Since 2022 the Ukrainian language has become part of everyday reality in Georgia: tens of thousands of Ukrainians live in Tbilisi, Batumi and other cities, children study in Georgian and Ukrainian schools, Ukrainian IT companies and individual entrepreneurs are registered in the Georgian registry, and Ukrainian documents are submitted daily to Georgian bodies, banks, clinics and courts. At the same time Georgians study, work and run businesses in Ukraine, and Georgian documents go to Ukrainian notaries, the civil registry and the migration service. The Ukrainian-Georgian direction has one important legal feature that sets it apart from the European languages: by virtue of the treaty on legal assistance between the two countries, documents do not need an apostille. This page describes how we work with Ukrainian and what the client should know.
Who orders Ukrainian translation in Georgia
Ukrainian-language orders with us fall into two large groups. The first, the most numerous since 2022, are Ukrainians living in Georgia: residence permit, opening a bank account, enrolling a child in school, transferring to a university, marriage or divorce, business registration, exchange of a driving licence, medical services, recognition of disability status. The second group are Georgians connected with Ukraine: students who studied at Ukrainian universities and need recognition of their diploma, Georgian-Ukrainian families, businesses working with Ukrainian partners or on the Ukrainian market, and those who have property, an inheritance or a court case in Ukraine. Humanitarian and international organisations that work with Ukrainian beneficiaries and prepare reports, questionnaires and information materials in Ukrainian stand apart.
No apostille needed: the 1995 treaty
The treaty between Georgia and Ukraine on legal assistance and legal relations in civil and criminal matters, concluded in 1995, provides that a document issued or certified by the competent body of one country is accepted in the other without legalisation. In practice this means: a Ukrainian birth certificate, diploma, criminal record certificate or notarial power of attorney does not need an apostille in Georgia, and a Georgian document does not need one in Ukraine either. Only a notarised translation is needed. This simplifies and speeds up the process considerably, especially in wartime, when obtaining an apostille in Ukraine is difficult. Two warnings still apply: some private organisations (banks, insurance companies, private universities) require an apostille anyway by their internal rules, and this must be clarified in advance; and if you also need to submit the Ukrainian document in a third country, you will need an apostille there.
Diia and electronic documents
Ukraine's "Дія" (Diia) platform offers citizens a digital passport, driving licence, birth certificate, criminal record certificate and other documents on a smartphone, and many Ukrainians in Georgia have precisely these digital versions instead of paper originals. A Georgian notary requires a paper document or its scan for certification, so a PDF generated from Diia (for example a criminal record certificate with a QR code or an extract from the Unified State Register) is suitable for certification if the verification code or electronic signature on it is legible, while a screenshot of the digital passport is, as a rule, not sufficient. We help the client export a document in the right format from Diia (many certificates are issued from the platform with an electronic signature and verified online), and reflect the verification data in full in the translation so that the Georgian official can check the authenticity.
Ukrainian, not Russian: names and transliteration
The most frequent and most painful mistake when translating Ukrainian documents is transferring names in the Russian form: Микола as Nikolai, Олена as Elena, Дмитро as Dmitri, Ганна as Anna. The Ukrainian international passport transliterates the name from the Ukrainian form under the 2010 resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers (Mykola, Olena, Dmytro, Hanna), and the Georgian translation must follow exactly that form. The Ukrainian "г" is rendered in Georgian as "h" (Григорій as Hryhorii), "ґ" as "g", "и" as "y", "є" as "ie", "ї" as "i" or "yi" depending on context, and cities are written in the Ukrainian form: Kyiv, Kharkiv, Lviv, Odesa, Dnipro. This is not only a matter of correctness but of respect, and at the same time a legal one: if the name in a Georgian document does not match the Latin version of the passport, the body considers the document inconsistent with the original. So before starting the translation we always ask for the Latin page of the passport.
Residence and the Public Service Development Agency
Ukrainian citizens can stay in Georgia visa-free for one year, and for longer residence they need a residence permit, issued by the Public Service Development Agency on the basis of work, study, family reunification or other grounds. The application includes a notarised Georgian translation of the Ukrainian documents (marriage certificate for family reunification, diploma for work residence, criminal record certificate for some categories), without an apostille. For work residence the documents of a Georgian company or registration as an individual entrepreneur are additionally needed, and the Ukrainian "ФОП" (individual entrepreneur) status is not recognised automatically in Georgia and requires Georgian registration. We prepare the residence package as a whole so that the name is in the same form in every document.
