Greece’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs launched a new online translation service on 1 September that promises to be a simpler, faster system than the bureaucratic system of the past.

The online service which is available to individuals as well as businesses that require an officials translation. According to the new system an applicant can select a translator who is on Register of Certified Translators of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In announcing the new service, the ministry said in a statement that:
“The new translation system eliminates the decades-old bureaucratic process and replaces it with a new digital simplified system.

“This process is part of the administrative reform actions of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and is an implementation of the modernization of its organizational structure (Law 4781/2021).

“Specifically, two new services are now provided through the Single Digital Portal gov.gr:
a. the search for a certified translator (for citizens and businesses); and
b. the registration of translation data (for certified translators).

“Citizens and public services will now be able to choose the translator of their choice from the Electronic Register of Certified Translators and will deal directly with it,” the ministry said in its statement.

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According to the new translation website, a certified translator could officially translate a range of documents “from a foreign language into Greek and vice versa and provide their services as freelancers.”

The range of documents that can be translated includes:
♦ Public and private documents submitted by individuals or public agencies;
♦ Foreign public documents, as defined by the Hague Convention, provide that they bear the stamp of the Hague Convention (Apostille) when they originate from a country that is party to such Convention; or
♦ In any other cases, the document must be validated by the Greek Consular authority in the country of origin or by such country’s Consular authority in Greece and by the Validation Office (KEPPAE) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Only the relevant Greek Consular authority may validate documents originating from countries for which Greece has made a reservation about their accession to the Hague Convention and for as long as such reservation remains valid.

The ministry added that private documents could be officially translated if they were validated or certified.

It said that certified translators could also translate “non-validated, non-certified, unsigned and computer-generated private documents, whose translation shall not be official”.

♦ For more information visit the Register of Certified Translators of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs website.