Armenian translator in Tbilisi

Armenian has never been a foreign language for Georgia: Tbilisi's historic Armenian community, the Armenian-speaking villages and towns of Samtskhe-Javakheti, the daily flow of Armenian citizens through Bagratashen-Sadakhlo, Armenian transit towards the ports of Poti and Batumi, a shared Soviet past and the centuries-old relationship between the two churches. At the same time, for a Georgian client Armenian is one of the languages with the most "foreign" alphabet, which nobody can read without Latin or Cyrillic transliteration, and working with Armenian documents involves its own legal framework, the problem of names and two different systems (the Republic of Armenia and Georgia's Armenian-speaking citizens). This page describes how we work with Armenian and what the client should know about the apostille, names and Javakheti documents.

Who orders Armenian translation in Georgia

Armenian-language orders with us fall into three clear groups. The first are Armenian citizens in Georgia: residence, marriage to a Georgian citizen, business registration in Batumi and Tbilisi, study at Georgian universities, treatment in Tbilisi clinics, buying real estate, work. The second group are Georgian citizens with a connection to Armenia: the Armenian-speaking population of Javakheti and Tbilisi, who have relatives, property, an inheritance or study documents in Armenia; Georgian companies working with Armenian partners, on the Armenian market or in the logistics of Armenian transit; Georgian students who studied in Yerevan. The third group are holders of Soviet and 1990s documents, whose birth certificate, diploma or employment record book is filled in on Armenian or Armenian-Russian forms and is needed in Georgian at Georgian bodies.

The apostille: the legal assistance treaty and the double route

A bilateral treaty on legal assistance in civil matters is in force between Georgia and Armenia, and both countries were parties to the 1993 Minsk Convention, by virtue of which an official document of one country is accepted in the other without legalisation. In practice an Armenian birth certificate, diploma or notarial power of attorney is, as a rule, accepted in Georgia without an apostille, with only a notarised Georgian translation, and a Georgian document in Armenia likewise. At the same time both countries are parties to the Hague Convention (Armenia since 1994, Georgia since 2007), so if a specific body, bank or university requires an apostille anyway by its internal rules, it is easily obtained. Our recommendation: for state bodies without an apostille, for private organisations with prior clarification, and if the document is also to be submitted in a third country, with an apostille.

Names and surnames: -iani, -yan and one person in three forms

The most difficult and most frequent problem in the Armenian direction is the spelling of surnames. Armenian surnames ending in "-ян"/"-yan" are written in Latin in an Armenian passport by Armenian rules (Petrosyan, Hakobyan, Grigoryan); the same surname in a Georgian citizen's Georgian ID card carries the "-i" ending of the Georgian nominative case (Petrosiani, Hakobiani, Grigoriani), and on the Latin page of the Georgian passport it is precisely this form that is transliterated: Petrosiani, Hakobiani, Grigoriani. As a result, members of one family (a brother in Armenia, a sister in Georgia) appear in documents with different surnames, which creates problems in inheritance, proof of kinship and family reunification cases. In the translation we always keep the Latin form of the passport that the specific person holds, and when the same person appears in a document in different forms, we reflect with a translator's note that "Petrosyan" and "Petrosiani" are the same surname. Armenian first names are written in Georgian in the established transcription (Հակոբ as Hakob, Արմեն as Armen, Անահիտ as Anahit, with the Georgian nominative ending).

Armenian citizens in Georgia: residence, business, property

Armenian citizens can stay in Georgia visa-free for one year, and for a residence permit the Public Service Development Agency requires a notarised Georgian translation of the Armenian documents (marriage certificate, diploma, criminal record certificate). Armenian business is active in Georgia, especially in Batumi's tourism, logistics and trade, and the Public Registry requires a translation of the Armenian company's extract ("քաղվածք պետական ռեգիստրից"), articles of association and founders' decision; the Armenian "ՍՊԸ" ("սահմանափակ պատասխանատվությամբ ընկերություն", limited liability company) is the analogue of the Georgian LLC. When buying real estate, an Armenian citizen often uses a power of attorney ("լիազորագիր") drawn up before a notary in Yerevan, which by virtue of the treaty is valid in Georgia without an apostille, but the Georgian notary requires a specific list of powers, which we clarify in advance.