Children in Georgian and Ukrainian schools
When Ukrainian children are enrolled in a Georgian school, the school and the Ministry of Education require a Georgian translation of the Ukrainian school documents: "табель" (grade sheet), "особова справа учня" (the pupil's personal file), "довідка з місця навчання" (certificate from the school), and the certificate of complete secondary education ("свідоцтво про здобуття повної загальної середньої освіти") for university admission. A public school with a Ukrainian sector operates in Tbilisi, where Ukrainian-language teaching continues, and many children study in parallel at a Ukrainian online school too, which requires mutual recognition of documents of both systems. The Ukrainian 12-point grading system does not match the Georgian 10-point one, and a note on the scale is added in the translation of the grade sheet so that the school places the child in the right class. The vaccination card (form 063/о) is translated separately for school and kindergarten.
Universities: transfer, recognition, NCEQE
When Ukrainian students transfer to a Georgian university (mobility) and when Georgian graduates have a Ukrainian diploma recognised, the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement requires a Georgian translation of the Ukrainian documents: the diploma ("диплом бакалавра/магістра"), the diploma supplement ("додаток до диплома"), the academic certificate ("академічна довідка") in the case of incomplete studies, the study record. The Ukrainian higher education system follows the three-cycle Bologna system (бакалавр, магістр, доктор філософії), while older diplomas from the 2000s with the "спеціаліст" qualification need a separate explanation. Because of the war many Ukrainian universities have relocated or switched to online mode, and certificates reflecting these circumstances must be rendered exactly in the translation so that the Center identifies the university correctly. Diplomas of Georgian universities are translated into Ukrainian for recognition by the Ukrainian Ministry of Education.
Business: IT companies, FOP, banks
Since 2022 hundreds of Ukrainian IT companies and thousands of Ukrainian freelancers have registered in Georgia, and the Georgian "small business status" for individual entrepreneurs has become a familiar alternative to the Ukrainian "ФОП" system. For registration and opening a bank account, the Public Registry and banks require a Georgian translation of the Ukrainian documents: the extract from the Unified State Register ("витяг з ЄДР"), the articles of association ("статут"), the founders' decision, the tax number ("РНОКПП", formerly ІПН), and the banks' KYC procedure also requires documents confirming the source of income (Ukrainian contracts, tax returns, the FOP extract). The Ukrainian "ТОВ" is the analogue of the Georgian LLC, "ПрАТ" and "ПАТ" are joint-stock companies, and "ФОП" is an individual entrepreneur. In the opposite direction, Georgian companies' documents are translated into Ukrainian for Ukrainian partners, tenders and entry to the Ukrainian market.
The state language: why a Russian translation will not do
Ukraine's law on the state language provides that state and municipal bodies, courts, notaries and educational institutions accept documents in Ukrainian, and a foreign document must be translated into Ukrainian to be submitted in Ukraine. This means that a Russian translation of a Georgian document, which years ago was usable in Ukraine too, is not accepted by a Ukrainian body today. We translate directly from Georgian into Ukrainian, without Russian as an intermediate language, with Ukrainian administrative terminology ("довідка", "витяг", "свідоцтво", "посвідчення") and in the Ukrainian official style, which differs from Russian not only in vocabulary but in its formulas too. In the opposite direction, the Georgian translation of Ukrainian documents is made from the Ukrainian text, even if the document is bilingual (Ukrainian and Russian), which is common in Soviet and 1990s documents.
Georgians in Ukraine: property, inheritance, court
The Georgian diaspora in Ukraine is historically one of the largest, and many Georgians have property, relatives, an inheritance case or a court dispute in Ukraine. In wartime these matters are often settled remotely, by power of attorney: a power of attorney drawn up before a Georgian notary is translated into Ukrainian and, by virtue of the legal assistance treaty, is valid in Ukraine without an apostille, though a Ukrainian notary looks for the wording of Ukrainian notarial practice in the text, and we prepare the draft power of attorney taking into account the requirements of the notaries of both countries. A Ukrainian court judgment (divorce, alimony, inheritance, debt) is translated in full for recognition in Georgia, with the note on entry into legal force, and by virtue of the treaty the recognition procedure is simplified. A Georgian court judgment goes to Ukraine likewise, with a Ukrainian translation.
Humanitarian and international organisations
International organisations, foundations and local NGOs working in Georgia serve Ukrainian beneficiaries and prepare information materials in Ukrainian (how to obtain residence, how to enrol a child in school, where to go for medical help), questionnaires, consent forms, and beneficiaries' documents and interviews in Georgian or English for donors. These texts do not need notarisation, but they do need lively, understandable Ukrainian that speaks to the reader without bureaucratic calques, and a delicate approach to sensitive topics (trauma, loss, family separation). A Ukrainian editor works on such projects at our agency, and the terminology base is built together with the organisation so that the same terms are used in all materials.
