Visa eligibility

Visa requirements

New arrivals with certain permanent resident visas and selected temporary visas can use the Free Translating Service for the translation of up to 10 personal documents.

Holders of eligible visa subclasses are generally allowed to access the service. Please be aware that the list of eligible visa subclasses is subject to change without notice. The subclasses that are eligible are:

100, 101, 102, 103, 105, 106, 114, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121, 124, 126, 132, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 139, 143, 151, 175, 176, 186, 187, 189, 190, 200, 201, 202, 203, 204, 300, 309, 403, 405, 410, 445, 449, 476, 482, 485, 491, 494, 785, 786, 790, 800, 801, 802, 804, 808, 820, 834, 835, 836, 837, 838, 846, 851, 852, 855, 856, 857, 858, 859, 861, 862, 863, 864, 866, 880, 881, 882, 883, 885, 886, 887, 888, 890, 891, 892, 893

If you previously accessed the Free Translating Service while your visa subclass was eligible but it is no longer listed, you are not eligible for additional document translations.

In addition, you must meet the following conditions:

• Your visa must have been granted within the previous 2 years. If your eligible visa was granted more than 2 years ago, you are no longer eligible to access the Free Translating Service.
• Your visa must be valid. If your visa has expired or has been cancelled, you are no longer eligible to access the Free Translating Service, even if the visa was granted within the previous 2 years. Document translations required for visa renewals, visa or citizenship applications are not eligible. 
• You must not have previously exhausted the allowable limit of 10 translated documents.
• You must not have successfully accessed the service while on a previously eligible visa which was granted more than 2 years ago. The eligibility period is not re-set each time you are granted a new eligible visa.
• You must be onshore (in Australia) to access the Free Translating Service. 

All other visa subclasses, including bridging visas, tourist visas, and working holiday visas are ineligible for the Free Translating Service. Australian citizens are also ineligible.

Some visa subclasses may have additional eligibility requirements, details of which will be verified during the application process.

Checking your visa details 

Your grant notice was issued to you, or to someone acting on your behalf by the Department of Home Affairs. The visa grant notice includes your visa subclass number, your visa grant number, the date when your visa was granted and other information about your visa, including visa conditions and entitlements such as work and/or study rights.

You can check your visa status and your entitlements by using the Visa Entitlement Verification Online (VEVO) system.

What to do if you are not eligible

There are a number of commercial translating providers you can choose to access.

We recommend that you confirm the specific translation requirements with the institution that needs your translation before engaging a translator.

Please submit an enquiry using the option Free Translating Service in our contact form if you have questions about your eligibility. We will contact you for further assistance.

Document eligibility

Document criteria

Eligible applicants can have up to 10 personal documents translated by the Free Translating Service. Personal documents must be issued by an official authority that name you, belong to you, and are primarily about you.

Document translations required for visa or citizenship applications, or documents issued by private citizens are not eligible.

Translator affidavits for family court or other legal purposes are not available from the Free Translating Service.

Eligible personal documents

The following documents can be translated by the Free Translating Service:

• Academic transcripts
  An academic transcript is a document that records the subject name and the mark awarded. Documents that include lengthy course descriptions or comments on student performance are not accepted as academic transcripts. If an academic transcript includes general information about the course or comments on student performance, this information will be omitted during the translation process. University syllabi or similar documents are also not accepted.
• Birth certificates
• Business documents
• Change of name certificates
• Civil partnership certificates
• Custody documents
• Death certificates
  You can submit the death certificate of an immediate family member (for example, parent, spouse or child) for translation, even if your name is not mentioned on the document. This applies to their death certificate only. Any other documents of the deceased will not be eligible.
• Divorce documents and dissolution of civil partnership documents
• Driver licences
  International driving permits are not accepted for free translation. Documents such as 'driver certificates' are not accepted for free translation unless they are submitted in addition to the actual licence. Driver certificates/confirmations are considered as supporting documents, information will be included in the translation of the actual licence.
• Education documents
• Employment documents
• Family registers
• Household registration documents
• Identity documents
• Marriage certificates
• Medical documents if ongoing treatment is required in Australia
• Occupational licences
• Penal certificates and Good Conduct certificates
• Police clearance certificates
• Religious documents
• Vaccination documents

You cannot get the same document translated twice.

Document validity

The documents you submit will need to be good quality and in colour. We can only translate original documents and files, and cannot accept certified copies.

If your name has changed between the issue of your passport/ImmiCard and the issue of the documents you need translated, you will be prompted to provide include evidence (in English) of your change of name. If the document is in a language other than English, you may include it in the list of documents you need translated.

All applicants must provide genuine documents for identification and translation. All information provided must be true and correct. Any misinformation may result in the refusal of the application. Any fraudulent, forged or edited documents received will be reported.

Translations to obtain a NSW drivers licenses

If you are applying for an Australian drivers licence in New South Wales (NSW), you need to have your foreign-language licence translated by either the Free Translating Service or Multicultural NSW Language Services.

If you checked and you are not eligible for the Free Translating Service, you can visit a NSW Service Centre or obtain more information from their website.