Georgia's connection with the German-speaking world goes back two centuries: in 1817 Swabian colonists settled in today's Bolnisi, Asureti and Sartichala, and today Germany is one of the main destinations for Georgian students, doctors, nurses and seekers of vocational training. The embassies of Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the Goethe-Institut, the DAAD information centre and the German International School operate in Tbilisi. All of this creates a constant flow of documents in both directions, and German bureaucracy, with its well-known precision, assesses both the form and the content of a translation equally strictly. Below we consider which procedure requires what, and how we prepare a German translation so that it is accepted at the Ausländerbehörde, a university or a medical chamber the first time.
What German translation is ordered for most often
The structure of German-language orders in Georgia differs quite a lot from other European languages: here professional recognition documents predominate. Doctors applying for Approbation or a temporary work permit (Berufserlaubnis); nurses going through recognition of Pflegefachkraft status; engineers and IT specialists arranging a Blue Card or an Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte); young people starting dual vocational training (Ausbildung). Added to this are student visas, family reunification, which requires German at A1 level from the spouse, the seasonal work programme and, increasingly often in recent years, the documents of Georgians living in Germany for Georgian bodies: inheritance, property, registration of a child, pension.
Anerkennung: the documentary logic of professional recognition
The recognition of foreign qualifications in Germany is decentralised: for doctors the Approbationsbehörde or Landesprüfungsamt of the federal state, for nurses the Regierungspräsidium or the relevant state body, and for unregulated professions the Central Office for Foreign Education (ZAB) in Bonn, which issues the diploma evaluation (Zeugnisbewertung). Each of these bodies has its own requirements for the form of the translation, and here lies the biggest trap: many state bodies require the translation to be done by a publicly appointed and sworn translator in Germany (öffentlich bestellter und beeidigter Übersetzer), while others accept an apostilled notarized translation done abroad too. We confirm this difference at the very start of the order and tell the client for which body a Georgian notarized translation is sufficient and for which a German sworn translator will be needed.
anabin and the status of Georgian universities
German bodies check the "weight" of a Georgian diploma against the anabin database, where foreign universities are entered with the status H+ (recognised), H- (not recognised) or H+/- (by individual programme). Most Georgian state universities are recorded with H+ status, but the name of the institution is written in the database in a specific form, and in the translation it is exactly that form we must use, otherwise the official cannot "find" the diploma. For example, Ivane Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University is entered in anabin under a specific German name, and a free variation of this name in the translation slows the procedure down. This detail is a specific feature of the German direction, and our translators always check the database when translating a diploma.
Embassies: Germany, Austria, Switzerland
The German Embassy in Tbilisi issues national visas (type D) for studies, work, vocational training and family reunification, and in the visa application every Georgian-language document must be accompanied by a German translation. The embassy accepts a local, notarized translation; an apostille is additionally needed usually for civil status records. The Austrian Embassy in Tbilisi accepts applications for Austrian residence permits (Rot-Weiß-Rot-Karte, student residence) and requires documents in Austrian terminology, where, for example, January is "Jänner" and the school leaving certificate is "Reifezeugnis". The Swiss Embassy in Tbilisi serves federal and cantonal procedures, where the cantonal migration office (Migrationsamt) takes the final decision. In all three cases we prepare the document package as a whole, in the terminology of the specific country.
Student visa, DAAD and uni-assist
Most people wishing to study in Germany apply to universities through the uni-assist platform, which requires a certified translation of the school certificate, diploma, transcript and language certificate. There is one important nuance here: a Georgian school certificate does not always give the right to direct admission to a university in Germany, and the applicant needs to complete the Studienkolleg or prove one or two years of study at a university; so the exact carrying over of credits and semesters in the translation of the transcript is decisive. When applying for DAAD scholarships, recommendations, the motivation letter and the research plan are prepared in German or English, and these texts do not need notarization, but they do need the style of academic German, on which a German-speaking editor works with us.
Ausbildung and the Opportunity Card: new directions
The Opportunity Card (Chancenkarte), in force since June 2024, works on a points system in which professional qualification, language knowledge, age and experience count, and the application is accompanied by a translation of the diploma or the document confirming vocational training and, often, the ZAB evaluation. The visa for dual vocational training (Ausbildung), which is especially popular among young Georgians for the healthcare, hotel and craft sectors, requires the training contract (Ausbildungsvertrag), the school certificate and a B1 language certificate. In these two procedures Georgian school and vocational education documents have to be "explained" to the German system: the diploma of a Georgian vocational college does not match "Berufsschule" or "Fachschule" in German terminology, and the translation needs an explanatory note.
