Thai translator in Tbilisi

Thai in Georgia is among those languages whose translation comes from three entirely different flows: the long-term life, work and marriage of Georgian citizens in Thailand; the growing interest of Thai business and tourists in Georgia, from Thai spa salons and restaurants in Tbilisi to Thai tourist groups; and medical tourism in both directions, where Bangkok's international clinics attract Georgian patients. This language has one more peculiarity: Thailand has joined the Hague Apostille Convention, but the accession has not yet entered into force, and today a Georgian document intended for Thailand still goes through full consular legalisation. We translate from Thai into Georgian and from Georgian into Thai, notarise the translation, arrange the legalisation and know those peculiarities of Thai bureaucracy, from the Buddhist calendar to name changes, that are not found in European documents.

Legalisation, not apostille: what applies today

Thailand has deposited its instrument of accession to the Hague Convention, but the convention will enter into force for Thailand from the end of February 2027. Until that date a Georgian document intended for Thailand goes through consular legalisation instead of an apostille: first the consular department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Georgia confirms the Georgian notary's signature and seal, then the relevant Thai diplomatic mission that covers Georgia (there is no resident Thai embassy in Tbilisi) confirms the Georgian ministry's seal, and only after that the Department of Consular Affairs of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok completes the legalisation.

In the opposite direction a Thai document for Georgia is first legalised at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs, then the Georgian diplomatic mission that covers Thailand confirms it, and in Georgia the Georgian translation is notarised. This procedure is longer than an apostille, so the preparation of documents on the Thailand direction must be planned in advance. From 2027 this chain will be replaced by one apostille, and we warn clients in advance if the submission of a document is planned beyond that date.

Thai bureaucracy: what is not found in European documents

A Thai official document contains several unique challenges for a Georgian translator, and each is a classic source of error.

The Buddhist calendar: Thai documents write the date in the Buddhist era (พ.ศ.), which is 543 years ahead of the Gregorian. The Buddhist year 2569 is 2026 Gregorian. In the Georgian translation we render the date in the Gregorian calendar and keep the Buddhist year in brackets, so that the Georgian employee recognises the date when comparing with the original. A mistake in this conversion changes a date of birth by five centuries.

Name changes: Thais change their first name and surname relatively often, for astrological, religious or personal reasons, and the certificate of name change (ใบเปลี่ยนชื่อ) is a standard part of a Thai document package. A Georgian authority that sees the same person under different names in different documents records a discrepancy without explanation; in the translation we reflect the chain of name changes in full.

Titles: a Thai name always begins with a title, นาย (Mr), นาง (Mrs, married), นางสาว (Miss, unmarried), and this title is part of the official name, not a courtesy formula. In the translation we keep the title and indicate that it also reflects marital status.

Romanisation: why one name is written three ways

The Thai alphabet is transferred to Latin by one official system (the Royal Thai General System), but in passports, diplomas and bank documents other variants are often used, and the name of the same Thai citizen may be written three ways in three documents. A Georgian authority compares the Latin entry with the passport, so in the translation we always write the Latin form according to the passport, keep the Thai original in brackets and add the Georgian transcription with Thai pronunciation. The form once chosen remains unchanged in all documents of this person. In the opposite direction a Georgian name is transferred into Thai in the Thai alphabet, by phonetic transcription, and if the person already has an officially used Thai entry in Thailand (in a work permit or a marriage registration), precisely that is used in the translation.

Which documents come in Thai

• House registration book (ทะเบียนบ้าน), the central document of the Thai system, which confirms the address and the composition of the household
• Identity card (บัตรประชาชน) with a 13-digit number
• Birth certificate (สูติบัตร) and certificate of name change
• Marriage registration (ทะเบียนสมรส) and marriage certificate (ใบสำคัญการสมรส), two separate documents whose difference needs explanation for a Georgian recipient
• Certificate of marital status (ใบรับรองโสด) for marriage
• Company affidavit (หนังสือรับรองบริษัท) from the Department of Business Development
• Work permit and visa documents
• University diplomas and transcripts on the 4.0 scale
• Medical documents from Bangkok's international clinics, often bilingual

Which Georgian documents are translated into Thai

The real cases of translation from Georgian into Thai relate to long-term life in Thailand: marriage registration at a Thai district office (อำเภอ), which requires a certificate of marital status with a Thai translation and legalisation; long-stay visas, the retirement, family, remote work (DTV) and long-term resident (LTR) categories, which require financial, medical and family documents; a work permit, which requires a diploma and certificates of experience; a child's Thai citizenship or school registration; founding a Thai company with a foreign founder's documents. Added to this is marketing and tourism translation for a Thai audience, where a Thai version is a market requirement, because the Thai consumer trusts English-language material less.

Who checks the translation in Thailand

In Thailand the institution of the sworn translator does not exist. The official status of a translation is conferred by the legalisation division of the Department of Consular Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which checks the Thai translation of a foreign document and confirms it with a stamp; the ministry really checks the quality of the translation and returns an incorrect one, which is a peculiarity of the Thai system. This means that the Thai translation of a Georgian document intended for Thailand must meet two standards: the formal requirements of Georgian notarisation and of the legalisation chain, and the substantive check of the Thai ministry, where the exact use of Thai administrative terminology is decisive. Our Thai translators know the requirements of this ministry and prepare the translation so that it passes the check in Bangkok the first time.

