Danish translator in Tbilisi

Danish in Georgia is among those rare languages whose translation is tied to specific, well-defined needs: the employment of Georgian specialists in Denmark, study at the universities of Copenhagen, Aarhus and Aalborg, the document flow of Georgian-Danish families, the activity of Danish companies and international organisations in Georgia, and also the marriage procedure in Copenhagen, which for international couples is one of the simplest in Europe. We translate all types of documents from Danish into Georgian and from Georgian into Danish, notarise the translation and attach the apostille, and on this page we explain the peculiarities of Danish document flow, which is more pragmatic and at the same time more digital than in many other European countries.

What changed in Denmark in 2016 and why it matters

Until 2016 Denmark had a system of state-authorised translators (statsautoriseret translatør), whose translation the law endowed with official status. From 1 January 2016 this authorisation was abolished, and today the institution of the "sworn translator" no longer exists in Denmark. This is important information for a Georgian client, because on the internet the outdated advice that "an authorised translator is needed for Denmark" still circulates.

Today's practice is this: a Danish authority accepts a translation if it is accompanied by the translator's signed declaration and, when needed, notarisation or confirmation by the chamber of commerce; a notarised translation made abroad, including in Georgia, with an apostille is a foreign public document and needs no re-certification in Denmark. However, the Danish system is special in one more respect: many authorities accept a translation in English as well, not only in Danish, which we discuss separately below.

Danish or English: the practical question

The Danish Immigration Service (Udlændingestyrelsen), the Agency for International Recruitment and Integration (SIRI), which issues work and study residence permits, and the Agency of Family Law (Familieretshuset), which handles marriage matters, accept documents in Danish, English and often also in German or the Scandinavian languages. This means that an English translation of a Georgian paper is often entirely sufficient for Danish immigration procedures, and a Danish translation is an unnecessary expense.

A Danish translation is needed where the authority or partner unambiguously requires it: in courts, where the procedural language is Danish, in municipalities (kommune) for social and family matters, at the Patient Safety Authority for medical authorisation, at some trade unions and employers, and also wherever a Danish document must be translated into Georgian in Georgia. We ask this question at the start of the order and often recommend an English translation, if that does not harm the procedure.

Who orders Danish translation and for what

• Georgian specialists applying for a work permit in Denmark under the pay limit scheme or the positive list: diploma, certificates of work experience, employment contract
• Students at the universities of Copenhagen, Aarhus, Aalborg, Southern Denmark and the Technical University of Denmark: school certificate, diploma, transcript of grades
• International couples who marry in Copenhagen or another Danish municipality: birth certificate, certificate of marital status, divorce documents
• Georgian-Danish families: the certificate of a child born in Denmark, marriage document, decisions of the Agency of Family Law
• Doctors and nurses applying for authorisation in Denmark: medical diploma, curriculum, practice certificates
• Georgian companies with Danish partners: extract from the register of entrepreneurs, articles of association, contracts
• Danish companies and organisations in Georgia: corporate documents, project reports, employment contracts

The apostille: Denmark and Georgia

Denmark joined the Hague Apostille Convention relatively late, at the end of 2006, and today a Danish document for Georgia is prepared with an apostille issued by the legalisation service of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Copenhagen. A Georgian document for Denmark receives its apostille at the Public Service Hall, and we complete this stage within the order. Denmark's peculiarity lies in the sequence of the apostille: in Denmark the notary (notarius publicus) is an official attached to the court (byret), and certification of a Danish translation is often two-step, first the notary, then the apostille of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A notarised translation prepared in Georgia with an apostille replaces this whole chain in one step.

Danish digital administration: MitID and Digital Post

Denmark is one of the most digital states in the world: almost every official document is issued and received electronically, with MitID identification and the Digital Post system, and a paper version often does not exist at all. This creates two issues for a Georgian recipient. First: a Danish electronic document must become a printed version with an apostille for a Georgian authority, which is a separate procedure in Denmark and must be planned in advance. Second: the translation reflects the electronic origin, the digital signature and the verification mechanism, so that the Georgian employee understands the nature of the document. We know the formats of Danish digital documents and advise the client in advance in what form to request the document in Denmark so that it is accepted in Georgia.

The Danish language in translation: what the translator must know

Danish is a North Germanic language, mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Swedish in writing, but with its own orthography (the letters æ, ø, å), vocabulary and administrative terminology. A translator who commands Swedish or Norwegian and "roughly gets" Danish is dangerous for an official document: false friends between the Scandinavian languages are numerous, the names of Danish authorities are unique, and the concepts of Danish legislation differ from Norwegian and Swedish. Georgian transcription of Danish names must follow Danish pronunciation, which is far from the written form (Kjeld, Søren, Aarhus), and the form once chosen remains unchanged in all documents of this person or place. Our Danish translators command the language directly, not through Spanish or another Scandinavian language, with experience of studying or working in Denmark.

Educational documents: the Danish 7-step scale

The diplomas and transcripts of Danish universities contain two difficulties for recognition in Georgia. The first is the grading system: Denmark uses a 7-step scale (12, 10, 7, 4, 02, 00, -3), which resembles no other European system and is incomprehensible to a Georgian recipient without explanation; we attach a note to the translation describing the logic of the scale and the pass threshold (02). The second is the names of Danish degrees (bachelor, kandidat, ph.d., also professionsbachelor, which is an applied bachelor's), which call for comparison with the Georgian system. In the opposite direction a Georgian diploma for a Danish university or for the Danish Agency for Higher Education and Science, which conducts the assessment of foreign qualifications, is translated into English or Danish, with a description of the curriculum.

