Croatian translator in Tbilisi

Last reviewed: 13 November 2026 · facts checked against official sources

From Croatian into Georgian we translate birth, marriage and citizenship extracts (rodni list, vjenčani list, domovnica), criminal record certificates, court decisions, court register extracts and medical documents, and from Georgian into Croatian we prepare work permit, marriage, study and property packages. The translation is done by a translator registered for the Croatian-Georgian pair, and the notary certifies that translator's signature. The standard turnaround is one working day, and a notarised translation of a short document can be done in express mode in 1-2 hours if the document reaches us during working hours. The key rule: Croatia and Georgia are both parties to the Hague Convention, so the apostille is placed on the original in the issuing country, on a Georgian document before translation, and a notarised translation cannot be apostilled in Georgia. Send a scan or photo of the document through the website or a messenger and tell us which Croatian or Georgian authority it is going to.

Croatia after 2023: Schengen, the euro and no embassy

Croatia joined the EU in 2013 and the Schengen area and the eurozone on 1 January 2023. For a short visit a Georgian has the same 90 visa-free days as in other Schengen countries, and no translation is needed. To work or study, however, a residence permit is required, and for work a single permit for residence and work (dozvola za boravak i rad), issued by the police administrations of the Ministry of the Interior (MUP); it is this application that a package of Georgian documents accompanies. Within the EU public documents move without an apostille, and Croatian civil status certificates are also issued on the EU multilingual form, but neither the rule nor the form applies to Georgia: a Georgian document for Croatia and a Croatian document for Georgia always need an apostille. Croatia has no embassy in Tbilisi and serves Georgia from Athens, so there is almost no chance to fix things on the spot, and the package has to be built correctly at the first attempt.

Who comes to us for Croatian translation

• Seasonal and permanent workers in tourism, construction and shipbuilding: diploma, vocational certificate, criminal record certificate
• Doctors, nurses and carers whose registration documents are requested by the Croatian medical chambers
• Students at the universities of Zagreb, Split, Rijeka and Osijek
• Georgian-Croatian families: marriage, registering a child, divorce, inheritance
• Property buyers in Istria, Dalmatia and on the islands
• Georgian and Croatian wine, tourism and IT companies and partners in EU projects

The court interpreter and the Georgian notary

In Croatia an official translation is done by a permanent court interpreter (stalni sudski tumač) appointed by the county court: they bind the translation to the original or a certified copy, attach a certification clause and affix their seal. A Croatian notary (javni bilježnik) certifies copies and signatures, but not translations. In Georgia the notary confirms that the translation is signed by a translator entered in their register; the notary does not read the Croatian text and does not certify the content of the translation, and the translator is responsible for its accuracy. There is practically no court interpreter for Georgian in Croatia, so for a Georgian document two routes remain: a translation made in Georgia from the apostilled original, including the apostille, with notarial certification, or an English translation which an English court interpreter in Croatia turns into Croatian. The MUP and universities often accept the first, some courts and notaries ask for the second, so we confirm this with the receiving authority before ordering. A translation certified by a court interpreter in Croatia needs separate notarisation in Georgia, because for a Georgian notary it is a foreign signature.

Notarised translation into and from Croatian

A Croatian document for Georgia: apostille at the municipal court

Croatia has applied the Apostille Convention since 1991 as a successor of Yugoslavia. The apostille on a Croatian document is issued by the municipal courts (općinski sud) according to the territory of the issuing authority: a rodni list issued in Zagreb is apostilled by the Zagreb court, one issued in Split by the Split court (the HCCH list also names the Ministry of Justice as a competent authority). After the apostille the document is translated and notarised in Georgia; it cannot be done the other way round, because a Croatian court cannot apostille a Georgian-language translation. Civil status extracts in Croatia have no validity period, but many authorities do not accept an extract older than six months. The e-Građani e-government system issues many documents online with an electronic signature, but a Georgian notary accepts a printout as an original only if it carries a Croatian apostille: for that, the document must first be certified in paper form in Croatia. So request a document intended for Georgia on paper, with a stamp and signature. For the translation itself a clear scan is enough.

