Albanian is official or co-official in three countries: Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia, and each has its own administrative system, its own document forms and its own legalisation rules, from the Albanian apostille to the special status of Kosovo. Relations between Georgia and the Albanian-speaking world are small in volume but growing: both countries are on the path of European integration, tourism moves in both directions, Albanian students appear at Georgian universities, Georgian wine enters the Albanian market, Albanian tourism and construction businesses study Georgia, and Georgian-Albanian families appear too. We translate from Albanian into Georgian and from Georgian into Albanian, notarise the translation, attach the apostille and know the peculiarities of Albanian bureaucracy, from the family certificate to the digital e-Albania portal, that are not found in other European countries.
Three countries, one language, three sets of rules
When ordering an Albanian translation, the first question is not "what does it say" but "where is the document from" or "where is it going": Albania has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 2004, and an Albanian document is prepared with an apostille issued by the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs in Tirana; North Macedonia, where Albanian has been co-official since 2019, is also a party to the convention and the apostille is issued by the Ministry of Justice; Kosovo, where Albanian is the main official language, is not a party to the convention, and the legal status of Kosovar documents in Georgia needs separate clarification in every specific case, on which we offer a consultation before the order. Linguistically the three spaces differ too: standard Albanian is built on the Tosk dialect and is the official language of Albania, while in Kosovo and North Macedonia the Gheg dialect is the language of everyday speech, although official documents follow standard Albanian, and Kosovar legal terminology carries the traces of the Yugoslav legal tradition.
Who the licensed translators in Albania are
In Albania an official translation is done by a licensed translator (përkthyes i licencuar), whom the Ministry of Justice enters in its register on the basis of an examination, for a specific language, and the translation is certified with a notary (noter). An Albanian authority, as a rule, requires the translation of a foreign document from exactly such a translator. For the Georgian language there is practically no licensed translator in Albania, and this creates two practical schemes. The first: an Albanian translation notarised in Georgia with an apostille, which Albanian authorities accept as a foreign public document; this route works in most cases. The second: if a specific authority insists on an Albanian licensed translator, a two-stage scheme via English or Italian is used, because English-Albanian and Italian-Albanian licensed translators are numerous in Albania. We discuss these options in advance when the order is placed.
Which documents come in Albanian
- Birth certificate (certifikatë lindjeje) and personal certificate (certifikatë personale)
- Family certificate (certifikatë familjare), a document unique to the Albanian system, which describes the full composition of the household and is mandatory for many procedures
- Marriage certificate (certifikatë martese) and certificate of marital status
- Criminal record certificate (dëshmi penaliteti) for residence and employment
- Certificate of residence (vërtetim banimi)
- University diplomas and transcripts: the University of Tirana, the Polytechnic and Medical Universities of Tirana, private universities
- Extract from the National Business Centre (QKB) and company documents
- Acts of Albanian notaries and court judgments
- Hospital discharge sheet (fletë-dalje) and medical reports
- Kosovar and North Macedonian documents in Albanian, on their own forms
Which Georgian documents are translated into Albanian
Real cases of translation from Georgian into Albanian are connected with residence, study, marriage, business and diploma recognition in Albania: the criminal record certificate and civil status acts for the residence permit (leje qëndrimi), which the Directorate of Border and Migration reviews; the school certificate and diploma for enrolment at an Albanian university or for recognition at the Centre for Educational Services (QSHA); the certificate of marital status for registering a marriage at the Albanian civil registry; the extract from the register of entrepreneurs and the charter for registering a company at the National Business Centre; certificates for wine and food products for an Albanian importer. Added to this is marketing and tourism translation for an Albanian audience, where the Albanian version is a market requirement, because the Albanian consumer values being addressed in the native language.
e-Albania: digital documents with a QR code
Albania in recent years is one of the fastest examples of administrative digitalisation: the e-Albania portal issues most civil status acts, criminal record certificates, residence certificates and business register extracts electronically, with a digital seal and a QR code, without a paper version. This creates two issues for a Georgian recipient. First: a Georgian authority requires a printed version with an apostille, and apostilling an Albanian electronic document at the Albanian ministry is a separate procedure that must be planned in advance. Second: the translation reflects the electronic origin, the digital seal and the QR code, so that the Georgian officer understands the nature of the document and, if they wish, verifies its authenticity themselves on the e-Albania portal. We know the formats of Albanian digital documents and advise the client in advance in which form to request the document in Albania so that it is accepted in Georgia.
