ISD wants a professional translation and a copy of the original for every document not in English or Irish. Here is how translations fit alongside certified copies, when an EU form lets you skip them, and how to avoid a returned file.
A naturalisation application is, above all, a paperwork exercise. ISD's own guide warns that missing or uncertified documents are among the main reasons applications are returned, and the €175 application fee is not refunded if an application is refused. Translations are a small part of the file, but they sit next to the most important document in it: your birth certificate. Getting them right, and understanding how they differ from certified copies, saves weeks.
ISD's How to Become an Irish Citizen guide has a short section headed "Language and Translation":
The guide then says you must upload "A certified translation, and A copy of the original document", and that all translations must be "Carried out by a professional translation service" and "Accompanied by the translator's contact details and signature". Citizens Information gives the same advice in plain terms: documents in a language other than English must be "translated by a professional translating service" (Citizens Information).
ISD's separate page on certifying documents for citizenship adds the familiar wording: the translator should write "Certified to be true copy/translation of the original seen by me", sign and date it, print their name, and add their occupation, address and telephone number (ISD, Certifying a document).
This is where most confusion starts. A naturalisation file usually needs both, and they come from different people.
ISD explains that "Some documents must be certified as true copies. This means a professional person such as a solicitor, Peace Commissioner, Commissioner for Oaths, or Notary Public confirms that the photocopy is a true likeness of the original." It also says photocopies must be certified in person, "not by post, email, or scanned signature", and warns against using someone who is not authorised, giving a friend, an employer or a member of An Garda Síochána as examples. The certifier completes a certification form, signs and dates the copy, and signs and dates the form.
ISD also says you must only send certified copies of your documents, unless it specifically asks for the original. That is why the translation is paired with a copy rather than the original certificate: the caseworker compares the certified copy with the certified translation side by side.
A certified translation comes from a professional translator or translation company. A solicitor cannot certify a translation into existence, and a translator cannot certify a photocopy of your passport. In practice, for a foreign-language birth certificate you will have:
ISD's guide says all applicants must upload a certified copy of their birth certificate. It is the document most often in another language. Depending on your route, you may also need:
Residence proofs are scored on a points system, 150 points for identity and 150 points for each year of residence, and are usually Irish documents such as employment detail summaries and Department of Social Protection statements, so they rarely need translating.
If your birth or marriage certificate was issued in an EU country, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway or Switzerland, ISD's guide gives you two shortcuts. Official papers such as birth, marriage, death or divorce certificates from these countries "are automatically accepted as genuine", with no legal stamps needed. And:
You request the MSF from the government office that issues the certificate. If you do not provide one, ISD says you must get the document "officially translated into English or Irish". Citizens Information adds that an EU passport does not need to be certified in Ireland. The multilingual standard forms guide explains which certificates the forms cover.
For a Polish, Romanian, Lithuanian or Latvian applicant, asking the civil registry at home for a multilingual form can remove the translation step entirely. For a Brazilian, Ukrainian, Chinese or Pakistani applicant, it cannot: the multilingual forms only exist for EU public documents, so a certified translation is needed.
The naturalisation application fee is €175. If approved, the certification fee is €950 for a standard adult, €200 for a minor or a widow, widower or surviving civil partner of an Irish citizen, and nothing for refugees and stateless persons.
The standard residence requirement is five years of reckonable residence in the last nine years.
Since 20 April 2023, applicants no longer send their original passports unless ISD asks.
A member of An Garda Síochána is not an authorised certifier of copies for citizenship applications.
If ISD asks for more documents, you have 28 days to upload them. Miss the deadline and the application is refused without a refund of the €175 fee.
Our translations for citizenship carry a signed Certificate of Accuracy with wording that mirrors ISD ("Certified to be a true translation of the original"), the date, the translator's name and signature, our company address, phone and email, a company stamp and a reference number. You receive a PDF by email, ready to upload to the Online Form Portal, and can add a hard copy by tracked post at checkout. The price is €29.95 per page (300 words) in any language, and most birth and marriage certificates are one page, returned within 24 hours.
Start with the birth certificate translation page, check your language, or start an order.
Checked 25 September 2026. Rules change, so confirm with the receiving body before you apply.
Upload your document for an instant per-page price. Free digital delivery, most orders returned within 24 hours.
