Updated
GL-B-08
Glossary · Documents and legalization
Birth / Marriage certificates - Birth / Marriage certificate
01 / In 30 seconds
The short answer
- 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
02 / In plain words
What Birth / Marriage certificates means
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.
A case from practice
In a family set, the wife’s surname differed between her birth certificate and her passport — a marriage and a change of surname lay between them. The marriage certificate completed the chain. Had this been discovered at filing rather than at the start, the timeline would have shifted by months.
Where these documents are needed
- An application for citizenship or a residence permit
- Including a spouse and children in the application
- Repatriation by ancestry
- Registering a marriage abroad
- Estate administration
- Schools and medical procedures for children
03 / What it covers
What the set includes
Identity
- Birth certificate
- Change of first name or surname
- Passports
Family
- Marriage certificate
- Divorce certificate
- Documents for children
Form
- A fresh reissued duplicate
- Legibility and integrity
- Compliance with requirements
Processing
- Apostille
- Sworn translation
- Consistent spelling of names
04 / How it works
How the set is collected
Request fresh duplicates
Check the spelling of names
Add the apostille
Sworn translation
Submitting the documents
05 / Key facts
What you need to know
01
Fresh reissued certificates are often required
02
The spelling of names must match in all documents
03
A change of surname is confirmed by a separate document
04
Each document needs an apostille and a translation
05
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
06 / Expert advice
How to prepare in advance
Collection starts with requesting fresh reissued certificates — this is the longest stage, especially if the documents are in another country’s archives. In parallel, all spellings of names across all documents are written out and brought into line with the passport. Discrepancies are resolved at the start, not a week before filing.
What we do for you. 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.
Anna KovalevskayaLead lawyer for EU citizenship and residency, 12 years of practice
07 / Questions
Frequently asked questions
Birth, marriage, divorce and change of name — depending on your situation and the family members in the application.
Not always. Fresh reissued documents in the current format are often required: old forms may not be accepted for legalisation.
Discrepancies between a certificate, a passport and a translation raise questions about identification and require additional confirmation.
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.
From several weeks to several months, especially if the documents are held in another country’s archives. This is started first.
As a rule, yes — every document in the set, followed by a sworn translation under the rules of the receiving country.
INITIAL ASSESSMENT
Tell us what outcome your family needs
We will design a solution for your case, choose the country and the right status, and take the whole process through to the result.