The Albanian language in translation: what the translator must know
Albanian is an independent branch of the Indo-European family, without close kinship to any other living language, with its own orthography (ë, ç and the digraphs dh, gj, ll, nj, rr, sh, th, xh, zh), a complex nominal system and verb forms that are rare in other European languages. Albanian administrative and legal terminology is saturated with terms of Italian and French origin, because of historical ties, while Kosovar terminology is saturated with Yugoslav calques. The Georgian transcription of Albanian names must follow Albanian pronunciation: Xhevahir as Dzhevahir, Gjergj as Gjergj with a soft g, Çiljeta as Chilieta, Ylli as Ili, and once a form is chosen it stays unchanged in all of that person's documents. Our Albanian translators command the language directly, with experience of living and working in Albania or Kosovo, and know the Gheg variant alongside standard Albanian.
Educational documents: the Matura, the 4-10 scale, recognition
Albanian school education ends with the State Matura (Matura Shtetërore) examination, and the school-leaving certificate (dëftesë pjekurie) comes together with the Matura results, while the diplomas of Albanian universities use a scale from 4 to 10, where 10 is the highest and 5 the minimum pass, which differs from the Georgian system and needs an explanatory note. Recognition of foreign diplomas in Albania is handled by the Centre for Educational Services (QSHA), and a Georgian diploma is translated into Albanian with a description of the curriculum, an apostille and notarisation. In the opposite direction, an Albanian diploma is translated for recognition in Georgia for the National Centre for Educational Quality Enhancement with an explanation of the grading system and a comparison of the Bologna degrees (bachelor, master i shkencave, master profesional, the latter being a peculiarity of the Albanian system) with the Georgian system. In both directions the names of subjects are translated identically in all of the client's documents.
Business with Albania: tourism, energy, the European path
The Albanian economy stands out for the tourism boom of recent years, hydropower, the construction sector and the service industry, and Albanian business, which looks for markets outside the Balkans, considers Georgia, as a country with a similar tourism profile and European aspiration, more and more often. The Albanian corporate system is centralised on the National Business Centre (QKB), where a company is registered and from which the historical and current extract (ekstrakt historik, ekstrakt aktual) is issued online; the company forms (sh.p.k., sh.a.) are functional analogues of the Georgian LLC and JSC, while the identification number (NIPT/NUIS) is at the same time the registration and the tax number. The documents of an Albanian company are translated for a Georgian partner or a Georgian authority with an explanation of this system, while the Georgian extract from the register of entrepreneurs and the charter are translated into Albanian for the QKB. The European integration process of both countries creates one more flow: documents of EU programmes, twinning projects and regional cooperation, where Albanian and Georgian experience meet.
Medical documents: the Albanian healthcare system
The Albanian healthcare system is built on the "Mother Teresa" University Hospital Centre in Tirana (QSUT), regional hospitals and fast-growing private clinics, and medical documents, the discharge sheet (fletë-dalje), the epicrisis (epikrizë), the medical report (raport mjekësor), the forensic medical conclusion, are issued in Albanian. Albanian patients rarely come to Georgia, because Albanian medical tourism is directed towards Italy and Turkey, but the medical documents of Albanian students, Georgian-Albanian families and Albanian citizens working in Georgia form a regular flow. Albanian medical terminology is built on Latin, Italian and English roots and is often transparent for a Georgian doctor, but the trade names of medicines belong to the Balkan and Italian markets and need the international non-proprietary name in the Georgian translation. In the opposite direction, a Georgian epicrisis is translated into Albanian for an Albanian clinic or for the Order of Physicians of Albania (Urdhri i Mjekëve).
Transliteration: digraphs and the father's name
Albanian orthography uses the Latin alphabet with digraphs, and each digraph denotes one sound: xh as j in "jam", gj as a soft g, ç as ch, sh as sh, zh as the s in "measure", th and dh as interdental sounds like in English, ll and rr as hardened l and r. A translator who reads an Albanian name with Italian or English logic turns Xhevahir into "Kshevahir", which is unrecognisable to an Albanian. Albanian civil status acts also contain the father's name (atësia) between the first name and the surname, and this is part of the official record; the Georgian system, which expects one first name and one surname, receives it with a note. In the translation we keep the full name in the order of the original, write the Latin form according to the passport and add the Georgian transcription with Albanian pronunciation, while a form once chosen stays unchanged in all of that person's documents.
