On 1 July 2026, UKVI stopped issuing visa stickers to successful new applicants. Permission to be in the UK now lives in an eVisa, and a passport is back to its basic job: proving who you are and which country you belong to. That is also why a passport rarely needs translating for UK use.
The exceptions are real. A name change written in an endorsement, a child listed in a parent's passport, a national ID card used instead of a passport, an internal passport recording a marriage: each can decide an application, and each may be in a language the caseworker does not read.
This guide covers when a passport needs translating, which pages, national ID cards and internal passports, name spellings, and the difference between a translation and a certified copy.
Does a passport need to be translated for UK use?
Rarely. Passports are built to ICAO Doc 9303, the international standard for machine-readable travel documents. Its Part 3 says data page captions may be in the issuing State's language, but where that is not English, French or Spanish, the caption "shall be followed by an oblique character (/)" and its equivalent in one of those three. Names in a non-Latin script must also be given in Latin characters, and the machine-readable zone at the bottom uses Latin letters only.
The Home Office reads passports by machine. Its ID Check app scans the chip, and immigration status is held in an eVisa. GOV.UK's visitor guidance does say "You must provide certified translations of any documents that are not in English or Welsh", but the parts of a passport that are not in English are the ones that may need it:
- Fields written only in the national language, such as place of birth or issuing authority, when an office relies on them.
- Captions whose second language is French or Spanish, if the reader needs English.
- Endorsements, amendments and observations, often handwritten or stamped in the national language.
- Stamps in non-Latin scripts or with non-Gregorian dates.
Which passport pages need translating, and when?
| Page | Translate it when | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Data page | An office relies on a field written only in another language, or asks for a translation | A bank, or an authority abroad |
| Endorsements, amendments, observations | It records another name, a name change or a condition you rely on | Evidence of name for Form AN or HM Passport Office |
| Children listed in a parent's passport | It is evidence for the child | HM Passport Office asks for "the foreign passport you're included on" |
| Entry and exit stamps | A stamp you rely on is in another script or calendar | Showing presence on the first day of a citizenship qualifying period |
| Visas and residence permits from other countries | They prove where you lived and when | Residence history questions |
| Blank pages | Never; the translation lists them as blank | – |
Stamps rarely need a full translation. Guide AN asks for your passports as evidence of residence, but says the Home Office will "check Home Office records for entry to and exit from the UK". If your passport was not stamped, you must still send it, with other evidence of presence. See British citizenship documents.
HM Passport Office is where foreign passports matter most. If you have naturalised, a first British passport application needs your certificate plus "the passport you used to come into the UK or the foreign passport you're included on". Its paper-application guidance adds that any document in another language needs "an official translation", "signed and stamped by a translator who is a member of a recognised professional organisation". For a paper application under that guidance, use a translator who can show that membership.
Do you need to translate a national ID card or internal passport?
Sometimes, depending on who reads it.
EU, EEA and Swiss identity cards. The EU Settlement Scheme accepts "a valid passport or valid national identity card" as proof of identity, and its app reads biometric cards. Entry to the UK on an ID card is limited to people with an EU Settlement Scheme application or status and a few related cases.
Ukraine. Ukraine issues its citizen's passport as a plastic ID card from age 14; the older booklet passport "is colloquially known as an 'internal passport'" and is still widely used as national ID. The Home Office's Ukraine Permission Extension guidance asks for "a valid international passport", but at an appointment accepts alternatives, including "a valid or recently expired Ukrainian national identity card (Passport card)". Where documents are not in English, it wants "a full dated and signed translation in English that can be verified". See Ukraine schemes documents.
Russia. Citizens receive an internal passport at 14, replaced at 20 and 45. According to the US State Department, it shows "where the bearer is legally registered, any marriages or divorces, any children under age 14", military service and any travel passports issued. Those pages make it evidence of marital status, children and address history, not just identity.
China. The Resident Identity Card shows name, sex, ethnicity, date of birth, address and ID number on one side, and the issuing authority and validity period on the other. The household register (hukou) booklet is required when applying for the ID card or a notarial birth certificate.
For a card, translate both sides. For a booklet, translate every page with an entry, including registration stamps, and state which pages are blank.
Which spelling of your name should a translation use?
The spelling on your passport's data page. ICAO Doc 9303 leaves it to the issuing State to decide which part of a name is the surname ("primary identifier") and requires a Latin transliteration of non-Latin names. In the machine-readable zone, names may be shortened to fit, so follow the full name printed above it, not the coded line.
