Philippine documents before the Italian administrations

The Filipino community is among the oldest and most settled of those living in Italy. It is concentrated in Rome, Milan and the port cities, it works in households, in hospitals and in care services, and it keeps a constant traffic of certificates moving between the islands and the Italian counters.

This office produces the sworn translation of English documents issued in the Philippines, sworn before the competent officer and consigned ready to be filed with the Italian office that will handle the procedure.

Covered by the service are the acts of the Philippine administrations and those drawn up in Italy by the representations of the Republic of the Philippines: the statistics authority, the local civil registrars, the courts, the universities, the professional commission, the investigation bureau and the consular offices.

One document sets the rhythm of most Filipino files. It is the certificate printed on the security paper of the national statistics authority, which the Italian offices have learned to recognise and to expect.

The certified translations in Italy that leave this office hold good before any administration of the Republic, throughout the country and without limits of province.

Apostille and certification of the Philippine acts

Public acts issued in the Philippines and intended for use in Italy are certified by the department responsible for foreign affairs, which affixes the apostille to the certificate drawn up on security paper. The stamp confirms the signature and the capacity of the officer who signed, and it takes the place of the older consular route.

The certification is obtained in the Philippines, before the papers leave for Italy, and no Italian office can supply for it. Anyone who arrives with an act that lacks it has to send the document back to the islands, which is the step that lengthens the procedure most: it should therefore be started before the translation, not afterwards.

Each act is certified on its own. A file concerning a whole household, with the certificates of the spouses and of the children, needs one stamp for each document, and the same holds for the acts requested later to complete a procedure already open. The order of the steps is fixed: certification of the Philippine original first, then the sworn translation into Italian attached to the act so certified.

Academic and professional papers follow a slightly longer path, because before reaching the ministry they are authenticated by the institution that issued them or by the commission that supervises the profession. Where the diploma has been reissued or reprinted, the version bearing the seal is the one that travels.

The Philippine documents translated into Italian

The following are the acts most often entrusted to us. The order reflects the frequency of the requests received from those who arrive from the islands.

Birth certificate: the birth certificates issued by the national statistics authority, or by the local civil registrar of the municipality of registration, serve for transcription in the Italian registry office, for residence registration, for marriage and for citizenship applications.
Marriage certificate: marriage certificates allow transcription in the Italian civil status registers, reunification with a spouse and the updating of family records.
Certificate of no impediment to marriage: the certificate stating that no marriage record exists is asked of those who intend to marry in an Italian municipality and must show the registrar that no obstacle stands in the way.
Certificate of family status and residence attestations: they are requested for family reunification, for residence procedures and in citizenship files, and in the Philippine system they are drawn from several separate acts.
Criminal record certificate and pending charges: the clearance issued by the national bureau of investigation, the local police clearance and the attestations on pending charges recur in citizenship applications and in recruitment procedures. Their validity is limited in time.
Passport and identity card: Philippine passports and the national identity card are attached in sworn translation in order to identify the holder of the other acts.
Diploma and educational certificate: diplomas, transcripts of records, certificates of training and the licences of the professional regulation commission, which matter above all to nurses and to health workers, are examined by the Italian universities, by the health authorities and by the professional bodies.
Divorce certificate and divorce decree: decisions on the dissolution or annulment of a marriage, and decrees pronounced abroad and recognised by the Philippine courts, permit the updating of marital status and a new marriage.
Driving licence and vehicle registration document: the licence issued by the land transportation office and the certificate of registration of a vehicle are translated for circulation during the period allowed and for the conversion procedure.
Tax code and equivalent fiscal attestations: the tax identification number and the registrations issued by the revenue authority are produced to open a position with the Italian offices or to sign a contract of employment.
Other identity documents and administrative acts: death certificates, affidavits, powers of attorney, employment certificates, medical reports and declarations of the local authorities accompany inheritance files, residence procedures and applications to the health service.

Documents from the Philippines - Sworn translations

Where the translations of Philippine acts are accepted

A translation sworn by an official translator has full legal validity before the administrations of the Republic, in every province. The folders that leave this office are regularly handed in to:

the prefecture of the province of residence, for citizenship applications and for the procedures of the territorial government offices;
the police headquarters and the immigration offices, for residence permits, renewals and family reunification;
the municipalities, with their registry office and their civil status office, for transcriptions, residence registration and marriage banns;
the Civil Motor Vehicle Office, for the conversion of driving licences issued abroad;
the courts and the offices of the public prosecutor, for civil proceedings, for family cases and for legalisations;
the Italian universities, the schools and the professional bodies, for enrolment and for the recognition of qualifications;
the local health authorities, for registration with the national health service, for welfare files and for the procedures that concern health professions.

The service includes the consular acts, that is the documents issued in Italy by foreign representations. Reports of birth and of marriage, certificates and declarations drawn up in English by the Embassy of the Philippines in Rome and by the Philippine consular offices require the same swearing as the acts arriving from the islands.

Procedures often begin in the Philippines and are completed after arrival in Italy: the sworn folder holds good at both stages, and it does not have to be remade when the receiving office changes.

The same translations keep their validity beyond the national borders, before the Italian embassies and the Italian consulates in the European countries gathered in the menu: Germany, France, Spain, Austria, Switzerland, Czechia, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Sworn translations of English documents in every Italian city

The office works for the whole national territory, and nobody needs to reach a counter: the papers travel electronically and the completed folder is sent to the address indicated when the quotation was requested.

Those who prefer to start from the city where the file will be handed in will find the pages devoted to sworn translations in Rome, to official translations in Milan, to sworn translations in Naples, to certified translations in Florence, to sworn translations in Turin and to official translations in Bologna.

Distance changes nothing in the outcome. A person living in a small municipality of the province receives the same folder as one living in the provincial capital, and the file is addressed to the office that will examine it, named by the applicant when the quotation is asked for. Where a procedure is followed by a relative or by an association on behalf of the person concerned, the correspondence may be conducted in English at every stage.

Acts drawn up in the other English-speaking countries follow the same route: documents from the United Kingdom, documents from the United States, documents from Pakistan, documents from Singapore, documents from Hong Kong and documents from New Zealand.

Quotation and consignment of the folder

The quotation is free of charge and is calculated on the actual text of the acts. It states a final figure, inclusive of duties and revenue stamps, of the sworn statement and of delivery, and it indicates the date of consignment. A scan or a photograph sent by email or by messaging is enough, together with the name of the office of destination.

Those who entrust several certificates at once do well to send them together: the cumulative quotation costs less than a series of separate jobs, the deadlines remain aligned and the wording stays consistent across the folder, which matters when the same names recur in a household file.

Sworn translation and certified translation describe the same procedure before the Italian courts, while legalisation is a further step, provided for only in certain procedures, which takes place at the office of the public prosecutor. The apostille, on the other hand, concerns the document of origin and is affixed in the country that issued it.

Every folder is prepared by an official translator entered on the Register of Experts of the Chamber of Commerce. official translation services in Italy proceed exclusively towards Italian: the opposite direction, from Italian into English, does not form part of the service. Italian-speaking readers will find the same subject at traduzione documenti da Filippine.