Javakheti and Georgia's Armenian-speaking citizens

The documents of the Armenian-speaking population of Akhalkalaki, Ninotsminda and Akhaltsikhe are a special case: modern documents (ID card, passport, marriage certificate) are in Georgian and need no translation, but Soviet-era birth certificates, diplomas, employment record books and family archives are often filled in on Armenian or Armenian-Russian forms, and at Georgian bodies (pension, inheritance, property registration, citizenship matters) they need a Georgian notarised translation. Education is a separate topic: graduates of Armenian-language schools take the general skills test of the Unified National Exams in Armenian and enter university through the "1+4" programme (a one-year Georgian language course, then a Bachelor's degree), while those who studied in Armenia request recognition of their Yerevan diploma in Georgia. We serve Javakheti clients remotely, with courier delivery to Akhalkalaki and Akhaltsikhe.

Logistics and transit: Armenia's "gateway"

For Armenia, Georgia is the main land and sea transit route: via Larsi towards Russia, via the ports of Poti and Batumi towards Europe and the world. This is a daily flow of documents: consignment notes (CMR), customs declarations, certificates of origin (Armenia is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, Georgia is party to the Deep and Comprehensive Free Trade Agreement with the EU, and the certificates of the two systems, EAC and CE, are of different formats), insurance policies, forwarding contracts. These documents arrive in Armenian, Russian or English and are translated for Georgian customs, logistics companies and port administrations, and Georgian transport documents into Armenian for the Armenian consignee. Logistics translation needs speed, because the cargo is standing at the border, and our express mode exists precisely for this.

Tourism, Batumi and Armenian-speaking guests

Armenia is one of Georgia's largest tourist markets: Batumi in summer, Tbilisi all year round, the ski resorts in winter. Hotels, travel companies, restaurants and resort services invite Armenian-speaking guests in Armenian: websites, menus, tour descriptions, safety instructions. Armenian tourist text requires lively, modern Eastern Armenian, not text written as a Russian calque, which an Armenian reader notices immediately. At the same time, Armenian marketing language is more formal than Georgian, and the translation adjusts to this tone. In the opposite direction, Armenian travel companies inviting Georgian tourists to Yerevan, Dilijan and Tatev order materials in Georgian. Such texts do not need notarisation, but they do need a native editor.

Eastern and Western Armenian

The Armenian language knows two literary variants: Eastern Armenian, the language of the Republic of Armenia, Javakheti and the Armenians of Iran, written in the reformed orthography, and Western Armenian, the language of the diaspora (Lebanon, Syria, France, the USA), which keeps the classical orthography. The two variants differ in grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation, and a document written in Western Armenian (for example the birth certificate of a Lebanese Armenian or a document of the Armenian community in France) requires a separate competence from a translator of Eastern Armenian. Most of our orders concern Eastern Armenian, but we work with diaspora documents too, and when ordering we clarify which variant the document is in. When translating from Georgian into Armenian we use Eastern Armenian by default, with the official terminology of the Republic of Armenia.

The Armenian alphabet, transliteration and technical difficulties

The Armenian alphabet contains 39 letters, with its own punctuation marks (the Armenian question mark "՞" stands inside the word, the full stop "։" resembles a colon), and inserting Armenian text into a Georgian document requires technical care: font compatibility, correct encoding in PDF, preservation of the letters when printing. The Armenian spelling of names, cities and bodies stays in brackets in the translation so that a Georgian official or an Armenian reader can identify the original, while transliteration follows Armenia's official Latin system or, for Georgian documents, the form of the Georgian passport. Armenian numerals are not used (modern documents use Arabic numerals), but the date format and the Armenian names of months are rendered in the translation as standard.

The Armenian Embassy and the consulate in Batumi

The Armenian Embassy in Tbilisi and the Consulate General in Batumi provide Armenian citizens with passport, consular certificate, civil status registration and notarial services, and a document drawn up at the consulate (power of attorney, statement, certificate) is in Armenian, which requires a Georgian notarised translation for use in Georgia. When marrying an Armenian citizen in Georgia, the Public Service Hall requires a certificate of marital status issued by the consulate, while to register in Georgia a child born in Armenia or a marriage concluded in Armenia, the certificate of the Armenian civil status body ("ՔԿԱԳ", the analogue of the Georgian civil registry) is translated. The Georgian Embassy in Yerevan performs the analogous function for Georgian citizens, and Georgian documents issued there are submitted to Armenian bodies with an Armenian translation.