UK offices hold you to that spelling. Form AN warns that a British passport "will not be issued in a different name from the one in a person's foreign passport", and HM Passport Office tells dual citizens: "the name and gender on your non-British passport must match the name and gender you want on your British passport. If they're different, change the details on your non-British passport before you apply for a new British passport." A translation cannot fix a mismatch between your own passports.
Translation or certified copy: what are you being asked for?
Many requests that say "certified" mean a certified copy. GOV.UK's Certifying a document page explains it: a professional person or someone "of good standing", such as a bank official, councillor, minister of religion, dentist, chartered accountant, solicitor or notary, or teacher, writes "Certified to be a true copy of the original seen by me" on a photocopy, signs and dates it, and adds their name, occupation, address and telephone number. They should not be related to you, live at your address or be in a relationship with you.
A certified translation is different: the translator confirms on the translation that it is a "true and accurate translation of the original document", with the date and their full name and contact details. Some offices want both, and some want neither. HM Passport Office wants original documents: "Photocopies are not accepted, even 'certified copies'."
For use abroad, the FCDO Legalisation Office can apostille "copies of documents such as a passport or a driving licence" once a UK solicitor or notary has certified them; you arrange that separately. If the foreign authority also wants your documents in its language, Official Translations can supply a translation that is notarised and apostilled, with the apostille attached to our translation, not to your original; see apostille services.
Do employers, landlords and banks need a translated passport?
Usually not. Right to work checks use documents from the Home Office's lists or an online check with a share code. List A includes British and Irish passports, plus UK birth certificates and certificates of naturalisation, each with an official record of the National Insurance number. Other workers mostly prove their status with a share code. The employer's guide, updated on 1 October 2026, makes no provision for translations. See right to work checks.
Right to rent checks apply in England only and work the same way. The landlord's guide, also updated on 1 October 2026, notes that "From 1 July 2026, visa vignettes are no longer issued as evidence of immigration permission." See right to rent checks.
Banks set their own identity rules, so ask which document and pages they want, and whether they want a translation, a certified copy or both. See opening a UK bank account with foreign ID.
Why passport and ID translations get returned
- The wrong pages. The data page translated when the office needed the endorsement page, or blank pages translated at full price.
- A spelling that differs from the data page, or a shortened name copied from the machine-readable zone.
- Ambiguous dates. 05/03 means different days in different countries; write the month in words.
- Stamps summarised as "various stamps" instead of listed one by one.
- A translation sent where a certified copy was asked for, or the reverse.
- An internal passport translated at the photo page only, leaving out the registration or marriage pages.
- A foreign passport still in an old name when applying for a British passport.
Checklist: before you order a passport or ID translation
Questions people ask
Do I need to translate my passport for a UK visa application?
Usually not. The data page carries captions in English, French or Spanish and names in Latin letters, and the Home Office checks identity by scanning the passport or its chip. Translate a page only when it contains something you rely on that is not in English, such as an endorsement recording a name change.
Which pages of my passport need translating?
Only the pages with relevant entries that are not in English: endorsements, amendments, observations, a child's details, or a stamp or visa you rely on. Blank pages are never translated, and the data page rarely needs it. Ask the receiving office which pages it wants before you order.
Can I use my national ID card instead of a passport?
For the EU Settlement Scheme, yes: EU, EEA and Swiss citizens can prove identity with a valid national identity card. Most other UK applications need a passport, although the Ukraine Permission Extension scheme accepts a Ukrainian ID card at appointments when there is no valid international passport. A card in another language needs both sides translated.
Do expired passports need translating?
Only if you rely on something in them that is not in English. Citizenship applications ask for passports covering your residence period, but the Home Office also checks its own entry and exit records, so a translation of stamps is rarely needed.
What is a certified copy of a passport, and who can make one?
It is a photocopy signed by a professional person or someone of good standing, such as a solicitor, notary, bank official, teacher or chartered accountant, confirming it is a true copy of the original they have seen. They add the date, their name, occupation, address and telephone number. It is not a translation, and the person should not be related to you or live with you.
Will a translation fix a name mismatch between my passports?
No. HM Passport Office requires the name on a dual citizen's foreign passport to match the name wanted on the British passport, and tells applicants to change the foreign passport first. A translation only reproduces what the document says.
How much does a passport or ID card translation cost?
Official Translations charges £29.95 per page, a page being up to 300 words, so an ID card or a single endorsement page is usually one page. Most single-page documents arrive as a signed PDF by email within 24 hours, and a printed hard copy by post costs £14.95 more.