A Georgian document for Croatia: the right order

The apostille on a Georgian original is placed by the Public Service Development Agency (applications are also accepted at the Public Service Hall), and on its own documents, such as the criminal record certificate, by the MIA Service Agency. The order is: first the apostille on the original, then the translation of the document including the apostille, and finally the notary certifies the authenticity of the translator's signature. A notarised translation is not apostilled: under the Agency's rules, the notarial certification of a translation or a copy is not among the documents that can be apostilled. Nor can an apostille be placed on identity documents and their copies (except a copy of a Georgian passport certified by the issuing body), driving licences, or documents of private companies other than medical and educational institutions, so a private employer's certificate cannot be apostilled. If a Croatian authority still insists on a certified translation from its own court interpreter, there are two routes: the Public Service Development Agency (and the MIA Service Agency for its own documents) translates the document itself and apostilles its own translation, or an English translation is passed to a court interpreter in Croatia. Document route helps you choose the scheme, and for terms and rules see apostille in Georgia.

The Croatian documents we certify most often

• Rodni list, vjenčani list, smrtni list: civil status certificates for marriage, child registration and inheritance cases
• Domovnica: the certificate of citizenship, which must not be translated as a birth certificate
• Uvjerenje o nekažnjavanju: criminal record certificate for residence and employment
• Presuda and rješenje: a court judgment and a ruling or administrative decision
• Diploma, dopunska isprava o studiju: diploma and diploma supplement
• Izvadak iz sudskog registra, društveni ugovor: court register extract and memorandum of association
• Punomoć: power of attorney with the signature certified by a Croatian notary
• Vozačka dozvola: a driving licence for exchange in Georgia, with a full translation of categories and codes

The work permit package

In Croatia the application is usually filed with the MUP by the employer, who needs the Georgian candidate's documents in advance: the criminal record certificate, proof of qualifications, often a health certificate and, for family reunification, marriage and birth certificates, all with an apostille on the original and a Croatian translation that includes the apostille. The Georgian criminal record certificate is valid for 15 calendar days, and the MUP usually asks for a fresh one too, so we plan the date it is obtained in advance (see criminal record certificate). Employers often want documents quickly so that a seasonal vacancy is not lost, so we prepare these packages in express mode and send the scan ahead, so that the filing can start before the physical package arrives. A refusal of a work permit (rješenje o odbijanju) is translated within one or two working days because of the appeal deadline.

Why a Croatian translation gets rejected

• No apostille at all, because the client thought a document from an EU country does not need one, or the EU multilingual form was submitted
• An e-Građani printout without Croatian paper certification and an apostille
• A translation certified under the Serbian pair, or Serbian months or vocabulary in a Croatian text
• An extract older than six months, lost diacritics in names, or a domovnica translated as a birth certificate
• The OIB and the Georgian personal number mixed up

In each case we first identify the specific reason and fix exactly that defect, and for a legalisation error we give precise instructions for the steps needed in Croatia.

Translation in both directions

Georgian into Croatian: the Croatian norm, not the Serbian one

Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian and Montenegrin are mutually intelligible, but they are separate pairs in the notary's register, and a Croatian document is certified only by a translator registered for the Croatian pair. Croatian uses only the Latin alphabet, names months with Slavic words (siječanj, veljača, ožujak; listopad is October, studeni November), and writes a date as 15. ožujka 2026., never 15. marta. The vocabulary is purist: sveučilište, not univerzitet, veleposlanstvo, not ambasada, tvrtka, not firma, tisuća, općina, ured, pristojba, ovrha. A Croatian official spots a Serbian form at once and judges the translation unreliable even if the content is correct. In an official letter a Croatian addressee expects polite formal address (Poštovani gospodine / Poštovana gospođo) and short paragraphs, so the final editor of a Georgian-to-Croatian translation is a native speaker of Croatian. A CV (životopis) in Croatia follows the Europass format, and Georgian job titles and degrees must be matched to the Croatian classification and to the univ. bacc. and mag. titles.