German business in Georgia
Germany is one of Georgia's largest European trading partners, and the German Business Association (DWV), German development agencies and German construction, energy and industrial companies operate in Tbilisi. In this cooperation the commercial register extract (Handelsregisterauszug), the articles of association (Gesellschaftsvertrag), the list of shareholders (Gesellschafterliste), the power of attorney (Vollmacht) and supply contracts are translated most often. German legal forms are especially close to Georgian ones, because the Georgian Civil Code was created in 1997 on the German model: a GmbH is practically the analogue of a Georgian LLC, an AG of a joint-stock company, while the UG (haftungsbeschränkt), the "mini-GmbH", does not exist as a separate form in the Georgian system and needs a note. Because of this closeness German-Georgian legal translation requires less "explanation" than other languages, but more precision, since a one-to-one equivalent of a term almost always exists.
Georgians' documents from Germany for Georgia
The papers of Georgian citizens living in Germany often move in the opposite direction: a German birth certificate for registering a child in Georgia, a German divorce decision (Scheidungsbeschluss) for entry in the Georgian civil registry, a German criminal record certificate (Führungszeugnis) for a Georgian employer, a German pension insurance record (Rentenversicherungsverlauf) for calculating a pension in Georgia. These documents need an apostille in Germany, which, depending on the type of document, is issued by the regional court (Landgericht) or an administrative body (Regierungspräsidium, Bezirksregierung), and are then translated into Georgian in Tbilisi with notarization. The German "beglaubigte Abschrift aus dem Geburtenregister" (certified extract from the birth register) and "Geburtsurkunde" (birth certificate) are different documents, and a Georgian body often requires specifically one of them.
The German spelling of names
In the German orthographic tradition Georgian names were historically written with the letters "sch", "tsch" and "w": Schewardnadse, Tschawtschawadse, Wascha-Pschawela. A Georgian passport uses the ICAO system: Shevardnadze, Chavchavadze, Vazha-Pshavela. In an official translation we always keep to the passport version, because a German body compares the name with the passport and not with German phonetics. In the case of a child born in Germany, whose name has already been recorded in a certain form in the German birth certificate, we repeat this form in the Georgian translation and add the Georgian transcription too. Umlauts in German names (Müller, Schröder) are a separate case: in the Georgian translation they are transcribed, but the Latin spelling must also appear in the document, so that the Georgian notary sees the match with the passport.
Three varieties of German
Germany, Austria and Switzerland share one standard German, but the administrative vocabulary differs in all three. In Austria "Matura" is the school leaving certificate, "Jänner" is January, "Bezirkshauptmannschaft" the district administration; in Switzerland "Betreibung" is enforcement proceedings, "Niederlassungsbewilligung C" permanent residence, and the cantons use their own forms; in Germany "Abitur", "Januar" and "Landratsamt". A translation that addresses an Austrian body in German terminology will not cause a misunderstanding, but it reads as "foreign" and loses the official's trust. So with every order we confirm which of the three countries' bodies is the recipient, and choose the terminology accordingly. In the case of Switzerland we separately check whether the document is to be submitted in a German-speaking or a French-speaking canton.
Goethe-Institut, language certificates and school
For family reunification the spouse needs A1, for Ausbildung B1, for doctors B2 and for medical language C1, and these levels are confirmed in Tbilisi by the exams of the Goethe-Institut and telc. The certificates are in German and need no translation, but a notarized copy of them is often needed, which we send instead of the original. Documents from the German International School in Tbilisi or a Georgian school are translated into German when a child transfers to a school in Germany, where the Georgian grade system (I-XII) needs matching with the German school levels (Grundschule, Gymnasium, Realschule), which we attach to the translation as a note, so that the German school enrols the child in the right grade.
Blue Card, IT specialists and engineers
The EU Blue Card (Blaue Karte EU) for highly qualified specialists rests on a university diploma and a contract with a German employer, and for IT specialists since 2024 it is issued even without a diploma, on the basis of three years' experience. In this procedure the translation of the diploma and the anabin status are again decisive, but documents confirming work experience are added: the Georgian "certificate from the place of work" is translated into German as the analogue of an "Arbeitszeugnis", although a German Arbeitszeugnis is far more detailed and contains coded evaluation formulas that the Georgian certificate does not know. For engineers the right to use the title "Ingenieur" additionally requires recognition by the state engineering chamber (Ingenieurkammer), for which a full translation of the diploma supplement with hourly workloads is submitted.
