Nauru citizenship documents: translations and certified copies
Distinguish English translations, certified copies and evidence supporting the certifier. The citizenship regulations set separate requirements for each.
The alternative supporting routes must meet regulation 10(5). Confirm the particular document requirements with the agent.
For Nauru’s Economic and Climate Resilience Citizenship Program, English translation and copy certification are separate tasks. The regulations require English application forms and supporting documents; a supporting document originally in another language must have an authenticated translation. A copy also needs an eligible certifier and the prescribed evidence supporting that certification.[1]
Translating a document does not certify its copy. Equally, a certification stamp does not establish that the translator meets the relevant definition.
Check the translator’s qualifications
The regulations define an authenticated translation as one made by a professional translator officially accredited to a court, government agency, international organisation or similar official institution. In a country without officially accredited translators, a company whose business is professional translation can provide it.[1]
Before commissioning work, give the licensed agent the issuing country, original language and proposed translator’s credentials. Confirm what evidence of those credentials should accompany the file.
Keep a consistent record of names, birthplaces and institutional names across translations. Where original documents differ, preserve and explain the discrepancy instead of changing the source material to make it appear consistent.
Identify who can certify the copy
A certified copy is a copy that a notary public, legal practitioner or commissioner of oaths certifies as a true copy of the original. Regulation 10 permits original documentation or certified copies as required and adds conditions supporting the certification.[1]
First establish whether a particular item needs an original or accepts a copy. A working checklist can separate the original, copy, English translation and supporting certification documents, showing which items are complete.
If one birth certificate supports several family members’ applications, confirm the required copies and their links to each applicant. Reusing an incomplete scan does not resolve the underlying document requirements.
What must accompany a certified copy?
Under regulation 10(5), certification by an eligible professional must either be authenticated by an appropriate judicial, statutory, government or other authority, or be accompanied by evidence of that professional’s current valid licence or registration issued by an appropriate government authority.[1]
The regulation permits either route. Ask the agent which evidence meets the Program Office’s requirements for the particular issuing country and certifier.
Translation, confirming that a copy matches its original, and supporting the certifier’s standing each serve a different purpose. Assess any stamp or certificate by what it actually establishes.
Use the current forms and a complete submission
Applications go through a licensed agent. The regulations and official application process distinguish document preparation, submission and subsequent assessment. The Program Office can require additional documents or information.[1][2]
Obtain the current forms and final checklist before signing. Check versions, signatures, dates, translations and supporting certifications together. Complete paperwork provides a basis for processing; it does not mean that due diligence has been passed or citizenship approved.
Official sources
General policy information; individual circumstances and the competent authority’s requirements govern each application.