Why document translation for an Italian national (type D) visa calls for careful preparation

Italy’s national visa for long stays (type D) calls for a different level of care over documents than the short-stay Schengen visa. In applications made for purposes such as work, family reunification or study, the Turkish documents in the file are almost always supported by a translation.

Documents are mostly requested in Italian

An Italian translation is expected for papers such as a civil registry extract, a marriage or birth certificate, an employment contract or a diploma. Documents in English are accepted in some cases, but a request for Italian translation is markedly more common in national visa files. Since which documents are requested varies with the purpose of your application, we recommend taking the relevant consulate’s current document list as your starting point.

Certification often accompanies the translation

On the Italian side, a certification step may arise in addition to sworn translation. For official documents issued in Türkiye an apostille may be required, and for the translation to be submitted to the Italian authorities a separate approval process may be required. Because the need for an apostille varies with the type of document and the procedure it will be used in, the file has to be assessed document by document rather than treated as an absolute requirement.

The most common problem in national visa applications is a file being returned because the translation was prepared in the wrong language or with incomplete certification. Planning your document set as a whole in advance reduces that risk considerably. In our office we work through work and family reunification files with you to establish which document is prepared in which order and in what format.