Seasonal work and labour migration
The seasonal work agreement between Georgia and Germany in agriculture and services gives Georgian workers the opportunity of legal employment, and the procedure is managed through the Federal Employment Agency (Bundesagentur für Arbeit). Here the set of documents is relatively simple (passport, health certificate, sometimes confirmation of work experience), but the correctness of the translation is just as important: the health certificate issued by a Georgian clinic must be translated into German so that the employer and the insurance company accept it. In the same group is the Georgian translation of employment contracts, which the worker requests for a Georgian bank or state body, and the translation of German payslips (Lohnabrechnung), which is submitted in Georgia in a loan or visa application.
Germans in Georgia: residence, business, property
German, Austrian and Swiss citizens living in Tbilisi need translation in the opposite direction: for a residence permit the Public Service Development Agency requires a Georgian translation of the German Führungszeugnis and documents confirming income; the Public Registry requires the German commercial register extract and articles when registering a company; banks require documents confirming the tax number and address (Steuer-ID, Meldebescheinigung). When buying real estate a German buyer often uses a power of attorney drawn up before a German notary, which is valid with an apostille and a Georgian notarized translation. When receiving a German pension in Georgia, the pension insurance (Deutsche Rentenversicherung) requires a life certificate (Lebensbescheinigung) every year, which a Georgian notary certifies and which is then translated into German.
German text without a notary: tourism, wine, trade fairs
Germany is one of Georgia's main tourist markets, and the Berlin tourism fair and the Düsseldorf wine fair are regular venues for Georgian stands. Tourist agency websites, hotel descriptions, excursion materials and wine labels must be written in German so that the German reader cannot sense a translation, and this needs not notarization but a native-speaker editor. Qvevri wine terminology in German ("Amphorenwein", "Maischegärung", "autochthone Rebsorte") must be familiar to a German sommelier, while in a tourist text the German "Sie" form and a moderate, factual tone are better than the emotional style of English-language marketing. On such projects we create a terminology base together with the client, so that the brand language stays the same in every material.
What we translate into German most often
- diploma, supplement and school certificate for ZAB, uni-assist and Approbation
- birth, marriage and divorce certificates for family reunification and the Standesamt
- criminal record certificate, bank statement and insurance documents for a national visa
- certificates of work experience, documents confirming practical training, analogues of the Arbeitszeugnis
- Handelsregisterauszug, Gesellschaftsvertrag, Vollmacht and Georgian corporate papers
- discharge summary, medical report and Pflegegrad or disability documents
- German Führungszeugnis, Scheidungsbeschluss and Rentenbescheid into Georgian
How we work and within what deadlines
The order starts online: you upload the document on the site and indicate the receiving body; the same day we tell you whether a Georgian notarized translation is enough or whether you will need a German sworn translator. A standard document is ready in one working day, in express mode in 1-2 hours. The translation is done by a translator registered with a notary in the German-Georgian pair, and a German-speaking editor checks the text with the eyes of a German official: format, abbreviations, names of bodies, form of dates. You receive the finished document electronically and by courier, and we arrange the attachment of the apostille at the Public Service Hall ourselves. Every document is processed under a confidentiality agreement.
Frequently asked questions
Will a German Approbationsbehörde accept a Georgian notarized translation?
This differs by federal state. Some bodies accept an apostilled notarized translation done abroad, others require a sworn translator in Germany. We check the specific body's requirement before the order.
What is the ZAB Zeugnisbewertung and does it need a translation?
It is the official evaluation of a diploma, used for unregulated professions and for the Opportunity Card. The application is accompanied by a certified translation of the diploma and supplement, and the name of the university must be in the anabin form.
Does the German Embassy in Tbilisi require an apostille?
On civil status records (birth, marriage) usually yes, on a diploma and certificates a notarized translation is often enough. We go through the embassy's list of requirements for the specific visa type together.
Will the same translation do for Austria and Switzerland too?
Linguistically yes, but we adapt the terminology by country. All three countries are parties to the Hague Convention, so an apostille is sufficient for all of them.
How do I use a German birth certificate in Georgia?
The document must be apostilled in Germany, then translated into Georgian in Tbilisi and notarized. "Geburtsurkunde" and "beglaubigte Abschrift" are different documents, so confirm in advance which one the Georgian body requires.
How long does a German translation take?
A one-page document in one working day, by express in 1-2 hours. A diploma supplement or a medical history in 1-3 days depending on volume, the apostille with a separate deadline.
Can you translate an Ausbildung contract into Georgian?
Yes, a German training contract, just like a job offer, is translated into Georgian for the needs of a bank, parents or a Georgian body, with or without notarization.