Translation

NAATI Certified Translation — What Australian Visas Require

The Department of Home Affairs requires every non-English document in your Australian visa application to be translated by a NAATI-credentialed translator. Here's how it works from Thailand.

Published 2026-03-22 Updated 2026-05-26 6 min readBy NYC Translation Team

Certified translator's desk with bilingual Thai–English documents, dictionary and laptop used for NAATI and legal translation work

TL;DR

NAATI = National Accreditation Authority for Translators and Interpreters
Required for: Partner 820/801, Skilled 189/190, Student 500, Tourist 600
Look for NAATI stamp + translator number on every page
NYC offers NAATI-certified Thai↔English translation from Bangkok

Why NAATI is mandatory

Home Affairs accepts only translations from translators 'currently certified by NAATI' for documents translated IN Australia, OR translators with equivalent credentials for translations done OUTSIDE Australia. NYC's Thai team holds active NAATI Certified Translator (CT) status, accepted globally.

Documents commonly needing NAATI translation

Partner visa: marriage certificate, joint financial statements, household bills, family relationship statements. Skilled visa: degree, transcripts, employment references, payslips. Student visa: secondary school certificate, GPA transcript, financial guarantor letter.

How to order from Thailand

Email scanned documents to translate@nyclanguage.co.th. We quote within 30 minutes. Standard turnaround: 2 business days at ฿800–1,500 per page. Each page bears the NAATI seal, translator's signature, NAATI number, and a certification statement matching Home Affairs format.

Related service

NAATI Certified Translation

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Need case-specific advice?

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LINE @nycli +66 83-249-4999

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I use a Thai sworn translator instead of NAATI?

No, not for Australian government use. The Department of Home Affairs and most Australian state authorities specifically require NAATI-credentialed translators (Certified Translator level, formerly Level 3) for all non-English documents submitted from outside Australia. Thai sworn or MFA-stamped translations alone will be rejected at lodgement. NYC delivers true NAATI-certified output directly.

Do you provide hard copies?

Yes. We courier original hard-copy NAATI translations bearing the translator's wet signature, NAATI stamp, and unique certificate number via DHL Express to any address in Australia or worldwide, typically arriving in 3–5 business days. You can also collect at our Asok office in Bangkok. A signed PDF is usually sufficient for online ImmiAccount lodgement.

How long is the translation valid?

NAATI-certified translations do not technically expire — the NAATI credential and document content remain valid indefinitely. However, Home Affairs case officers and migration agents prefer translations completed within the last 12 months to ensure currency of names, addresses, and any official endorsements, particularly for police clearances and academic records that may have been re-issued.

Tags:#NAATI#Australia visa#certified translation

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Advisors, not just a document-running agency

Talk to our advisory team before you start

Our team has over 15 years of experience in translation, certification, and filings with Thai and overseas authorities. We advise on choosing the correct certification route, sequencing your documents, and repairing files that were previously refused.

A case review before work begins, so you only prepare the documents that are genuinely required
The correct order of steps from day one, reducing the risk of a refusal and a restart
A plain explanation of the destination authority's stated requirements as published at the time of advice
If you would rather not handle it yourself, we run the full process end to end and return the finished file