Educational documents

The diplomas and transcripts of Thai universities, Chulalongkorn, Mahidol, Thammasat, Chiang Mai, Kasetsart, come for recognition in Georgia in a bilingual format, in Thai and English, and the Georgian translation takes the correspondence of both versions into account. The Thai grading system is built on the model of the American 4.0 scale, with letters from A to F, which differs from the Georgian system and needs an explanatory note. In the opposite direction a Georgian diploma for a Thai university or for a work permit is translated into English or Thai, while for the Thai civil service the recognition of qualifications is conducted by the Civil Service Commission by its own criteria. In both directions the names of subjects are translated identically in all of the client's documents.

Medical tourism: Bangkok clinics and Georgian patients

Bangkok's international clinics, Bumrungrad, Bangkok Hospital, Samitivej, are world centres of medical tourism, and Georgian patients go there for oncological, orthopaedic, cardiological and aesthetic treatment. These clinics often issue documents in English, but the Thai version, seals, the doctor's licence number and invoices remain in Thai, and for a Georgian insurance company or a Georgian doctor a translation of the full package is needed. In the opposite direction a Georgian medical history for a Thai clinic is translated into English, because Bangkok's international clinics work with English-speaking staff; a Thai version is prepared for a state hospital or an insurance case. Thai patients rarely come to Georgia, but the medical documents of Thai citizens working in Tbilisi create a regular flow.

Business with Thailand: company, visa, investment

The Thai corporate system creates a specific framework for a foreign investor: the Foreign Business Act limits the foreign share in many sectors to 49 percent, the Board of Investment (BOI) grants privileges and exemptions to approved projects, and company registration at the Department of Business Development (DBD) requires Thai-language documentation. A Georgian founder's documents, passport, extract from the register of entrepreneurs, articles of association, bank certificate, are translated into Thai with legalisation, while the Thai company affidavit (หนังสือรับรองบริษัท), which combines in one document the company's name, directors, signing authority, capital and objectives, is translated into Georgian for a Georgian partner or a Georgian authority. Thai business working in Tbilisi, spa salons, restaurants, tour operators, creates a regular flow of Georgian translation of Thai employees' work documents, diplomas and professional certificates (for example, the state certificate of Thai massage).

Marriage in Thailand: the anatomy of the procedure

A Georgian citizen's marriage to a Thai is registered at a Thai district office (อำเภอ), and the procedure requires from the foreigner a certificate that they are not married. This certificate is obtained in Georgia, goes through the full legalisation chain, is translated into Thai and legalised at the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs before it is submitted at the district office. After the wedding the Thai marriage registration (ทะเบียนสมรส) and certificate (ใบสำคัญการสมรส) are prepared for registration in Georgia with legalisation and a Georgian translation. A Thai prenuptial agreement, which in Thailand takes effect only together with the marriage registration, needs a separate translation if the couple wishes to regulate the property regime. When a child is born, the Thai birth certificate is translated for Georgian citizenship, with a single scheme of romanisation of the name, which must be kept in both of the child's passports.

Long-stay visas: which document for which category

In recent years Thailand has introduced several new categories of long-stay visas, and each has its own document package. The remote work visa (DTV) requires a foreign employer's contract or documents confirming freelance activity and a bank balance certificate; the long-term resident visa (LTR) requires income, insurance and qualification documents; the retirement visa an income or deposit certificate and medical insurance; the family visa the marriage certificate and the Thai spouse's documents; the work visa the employer's documents and the diploma. Each of these packages requires legalisation and translation of Georgian papers, and our experience allows us to advise the client, according to the specific category, which document to prepare in which form, so that no additional request arises at the immigration bureau.

Typical mistakes in Thai translation

Experience on the Thai direction shows several recurring defects that we find in other providers' translations: not converting the Buddhist year to Gregorian, or converting it wrongly; omitting the title (นาย, นาง, นางสาว) or writing it as part of the name without explanation; ignoring the certificate of name change, because of which one person appears under different names; mixing romanisation systems without comparing with the passport; translating the marriage registration and the marriage certificate as one document; the absence of an explanation of the function of the house registration book; requesting an apostille where legalisation is needed, or a wrong sequence of the legalisation chain. Every one of these points is on our checklist.

The Thai language in translation: what the translator must know

Thai is a tonal language with its own alphabet, where words are not separated by spaces, there are no capital and small letters, and the same syllable in five different tones means five different words. The official Thai register differs noticeably from everyday language: administrative terminology is built on words of Sanskrit and Pali origin, while documents connected with royal institutions use a separate, royal vocabulary. When translating a Georgian document into Thai the translator must use precisely the official register that the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs expects during its check, and render the names of Georgian authorities by the logic of Thai administration. Our Thai translators command the language with many years of experience of studying and working in Thailand and know the official register.

What sets our Thai translation apart

• Organisation of the full legalisation chain on the Georgian side and preparation for the transition to the apostille in 2027
• Knowledge of the Buddhist calendar, name changes and the system of titles, which is the basis for reading Thai documents correctly
• A consistent romanisation scheme according to the passport, keeping the Thai original
• Knowledge of the requirements of the substantive check of the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs
• Notarisation by a translator registered in the Thai-Georgian pair, the process fully online

Frequently asked questions