Croatian into Georgian: translating the system

A Croatian document becomes clear to a Georgian reader when the translation also explains the institutions: the MUP is the Ministry of the Interior, HZZO the Health Insurance Fund, HZMO the Pension Insurance Institute, HZZ the Employment Service, Porezna uprava the Tax Administration, FINA the Financial Agency, and trgovački sud the commercial court where companies are registered. Administrative acts, rješenje (decision), zaključak (conclusion), uvjerenje (certificate), potvrda (confirmation), izvadak (extract), must be matched precisely to their Georgian equivalents. Russian false friends are as much a danger here as in Serbian: trudna means pregnant, not difficult, iskustvo experience, stolica a chair, vrijedan hard-working or valuable. Privremeni and stalni boravak, temporary and permanent residence, are different legal statuses, and one wrong word puts an immigration document in the wrong category. In Croatian amounts a full stop separates thousands and a comma marks decimals (1.250,50 €), and in older documents the kuna (HRK) and the 2023 conversion need an explanation.

Names, OIB, dates

Croatian diacritics have fixed Georgian equivalents: č and ć both become the Georgian ch sound, š sh, ž zh, đ j. Ivić is rendered as Ivichi, Đurđević as Jurjevichi, Kovačić as Kovachichi, and -ić is always the -ich ending, never -its or -ik; the Latin original with diacritics stays in brackets. In a document a name is often inflected (diploma Ivana Horvata, Gospodine Horvatu), and in the translation we return it to the nominative and compare it with the passport. In the other direction a Georgian name follows the Latin spelling of the passport, uninflected in identification fields, and a woman's surname stays unchanged. Every natural and legal person in Croatia has an eleven-digit personal identification number (OIB) assigned by the Tax Administration; a foreigner needs it before buying property, founding a company, opening an account or starting work, and the passport and often the birth certificate are translated to obtain it. The Georgian personal number also has eleven digits, so in the translation both stay unchanged and a note explains which belongs to which system; older documents may also show the Yugoslav JMBG.

Family and education

In Croatia a marriage is registered by the civil registry office (matični ured), and the Georgian partner must submit a birth certificate, a certificate of marital status and, after a previous marriage, the divorce document, with an apostille and a Croatian translation; the office checks how recent the certificate is, usually up to six months. For a marriage in Georgia the Croatian spouse submits the rodni list, the domovnica and a certificate of free marital status (potvrda o slobodnom bračnom stanju) with an apostille and a Georgian notarised translation (see marriage certificate translation). To register a child born in Croatia in Georgia, the izvadak iz matice rođenih goes with an apostille and a Georgian translation, and the Georgian and Latin forms of the child's name must match both parents' documents (see birth certificate translation). Croatian schools and universities both use a five-point scale: 5 (izvrstan) is the best, 2 (dovoljan) the minimum pass, 1 a fail; so a diploma translation comes with an explanation of the scale, and titles (univ. bacc., mag., dr. sc. and the pre-Bologna dipl. ing.) are rendered while keeping the original (see recognition of a foreign diploma). Recognition of a Georgian diploma in Croatia is handled by the university for further study and by the recognition agency (AZVO, the ENIC/NARIC centre) for employment, and both ask for the supplement along with the diploma.

Legal and medical translation

Croatian law and contracts

Croatia has no single civil code: contracts are governed by the Civil Obligations Act (Zakon o obveznim odnosima), family matters by the Obiteljski zakon, companies by the Zakon o trgovačkim društvima, employment by the Zakon o radu and foreigners by the Zakon o strancima. In the translation a statutory reference (članak 296. ZOO-a) must come across so that a Georgian lawyer can find the source. Both systems are continental, so contract structure is similar, but the terms require a specialist: ugovorna kazna is a contractual penalty, naknada štete compensation for damage, raskid ugovora termination, odustanak od ugovora withdrawal from a contract, jamstvo suretyship, založno pravo a pledge, viša sila force majeure, ugovor o djelu a contract for work. In tourism a seasonal employment contract (ugovor o radu na određeno vrijeme) often includes accommodation and meals, and for a Georgian worker a translation of it, of a dismissal notice (otkaz) or of a disciplinary letter is the only way to understand their rights. In a bilingual contract we compare both versions clause by clause and recommend stating which version prevails in a dispute.

