Birth / Marriagecertificates
Birth / Marriage certificate
- What it is
- Certificates of birth, marriage, divorce, change of name, death
- Why they are needed
- They confirm identity, kinship and family composition in any application
- What is usually requested
- Fresh reissued certificates, not documents from 30 years ago
- What is critical
- A consistent spelling of names across all documents in the set
- Next
- An apostille and a sworn translation under the rules of the receiving country
In plain words
Certificates of birth, marriage, divorce and change of name are civil status documents, the foundation of any immigration application. They are what confirm who you are, who your children and spouse are, and on what basis family members are included in the application.
A practical point: often what is required is not the certificates you have at home from Soviet times or the 1990s but fresh reissued documents in the current format. Old forms may not be accepted for legalisation or may raise questions of legibility. That is why the first step is usually to request reissued certificates.
The second critical point is the spelling of names. First names and surnames must match in the certificate, the passport and the translations. Discrepancies arise easily: transliteration rules have changed, a surname changed on marriage, an old document contains a typo. Each such discrepancy will have to be explained and sometimes corrected through a separate procedure — and it is better to discover this at the start of collecting documents than at filing.
Where these documents are needed
What the set includes
- Birth certificate
- Change of first name or surname
- Passports
- Marriage certificate
- Divorce certificate
- Documents for children
- A fresh reissued duplicate
- Legibility and integrity
- Compliance with requirements
- Apostille
- Sworn translation
- Consistent spelling of names
How the set is collected
- 01Request fresh duplicates
- 02Check the spelling of names
- 03Add the apostille
- 04Sworn translation
- 05Submitting the documents
What you need to know
- Fresh reissued certificates are often required
- The spelling of names must match in all documents
- A change of surname is confirmed by a separate document
- Each document needs an apostille and a translation
- Recovering documents from archives takes time
Common mistakes
- Filing old certificates without checking the requirements
- Ignoring inconsistencies in the spelling of a name
- Forgetting the document on the change of surname on marriage
- Starting to collect too late — archives work slowly
- Not apostilling every document in the set
What this means for a BRIDGES client
We start work with a review of the family’s documents: what there is, what needs to be requested again, where names differ. It is the most underestimated stage — and it is the one that most often determines whether you meet your timeline or not.
Frequently asked questions
01 /Which certificates are usually needed?
Birth, marriage, divorce and change of name — depending on your situation and the family members in the application.
02 /Will old certificates do?
Not always. Fresh reissued documents in the current format are often required: old forms may not be accepted for legalisation.
03 /Why does the spelling of a name matter?
Discrepancies between a certificate, a passport and a translation raise questions about identification and require additional confirmation.
04 /What should be done about inconsistencies?
Bring the documents to a single spelling according to the passport, and confirm the differences with documents — for example, a marriage or change of name certificate.
05 /How long does obtaining duplicates take?
From several weeks to several months, especially if the documents are held in another country’s archives. This is started first.
06 /Does every document need an apostille?
As a rule, yes — every document in the set, followed by a sworn translation under the rules of the receiving country.
See also
Read next
This material has undergone editorial review by BRIDGES.
Collecting documents for your family?
We will review the set and draw up a collection plan — taking account of archive and legalisation timelines.