Education: Yerevan, Tbilisi, recognition

Diplomas of Yerevan State University, the Medical University and other Armenian institutions are submitted for recognition in Georgia to the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement with a Georgian translation, where the Armenian system (three-cycle Bologna, "բակալավր", "մագիստրոս", "ասպիրանտ" in the old form) matches the Georgian one, while the Armenian 20-point (formerly 5-point) grading system is explained with a note. When Armenian citizens are admitted to Georgian universities, the Armenian school certificate ("միջնակարգ կրթության ատեստատ") and transcript are translated, while for graduates of Georgia's Armenian-language schools the documents are already in Georgian. When Georgian students study in Yerevan (art, music, IT), the Georgian school certificate and certificates are translated into Armenian. In both directions an apostille is, as a rule, not needed.

The medical direction: Tbilisi clinics and Javakheti patients

From northern Armenia (Gyumri, Vanadzor, Alaverdi, Stepanavan) Tbilisi is closer than Yerevan, and Armenian citizens increasingly choose Georgian clinics for cardiology, oncology, orthopaedics, reproductive medicine and dentistry, while Javakheti's Armenian-speaking patients are treated in Tbilisi and Akhaltsikhe. Armenian medical documents (extract from the medical record, test results, disability conclusion, vaccination card) are translated into Georgian for the clinic, the insurance company and the Social Service Agency, and a Georgian discharge summary and treatment plan into Armenian when the patient returns to Yerevan. Armenian and Georgian medical terminology rests on a shared Soviet foundation, which makes translation easier, but Armenia's 2023 disability system reform (functionality assessment instead of groups) creates new concepts, which are explained with a note for the Georgian system.

Soviet and bilingual documents: Armenian handwriting

Documents issued before 1991 that come from Armenia and Javakheti (birth certificate, diploma, employment record book, military card) are filled in on Armenian-Russian bilingual forms, with handwritten entries in both languages, stamped and often damaged. Translating such a document requires the ability to read Armenian handwriting, which is a competence different from knowing printed Armenian, and our translators know Soviet-era Armenian handwriting. The entries in both languages are translated as one document and certified once, and the Russian form of names (Акоп, Анаит, Карапет) is linked with a note to the modern Georgian or Armenian form. These documents are decisive in Georgia in pension, inheritance, property registration and proof of kinship cases, and we process them with the same accuracy as modern documents.

Church, diaspora and family archives

The records of the Armenian Apostolic Church in Tbilisi (baptism and wedding records, church registers), which are the only source of family history from the 19th and 20th centuries, are translated into Georgian in genealogical research, restoration of citizenship and inheritance cases, and records compiled in classical Armenian orthography and old handwriting require special competence. Representatives of the Armenian diaspora who trace their ancestors in Georgia or settle property matters send us documents in Western Armenian or English, and this flow grows from year to year. In such cases the translation links an archive record, a Soviet document and a modern passport into one chain, with a note on three or four forms of the names, so that a Georgian notary or court identifies the same family.

What we translate into and from Armenian most often

• Passport, ID card, birth, marriage and divorce certificates for residence and civil status acts
• School certificate, diploma, supplement, academic certificate for university and the NCEQE
• Criminal record certificate, certificate of marital status, consular certificates
• Extract from the state register, articles of association, power of attorney for business and property
• Consignment notes, customs declarations, certificates of origin for logistics
• Medical extract, disability certificate, vaccination card for the clinic and the social agency
• Soviet Armenian-Russian birth certificate, diploma, employment record book for Georgian bodies
• Georgian documents into Armenian: diploma, certificates, company papers, court acts

How the order proceeds

The process starts online: you upload the document on the website and indicate which body you will submit it to. The same day you receive the deadline and information on whether the specific body needs an apostille. A standard document is ready in one working day, in express mode in 1-2 hours, which is especially often needed for logistics and customs documents. The translation is done by a translator registered with a notary in the Armenian-Georgian pair, and a translation from Georgian into Armenian is checked by an Armenian-speaking editor. There is no time difference between Armenia and Georgia, which simplifies communication with clients in Yerevan. You receive the finished document electronically and by courier, in Tbilisi, Batumi, Akhalkalaki or Yerevan. All documents are handled under a confidentiality agreement.

Frequently asked questions