepted by Italian courts for the purposes of obtaining citizenship.
Please advise me on next steps to fulfill this request. Your website directed me to write you an email for instructions. How soon can I receive a translation? What are my options? Cost? etc…
Sworn translation in Rome of an Israeli birth certificate
Answer: Thank you for your enquiry. I need a scanned copy of your certificate to provide you with a quote.
Then, you will need to send me your original certificate via registered mail, and I can send it back to you with the sworn translation attached to it.
I can provide the sworn translation at the Court of Rome in two weeks after receiving the document.
Client: I would like to confirm proceeding with your sworn translation service.
I will have the documents register mailed to your office tomorrow and I will email you a scanned confirmation afterward.
Do you require the payment immediately, or as you suggested, shall I wait until you can confirm with me that you have received the documents?
Also, what’s the process for returning the court sworn translation and original documents back to me?
Translator: Thank you for your confirmation of the sworn translation service.
Yes, please wait until I receive the document.
If nobody can pick up the document here in Rome, and you need me to send you the sworn translation back to the US by registered mail, I will need you to pay for the shipping costs, to be added to the amount of the previous quote.
For any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Client’s reply: Thank you so much Silvia,
I very much have appreciated your assistance and responsive communication working together.
One other thing, once the translation process is completed, there will not be enough time to mail it back to me in New York.
I would like to either pick it up myself when I arrive in Rome or I can send a family member to pick it up before then, if possible? I will need a scanned version of the documents as soon as they are ready as well, so that I can forward them to the Municipal Office to receive a proper appointment.
Translator’s reply: Sure, we can do that.
Once the sworn translation is ready, you can fix an appointment for you or a relative to come and pick it up from my office in Rome.
Issues with the translation of an Israeli birth certificate in Italy
Client: It seems strange to me but the translation of my birth certificate is being interpreted by the Municipality in Italy as having omitted my mother’s surname. This seems to be a formatting issue. I thought it was obvious that SURNAME was referring to both me and my mother. The Municipaliyt does not understand from looking at the translated document that my mother’s last name is also SURNAME.
The Israeli birth certificate is formatted a little differently than the Municipality is used to. Israel puts SURNAME at the top of the document. In Israel, it is understood that SURNAME is referring to the family name for all the “given names” of the people listed below it. However, the specific person at the Municipality I am dealing with is not used to seeing a birth certificate formatted this way. They are telling me that they need to see “SURNAME” listed twice. Once for me and then reiterated again directly above or alongside my mother’s name so they can more confidently understand SURNAME also applies to my mother.
I have offered to provide the Municipality with additional proof of my mother’s surname, but they only want to see it on the birth certificate translations with the formatting I described above. Is there a way to reformat a new translation that fits the preference of the Municipality?
I am trying to evaluate my options. A newly formatted sworn Italian translation would be the simplest solution and the best first option. On the other hand, convincing the Israeli government to accommodate an amendment to my birth certificate with new formatting is going to be a much more difficult prospect if it is even possible.
Translator’s answer about issues with the translation of an Israeli birth certificate into Italian
Thank you for your enquiry. I cannot change the format of the document in my translation, as It would be considered fraud in a sworn declaration, punishable with 5 years of jail.
What I can do, if you want, is to add a translator’s note in square brackets next to your mother’s name, explaining how the Israeli certificate format works and adding that I am sure of your mother’s surname being “SURNAME” by having checked additional proof of identity.
Please ask and let me know if this works for the Municipality.
As another option, you can get the birth certificate translated from Hebrew instead of English, because probably in Hebrew this is clearer, so that Israeli translators can be confident that in Hebrew it is clear enough that the surname refers to the mother as well.