Driving licence, car and everyday documents
For Ukrainian drivers whose cars have been on Georgian roads since 2022, exchanging the driving licence for a Georgian one and regularising the car's status (temporary import, insurance, registration) requires a Georgian translation of the Ukrainian vehicle documents: "посвідчення водія", "свідоцтво про реєстрацію транспортного засобу", the customs declaration. The same group includes everyday documents that seem insignificant at first sight but are essential for a body: a certificate from the workplace, a certificate of income, a lease agreement for an apartment in Ukraine, utility bills as proof of address, a bank statement. These documents are often needed in express mode, because a bank's or agency's request appears unexpectedly, and our 1-2 hour deadline exists precisely for such situations.
Georgian for Ukrainians: study and qualification documents
Many Ukrainians who stayed in Georgia are learning Georgian and entering the Georgian labour market, which requires translation of professional qualification documents: professional certificates, course certificates, portfolios, references, certificates of work experience, which a Georgian employer needs in Georgian. For regulated professions (doctor, nurse, teacher, lawyer, architect) recognition of the diploma and Georgian certification are needed, for other professions a translation of the documents is enough. Certificates of Georgian language proficiency, which Ukrainians receive after completing Georgian language courses, are translated in the opposite direction, into Ukrainian, for Ukrainian bodies or an employer. This direction has been growing noticeably since 2023.
What we translate into and from Ukrainian most often
- Passport (ID card and international passport), birth, marriage and divorce certificates
- School certificate, grade sheet, diploma, supplement, academic certificate for school and university
- Criminal record certificate (from the МВС or from Diia), tax number, certificate of income
- Extract from the ЄДР, articles of association, FOP extract, contracts for business registration and the bank
- Driving licence, vehicle registration certificate for exchange and registration
- Medical extract (form 027/о), МСЕК certificate, vaccination card (form 063/о)
- Power of attorney, notarial statement, court judgment in both directions
- Georgian documents into Ukrainian: diploma, certificates, company papers, court acts
How the order proceeds
The process starts online: you upload the document on the website (including a PDF generated from Diia) and indicate which body you will submit it to. The same day you receive the deadline. A standard document is ready in one working day, in express mode in 1-2 hours, which is especially often needed in the Ukrainian direction because residence, school and bank deadlines are short. The translation is done by a translator registered with a notary in the Ukrainian-Georgian pair, and a Ukrainian-speaking editor checks translations from Georgian into Ukrainian. No apostille is needed between the two countries, so the process is short: translation and notarisation. You receive the finished document electronically and by courier, in any city in Georgia. All documents are handled under a confidentiality agreement.
Official sources
- Public Service Development Agency: apostille and legalization: which Georgian documents can get an apostille, which cannot, and how long it takes
- Hague Conference: Apostille Convention member states: the current list of countries: apostille or consular legalization
Frequently asked questions
Does a Ukrainian document really not need an apostille in Georgia?
At state bodies, the notary and the court, no: the 1995 legal assistance treaty exempts it from legalisation. A notarised Georgian translation is enough. Some private organisations require an apostille anyway by their internal rules, which we clarify in advance.
Is a document exported from Diia suitable for certification?
A certificate issued with an electronic signature or a verification code (criminal record, extract from a register), yes. A screenshot of the digital passport, as a rule, no; in that case a scan of the paper passport is needed.
My name is written in the Russian form in an old Georgian document. What should I do?
In the translation we keep the Latin version of the passport (the Ukrainian form), and if a Georgian document already exists with the Russian form, we reflect both variants with a note so that the body identifies the same person. Changing the form of the name in a Georgian document is a separate procedure.
Is a Georgian document accepted in Ukraine with a Russian translation?
No. Under Ukraine's law on the state language, bodies, notaries and courts accept documents in Ukrainian. We translate directly from Georgian into Ukrainian.
Does a Ukrainian diploma need recognition in Georgia?
Yes, to continue studies at a higher education institution or to work in a regulated profession, the National Center for Educational Quality Enhancement carries out recognition with a Georgian translation of the diploma and supplement, without an apostille.
How long does a Ukrainian translation take?
A one-page document in one working day, express in 1-2 hours. No apostille is needed, so the process is shorter than with the European languages.
I live in Batumi or another city. Can I order remotely?
Yes, the process is managed entirely online, and we send the finished document by courier to any city in Georgia.