Company and the court register

A Croatian d.o.o. is the equivalent of a Georgian LLC, and the simple d.o.o. (j.d.o.o.) was created for start-ups; both are registered in the commercial court register (sudski registar), and the extract is issued by the court, which a note explains to the Georgian authority. For a subsidiary of a Croatian d.o.o. or d.d., the Public Registry of Georgia asks for the extract, the memorandum of association and the decision appointing the director with an apostille and a notarised translation (see extract from the business register). Positions such as direktor, član uprave (management board member), prokurist, skupština (general meeting) and nadzorni odbor (supervisory board) must be translated so that the registry officer clearly understands who has signing authority. An obrt, the Croatian sole trade, is linked to the Georgian individual entrepreneur status with an explanation.

Property: zemljišna knjiga and katastar

A foreigner can buy property in Croatia on the principle of reciprocity, and this principle applies to Georgia, except for agricultural land and protected areas. Property is recorded in two systems: the land register (zemljišna knjiga) confirms ownership, while the cadastre (katastar) describes actual possession and boundaries, and they do not always match. A land register extract has three parts, posjedovnica (plot sheet), vlastovnica (ownership sheet) and teretovnica (encumbrance sheet), and the translation keeps this structure. A sale is concluded with the signatures certified by a Croatian notary, and a Georgian buyer needs an OIB, a passport and often a certificate of marital status, because Croatian law regulates spouses' co-ownership strictly. If you cannot attend the transaction, a Georgian power of attorney receives its apostille on the Georgian notarial act and is then translated into Croatian including the apostille, and the Croatian notary expects specific powers in its text (see power of attorney translation).

Family disputes, inheritance and the Croatian courts

A Croatian divorce judgment (presuda o razvodu braka) decides parental care (roditeljska skrb), contact (osobni odnosi) and maintenance (uzdržavanje), and family law distinguishes joint and sole exercise of parental care, which is rendered with an explanation in Georgian terms. Probate proceedings (ostavinski postupak) are conducted by a notary acting as a commissioner of the court and end with a rješenje o nasljeđivanju. In criminal law terms the Croatian kazneno djelo parallels the Serbian krivično, and this difference is mandatory in a legal text; enforcement (ovrha) runs through FINA and the courts and is translated with an explanation for a Georgian debtor. For a Georgian document in a Croatian court, the court may appoint an interpreter of another language or accept a translation via English; some courts also accept a translation notarised in Georgia if it is made from the apostilled original and states the translator's identity, qualifications and a statement of completeness, so the specific court's requirement is confirmed in advance.

Medical documents and Georgian doctors in Croatia

Croatian healthcare is built on compulsory insurance with a single fund (HZZO). Typical documents are the otpusno pismo (hospital discharge letter), specijalistički nalaz (specialist report), nalaz (test result) and a certificate of incapacity for work. Abbreviations (KKS full blood count, RR blood pressure, RTG X-ray, UZV ultrasound) are written out in full, diagnoses keep their MKB-10 (ICD-10) codes, and we add the international non-proprietary name and ATC code to brand names (see discharge summary translation). For continued treatment notarisation is usually not needed, but in insurance, court, immigration and licensing cases it is. A Georgian doctor or nurse first goes through recognition of qualifications at the Ministry of Health and then registers with the relevant chamber (Hrvatska liječnička komora, Hrvatska komora medicinskih sestara); the package includes the diploma, supplement, curriculum with hours and credits, specialisation documents, licence, work experience and criminal record certificates, all with a Croatian translation. Subject names must be identical word for word in the diploma, supplement and curriculum, and proof of Croatian, usually at B2 level, is a separate stage.

