Languages & Language Pairs

No. An Apostille authenticates the signature and seal on the issuing document; it says nothing about language. Apostilled foreign documents still need a Thai translation certified by the Department of Consular Affairs before any Thai authority will accept them. What disappears is the second embassy stamp, saving roughly five to ten working days.

Yes — Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, French, Spanish, Russian, Italian, Arabic, Vietnamese, Burmese, Lao, Khmer, Dutch, the Nordic languages, Polish, Czech, Portuguese, Turkish, Persian, Hindi and more. For rarer languages the safest route is often an embassy-issued English version first, then Thai; we advise which route the receiving authority will accept before quoting.

Yes. The Department of Employment requires degree certificates, transcripts and employment references in Thai or English with certification. Foreign qualifications must clear an Apostille or embassy legalization before translation, so start the paperwork four to six weeks before your intended filing date.

Fixed-format civil records are priced per document. Variable-length material — contracts, judgments, financial statements — is priced per standard page or per word. Rare language pairs carry a premium because the pool of translators whose work the consular office accepts is small.

The existing legalization chain applies: obtain a certified extract from the issuing registrar, translate into English or the destination language, have the translation legalised by the Legalization Division of the Department of Consular Affairs, then present it to the destination country's embassy in Thailand. Several countries — Germany is the common example — still require a second translation by a locally sworn translator, so always confirm with the receiving mission before work starts.

Consular legalization of translations is built around the Thai–English pair; other languages are accepted only within published limits. Where a third language is required, the reliable route is to legalise the English translation in Thailand first, then have a registered translator in the destination country translate onward from the legalised set. Check the accepted list on consular.mfa.go.th on the day you file, as it is revised periodically.

Transliterate using the Royal Institute romanisation and keep the administrative units — Tambon, Amphoe, Changwat — rather than substituting English words that carry a different meaning. If you already use a particular spelling with your bank or a foreign registry, tell us in advance so every document matches. Address inconsistency is the second most common rejection cause after name spelling.

Mainland Chinese public documents need origin-country authentication first. China is now a Hague party, so obtain an Apostille from the provincial Foreign Affairs Office or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then have the document translated into Thai in Thailand and the translation legalised by the Department of Consular Affairs. The most common rejection cause is a pinyin spelling that differs from the passport page, so we always follow the passport and add the Chinese characters in brackets.

Yes — it is the primary evidence of the Japanese party's marital status. In practice the Embassy of Japan in Thailand issues an affirmation of freedom to marry based on the koseki, which is then translated into Thai and legalised at the Department of Consular Affairs. Use an extract issued within the last three months and romanise kanji names exactly as they appear in the passport.

Direct Korean-to-Thai translation is accepted and the Department of Consular Affairs will legalise it. Many applicants nonetheless request the English-language versions Korean registries can issue (basic certificate, family relation certificate) and translate from those, because it removes arguments about romanisation of names and place names. Either route still requires a Korean Apostille before the papers enter Thailand.

It depends on direction of travel. German documents used in Thailand only need a German Apostille plus Thai translation legalised in Bangkok — no sworn German translator is required. Thai documents used in Germany usually do need a court-sworn translator in Germany, or a translation certified by the German Embassy in Bangkok. Ask the German receiving office which form it accepts before ordering the translation.

No. The Apostille is sufficient proof of origin. What remains is the Thai translation and its legalisation at the Department of Consular Affairs. One practical caution: a birth record must be a recently issued copie intégrale, generally not older than three months, and every registration number on the certificate must appear in the Thai translation.

Most Russian civil-status documents can be apostilled in Russia, after which they are translated into Thai and the translation is legalised in Bangkok. The critical detail is transliteration: Cyrillic names must be rendered exactly as in the international passport, not according to an academic transliteration scheme, otherwise the amphur or Immigration will treat the applicant as a different person.

Several Arab states are not within an Apostille channel Thailand can use in every case. The reliable route is authentication by the origin-country Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then attestation by the Royal Thai Embassy in that country, then Thai translation and consular legalisation in Bangkok. Islamic family documents such as a marriage contract must be translated in full, including guardian and witness details, because the amphur checks those elements.

Northern European civil registry extracts have very short validity — often three months, sometimes as little as six weeks. Build the three to five working days needed for translation and consular legalisation into that window. Many of these extracts are issued bilingually with English, and where a bilingual version exists we translate from it to reduce name discrepancies.

Turkish is straightforward: Turkey issues Apostilles and direct Turkish-to-Thai translation is accepted. Persian is a genuinely rare pair in the Thai legalisation system, so the smoothest route is to have the Embassy of Iran in Thailand issue or certify an English version first, then translate English to Thai and legalise. Expect this route to add roughly five to ten working days.

Indian documents require an MEA Apostille, frequently preceded by state-level SDM attestation. Philippine documents must be PSA-issued (formerly NSO) and apostilled by the DFA. Most documents from both countries are already in English, so only an English-to-Thai translation and consular legalisation are needed; only genuinely Hindi or Tagalog text is translated from the source language.

Pricing reflects how rare the language pair is and how dense the text is. English is the lowest baseline because supply is deep. Chinese, Japanese, Korean, German, French and Russian sit in the middle. Rare pairs such as Persian, Hebrew, Hungarian or the Baltic languages cost more and take longer because qualified translators are few and their queues are limited. You receive a written quote before any work begins.

Consular legalisation is built around the Thai–English pair. For a third-language source, the accepted approach is a translation into Thai (or English) signed and certified by the responsible translator, which is then submitted for legalisation. If the officer wants more assurance, the origin country's embassy in Thailand may be asked to certify the accuracy of the translation as an extra layer first.

Yes, and it is often required, because the registrar or land official must be satisfied that the foreign party understands what they are signing. The interpreter presents a passport or Thai ID and signs the record of statements. We cover the main languages — English, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, German and French — and ask for two to three working days' notice.

Fixed-format civil registry documents such as birth certificates, house registrations and name-change records are usually quoted per page, while contracts, pleadings and financial statements are quoted per word or per working hour because length varies. Price drivers are the language pair, urgency, the number of certification stamps required and layout work to mirror the original. Watch for quotes that omit government legalization fees and courier costs. We quote the file as a package with the stamp count shown, so the full route cost is visible before work starts.

Follow the official language of the receiving authority. Registrars and courts in Germany, Spain or Japan require their own language and frequently require a translator appointed in that country. For international banks and private counterparties English is usually sufficient. Avoid relaying a third language through an English version — proper names and official titles drift. Always translate from the Thai original.

Include a governing language clause stating which version prevails if the two texts conflict, and align it with the governing law and forum clauses. Contracts filed with Thai authorities such as the Land Department or DBD generally need a Thai version that prevails. Before signing, have the translation team prepare a clause-by-clause comparison table and a shared glossary so the same terms are used across the contract and every annex.

Yes — direction and certifier differ. Immigration filings translate foreign documents into Thai, and in many cases the issuing country's embassy in Thailand must legalize the document first, after which the MFA certifies the Thai translation. Outbound work runs the other way, from Thai into the destination language. Keep the Thai spelling of personal names identical to the spelling used in other Thai records such as a marriage registration or work permit, or the file will read as a different person.