English to Polish Translation

This direction is used when an English document has to be put before Poland. The typical applicant submits a diploma, a registry record or a company document issued in an English-speaking country to a university, an employer or an authority in Poland. Unlike the de|pl pair, the source is English rather than German; the defining features of the Polish target, however, are the same: the translation must come from a sworn translator on the Ministry of Justice list, and diploma recognition may call for a separate process (nostryfikacja).

Concrete examples make the direction clear: taking a degree awarded abroad through recognition in Poland, a foreign company entering the Polish market with its registry documents, criminal record and income documents submitted for a work permit. The source carries Anglo-Saxon reality, while the target assesses it against the Polish administrative language.

Education and work files carry the weight in this direction; in diploma applications it is reckoned with from the outset that translation alone may not suffice and that the nostryfikacja process may also be required. That widens the set of documents.

Translating these documents calls for Anglo-Saxon concepts to be settled into their Polish administrative counterparts; care is also taken that the translation is prepared in keeping with the sworn translator requirement.

The first question in this direction is whether diploma recognition is needed, because for some diplomas Poland looks for a university recognition process beyond translation (nostryfikacja), and that changes both the set of documents and the process. This is established at the outset; otherwise the application can stall for want of a document and time is lost. Where nostryfikacja is required, the translation is prepared to the level of detail that process calls for and the breakdown of courses is conveyed in full.

English diploma and degree names are given in their original form with an explanation rather than by their counterpart within the Polish higher education framework; the recognition decision rests with the Polish authority. Credit information is preserved in a comparable form.

Because the translation will be subject to the requirement of a sworn translator on the Ministry of Justice list, the layout of the document is prepared in keeping with that form of certification; the position of the signature and seal areas is preserved.

In commercial and residence files the documents are submitted as a set; the company name, the names of the parties and the amounts are conveyed with exact consistency from one document to the next. Official wording is settled into the administrative formulas established in Polish rather than freely rewritten.

Technical matters peculiar to English into Polish

English names are preserved in the Polish text in their original Latin spelling and are not confused with the marked letters of Polish. Although a woman’s name may be inflected in a Polish text, in an official document the name as it appears in the passport governs.

Company forms (Ltd., LLC) are not turned automatically into the Polish sp. z o.o.; the original abbreviation is preserved and explained. English legal concepts are rendered in Polish according to their function.

Dates are adapted to day-month-year order and the decimal separator to a comma; amounts are not converted. English abbreviations are unpacked and, where necessary, given in brackets.

The signature and date details on the document are preserved in place. Across documents belonging to the same person, the spelling of the name is kept consistent.

In diploma applications the degree and credit information is conveyed openly; English degree names are not forced into equivalence with a Polish degree but explained. Where nostryfikacja is required, the translation is prepared to suit that process.

In commercial files the company name, the partners and the amounts have to be conveyed with exact consistency; registry numbers are not translated but given with a reference to the record.

In work permit files the date and the issuing authority of the criminal record and income documents are stated openly; the official wording in these documents is settled into the administrative formulas established in Polish rather than freely rewritten.

Which documents call for this direction

• Diplomas, transcripts and professional documents
• Birth, marriage and residence documents
• Company registry records and commercial contracts
• Work and residence application documents
• Criminal record and income documents

In diploma applications it is reckoned with from the outset that translation alone may not suffice and that the nostryfikacja process may also be required. The degree and credit information is conveyed openly.

In commercial documents the company form and registry details are preserved in their original form. On criminal record documents the date and the issuing authority are stated openly.

Chain of certification

Poland asks for the translation to come from a sworn translator on the Ministry of Justice list (tłumacz przysięgły); a translation from outside that list is not accepted. A document arriving from the English-speaking source country is expected to carry an apostille, and where a diploma is involved nostryfikacja runs as a separate matter.

To see these expectations and Poland’s certification regime, look at the country page and the requirements for the document type. Tell us whether the application involves diploma recognition before you send it.

Upload your document to see the page count and the current fee, and compare the unit prices.

The account here sums up the typical case; notarisation and apostille steps are costed as separate items. The requirement in force on the date of the transaction is what governs.