Simultaneous and consecutive interpreting

Where you need a Croatian interpreter

A Croatian interpreter is most often needed for visits and forums of tourism experts, EU project seminars, a Croatian employer's online interview and induction, wine and agricultural negotiations, sports and cultural events, and personal matters: a marriage at the Public Service Hall, a notarial act, court, a visit to a doctor. A Croatian citizen signing a power of attorney or a sale in Tbilisi without knowing Georgian goes to the notary with an interpreter: the notary must make sure the signatory understands the content, and the interpreter translates the document orally and signs it as well. In court the interpreter is warned of liability and neither adds nor omits anything; in a clinic the priority is the precise transfer of symptoms, allergies and informed consent, with Croatian purist medical vocabulary (liječnik, ljekarna, cjepivo).

Formats and neighbouring languages

Simultaneous interpreting in a booth is for conferences; for a session longer than an hour two interpreters take turns every 20-30 minutes. Direct Croatian-Georgian interpreters are few, so an English relay is used at multilingual events. The Croatian pair has an extra option: for one-way listening, from Croatian into Georgian, a Serbian-Georgian or Bosnian-Georgian interpreter will also do, but at a two-way event, especially EU and official meetings, we choose a Croatian specialist so that Serbian forms do not appear from Georgian into Croatian. Negotiations and study visits use the consecutive format, and the meeting time roughly doubles; for one or two listeners whispered interpreting is enough, and a portable system is used when touring a winery or a site. Croatia is two hours behind Tbilisi in winter and one hour in summer, and because there is no embassy the online format is especially common: simultaneous on Zoom interpretation channels, consecutive on other platforms.

Dialects, preparation and booking

Spoken Croatian falls into three dialect groups, Shtokavian (the basis of the standard), Kajkavian (Zagreb and the north) and Chakavian (Istria, Dalmatia, the islands), so we ask in advance where the speakers come from; an official speech will say zrakoplov, an informal one avion. Before the event we ask for the agenda and participant list with regions, presentations, terminology and whether Serbian or Bosnian participants will attend. For an EU seminar the interpreter prepares terms in all three languages (radni paket - work package, pokazatelj - indicator, prihvatljivi troškovi - eligible costs). We book simultaneous interpreting at least two weeks ahead, consecutive and whispered interpreting a few days ahead, and in urgent medical, court or employment cases we look for a solution the same day.

Quality, turnaround and ordering

An editor checks every Croatian translation against a checklist: the Croatian norm and absence of Serbian forms, months, numbers, OIB, names with diacritics, stamps and apostille fields. From Georgian into Croatian the editor is a native speaker of Croatian, and from Croatian into Georgian a Georgian language specialist who checks false friends and verb aspect separately; a lawyer or doctor reviews specialist texts. Translators work under confidentiality agreements. A standard personal document is ready in one working day, or in 1-2 hours in express mode if it reaches us during working hours; a legal or medical document of a few pages takes one to two working days; the apostille timeline depends on the term chosen at the Agency. We prepare packages for Croatia for international courier and send the scan to the recipient in advance, and within Georgia a courier delivers to any city. For other languages see all languages.

Official sources

• Public Service Development Agency: apostille and legalisation: which Georgian documents can be apostilled, which cannot, and in what timeframe
• Hague Conference: parties to the Apostille Convention: the current list of countries: apostille or consular legalisation
• Hague Conference official page: who issues the apostille in Croatia (the municipal courts and the Ministry of Justice)

Frequently asked questions

Need a Croatian document translated or a package for Croatia? Send us a scan through the website or a messenger, name the receiving authority, and you will quickly receive an exact timeline and the right scheme: where the apostille goes, whether to translate into Croatian or English and how many certified copies you will need. We look forward to seeing you in Tbilisi at 115 Davit Aghmashenebeli Avenue, phone +995 500 09 11 68.