Commercial and Company Document Translation for Ireland

As the principal country inside the European Union in which English is the working language, Ireland occupies a particular place for Turkish companies. This page deals with the documents a company established in Türkiye will put before the Irish companies register, before a customer or before a contracting authority. An Irish company setting up a structure in Türkiye is a separate process, in which the documents are translated in the other direction.

Why Ireland: an English-language file inside the Union

After the United Kingdom left the Union, Ireland became a natural base for companies wanting to reach the European Union market in English. In translation terms that brings a concrete convenience: your Turkish documents are translated into English, and no further translation into Irish is expected. Being inside the Union does mean, though, that customs and preferential trade rules work differently from the way they do in the United Kingdom, and companies that take the two countries to be the same are meeting surprises on the customs side. On company documents, by contrast, the road resembles that of other English-speaking markets. One further practical detail is that although Ireland’s own official language is Irish, commercial and administrative correspondence is in fact conducted in English; a request for an Irish translation is not an ordinary occurrence, and where such a request arrives it needs to be confirmed first.

Turkish documents before the companies register

Companies in Ireland are entered on the national companies register; the incorporation document and a filing showing that the company is active are the two pieces of paper commercial life asks for constantly. Their counterparts in Türkiye are the notice in the Turkish Trade Registry Gazette and a recently dated certificate of activity from the trade registry directorate. The articles of association show the shareholding structure and the objects of the company, and the signature circular shows authority to represent it. Where a subsidiary is to be set up in Ireland, the resolution of the parent shareholder’s governing body joins the file as well; on a branch registration the parent company’s documents become more central still, because no separate legal person comes into being. On the branch route, filing the parent company’s accounts with the register may also arise, and that produces an unexpected item of translation for Turkish companies, since it is not the whole of the financial statements but the sections the register asks for that are translated – and which sections those will be should be asked at the outset. On the opening of a bank account, in turn, the compliance review requires the ownership chain to be opened up to the very top, and the documents involved there are submitted with a certified translation.

Contract translation in the export of services

A large share of what is sold to Ireland is not goods but services; software development, consultancy, design and support services are among the main items Turkish companies bring to this market. The paperwork burden in the export of services differs from that in the export of goods: there is no customs document, but framework agreements, service level annexes, confidentiality agreements, data processing addenda and provisions on the assignment of intellectual property all come into play. These texts impose obligations directly on the parties, and translating them calls for the rigour of legal drafting; in the clauses on limitation of liability, termination and governing law above all, a shift of a single word has commercial consequences. Where the other side is going to treat the English text as authoritative, stating in the contract that the Turkish translation has been prepared for internal approval heads off later argument about interpretation.

How the statement-based system works

There is no sworn translator regime in Ireland. What is expected is the statement of accuracy attached to the translation: a signed page declaring that the translation is complete and accurate and carrying the identity and contact details of the translator or of the agency. Institutions may check that statement. In some registration and notarial matters the statement may have to be turned into a sworn statement, or given before a notary. In a file prepared in Türkiye, on the other hand, the chain of a sworn translator’s signature, notarisation and apostille is used. You can follow which level is needed document by document on our document types page.

Powers of attorney, shipping papers and the commonest ground of refusal

If a matter in Ireland is to be handled for you by your local representative, have the power of attorney drawn up before a notary, obtain its apostille, and have it translated after that; support the grantor’s authority with a current register entry. Ireland is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; verify the current list of parties through HCCH. On the shipping side, origin and movement documents follow the chamber and customs route and are not translated; because Ireland is a member of the Union, the logic of movement certificates applies to trade in industrial goods with Türkiye, and this differs from the position in the United Kingdom. The commonest ground of refusal is a translation with no statement of accuracy; second comes the date of the document, and third the company name being written differently from one document to another. Delivery as an electronic file is widespread, but the scan has to be legible. You can send us your file through the quotation form and see what difference scope makes on the pricing page.

This page is intended as guidance; the certification regimes of countries and the document formats they ask for may be updated over time. For definitive information, rely on the current announcement of the institution concerned.