Medical authorisation in Denmark

Denmark is one of the most attractive but most demanding Scandinavian destinations for Georgian doctors and nurses. Authorisation of a non-European medical diploma is conducted by the Patient Safety Authority (Styrelsen for Patientsikkerhed), and the procedure includes several stages: assessment of the diploma and curriculum, a Danish language exam at a high level, a medical test and evaluation employment at a Danish hospital. Translation is needed at the first stage: the medical diploma, transcript of grades, description of the curriculum with hours, specialisation documents, practice certificates, all with an apostille and certified translation, in Danish or English. A consistent translation of the names of subjects in all documents is critical, and for this we create a terminology base for each client.

Marriage in Denmark: why international couples choose it

Denmark is one of the simplest places in Europe for international couples to marry: the procedure is fast, the document requirements are relatively short, and the Agency of Family Law (Familieretshuset) accepts documents in Danish, English and German. For a Georgian citizen the typical package is: passport, birth certificate, certificate of marital status (that the person is not married), in the case of a previous marriage a divorce document or the spouse's death certificate, all with an apostille and translation. It is precisely here that an English translation is often enough, and we advise this honestly. After the wedding the Danish marriage certificate (vielsesattest) is prepared for registration in Georgia with a Danish apostille and our Georgian translation.

Business with Denmark: corporate and technical documents

Danish companies work in Georgia in the fields of logistics, renewable energy, agricultural technology and international development projects, while Georgian companies work with Danish partners in wine, agricultural products and tourism. The Danish corporate system is centralised: all data of a company are kept in the central register (CVR) of the Danish Business Authority (Erhvervsstyrelsen) and are available online, and the company forms (ApS, A/S) are the functional analogues of the Georgian LLC and JSC. The Danish articles of association (vedtægter), the CVR extract and the rule of signature (tegningsregel), which is a concept characteristic of the Danish system and determines who may sign on the company's behalf, are translated for a Georgian authority with an explanation. In the opposite direction the Georgian extract from the register of entrepreneurs and articles of association are translated for a Danish partner into English or Danish.

International organisations and development projects

Denmark is one of the active partners of international development in Georgia: the Danish Refugee Council has worked here for decades, the development programmes of the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs fund projects in democracy, human rights and economic development, Danish non-governmental organisations cooperate with local partners. The documents of this activity, project applications, reports, financial audits, partnership agreements, employment contracts for local staff, require two-way translation, often through English, but the internal documents of the Danish parent organisation, board minutes, Danish auditing standards, are translated directly from Danish. This is the field where Danish institutional language, with its specific terminology of development cooperation, monitoring and evaluation, requires professional knowledge from the translator.

Transliteration and Danish names

Rendering Danish names in Georgian requires separate attention, because Danish orthography and pronunciation are far apart: Søren is Soren, Kjeld is Kel, Jørgen is Yorn, Mette is Mette, while Aarhus is Orhus and Odense is Odense. A translator who renders a Danish name "by the letters" creates a form that a Dane themselves would not recognise. The Danish naming system also includes middle names (mellemnavn), which are often in fact surnames and are written in the passport together with the surname; the Georgian system, which expects one first name and one surname, cannot accept this structure without explanation. In the translation we keep the whole name in the order of the original, with a note when needed, and keep the form once chosen in all documents of this person.

Typical mistakes in Danish translation

Experience on the Danish direction shows several recurring defects that we find in other providers' translations: ordering a Danish translation where English was enough, and a double expense; translating a Danish document "roughly" with knowledge of Swedish or Norwegian; the absence of an explanation of the 7-step scale in a transcript; transliterating Danish names by their written form instead of their pronunciation; translating an electronic document without an apostille, which a Georgian authority does not accept; omitting the rule of signature (tegningsregel) in a corporate document, which leaves the question of the company's representation unclear for a Georgian notary. Every one of these points is on our checklist.

The Danish social system and its documents

The documentary needs of Georgians living in Denmark follow the logic of the Danish welfare system: the CPR number, which is the basis of every relationship, the health card (sundhedskort), municipal decisions on social benefits, pension account statements, unemployment insurance (a-kasse) documents. These documents are needed in Georgia to confirm a pension, a court case or social status, and their translation requires an explanation of the concepts of the Danish welfare state, which have no analogue in the Georgian system. In the opposite direction Georgian social and pension documents are translated for a Danish municipality, where the Danish employee does not know the logic of the Georgian system and looks for a functional explanation in the translation.

What sets our Danish translation apart

• Honest advice before ordering: do you need Danish or is English enough, and often the answer is English
• Translators who command Danish directly, not through another Scandinavian language, with experience of studying or working in Denmark
• Knowledge of the formats of Danish digital documents and the rules for submitting them in Georgia
• Notarisation by a translator registered in the Danish-Georgian pair and an apostille at the Public Service Hall
• A standard personal document in 1 working day, express in 1-2 hours, the process fully online

Frequently asked questions