Typical mistakes in Albanian translation
Experience on the Albanian direction shows several recurring defects that we find in other providers' translations: transliterating Albanian names with Italian or English pronunciation without understanding the digraphs; the absence of an explanation of the function of the family certificate; processing Albanian and Kosovar documents identically without taking the difference in legalisation into account; translating an e-Albania electronic document without an apostille, which a Georgian authority does not accept; the absence of an explanation of the 4-10 scale; translating a Kosovar legal term with Albania's terminology or vice versa; writing the NIPT only as a tax number, although it is also the registration number. Every one of these points is on our checklist.
A Georgian in Albania, an Albanian in Georgia
Both countries are tourist destinations discovered by each other in recent years: Georgians discover the Albanian Riviera, Tirana and Berat, Albanians discover Kakheti, Svaneti and Tbilisi. For many families the road from tourism to residence is short, and in both directions a flow of residence, employment and marriage documents appears. A residence permit in Albania (leje qëndrimi) requires, at the Directorate of Border and Migration, a criminal record certificate, civil status acts, financial documents and a certificate of residence, with an apostille and an Albanian translation; the residence of an Albanian citizen in Georgia is prepared with an apostille on the Albanian documents and a Georgian translation. The Albanian civil registry requires a certificate of marital status from a foreigner to register a marriage, while the Albanian family certificate is, for registering a marriage in Georgia, the document that confirms the family status of the Albanian spouse and needs an explanation for the Georgian authority.
European integration: a shared path and shared documents
Albania is conducting accession negotiations with the European Union, Georgia is at its own stage of the European path with candidate status, and this parallel process creates a new flow of documents: EU-funded regional projects where Albanian and Georgian institutions are partners, twinning programmes where Albanian experience is transferred to Georgian authorities or vice versa, civil society cooperation, academic exchange. The documents of these projects, project applications, reports, partnership agreements, often go via English, but the internal documents of Albanian institutions, extracts from Albanian legislation and Albanian-language studies are translated directly from Albanian, with the terminology of European integration that both countries take from the official vocabulary of the European Union.
What sets our Albanian translation apart
- Knowledge of the document forms and legalisation rules of all three Albanian-speaking spaces, Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia
- Command of standard Albanian and the Gheg variant, including Kosovar legal terminology
- Knowledge of the formats of e-Albania digital documents and the rules for submitting them in Georgia
- Notarisation by a translator registered in the Albanian-Georgian pair and the apostille at the House of Justice
- Honest advice on when the version of an Albanian licensed translator is needed and how to arrange the two-stage scheme
- A standard personal document in 1 working day, by express in 1-2 hours, the process fully online
Frequently asked questions
Are documents from Albania, Kosovo and North Macedonia processed in the same way?
Linguistically one translator covers all three, but the legalisation differs: Albania and North Macedonia with an apostille, while Kosovo is not a party to the convention and needs a separate consultation.
What is the Albanian family certificate and why is it requested?
It is a document unique to the Albanian system, which describes the full composition of the household on one sheet and is mandatory for many procedures in Albania. It has no analogue in the Georgian system, so we attach an explanation to the translation.
Is there a licensed translator of Georgian in Albania?
Practically not. That is why a translation notarised in Georgia with an apostille is often the only route; if an authority requires an Albanian licensed translator, we arrange the two-stage scheme via English or Italian.
I have an Albanian document only from e-Albania, with a QR code. Will it be accepted in Georgia?
A Georgian authority requires a printed version with an apostille, which is a separate procedure at the Albanian ministry. We advise you in advance to request the document in this form while you are in Albania; in the translation we reflect the electronic origin.
Is the 4-10 scale of an Albanian diploma similar to the Georgian one?
Formally it is a 10-point scale, but the minimum pass is 5 and the categories differ. We attach an explanatory note to the translation so that the Georgian authority reads the grade correctly.
A Kosovar document arrived without an apostille. What do I do?
Kosovo is not a party to the convention, and the route of certification must be determined individually. We offer a consultation before the order.
How is an Albanian name written in Georgian?
With Albanian pronunciation, taking the digraphs into account: Dzhevahir, Gjergj, Chilieta. We keep the chosen form in all of that person's documents, and the Latin entry according to the passport.
How is the NIPT number of an Albanian company reflected in the Georgian translation?
Unchanged, with an explanation that it is at the same time the registration and the tax number. A Georgian authority that expects two separate numbers could be confused without this explanation.
Should I translate the Albanian documents of an EU project from English or from Albanian?
If the English version is official, from English; if the Albanian is the original and the English is only a working translation, from Albanian. We clarify the status of the document when the order is placed.
How long does an Albanian translation take?
A personal document in 1 working day, by express in 1-2 hours. The apostille time depends on the schedule of the House of Justice, corporate and medical packages have an individual deadline.