Translations for child and dependant visas

Who counts as a dependant and what has to be shown

Dependant applications come in several shapes: a partner and children of a Skilled Worker or another work-route migrant; the children of a student on a postgraduate research course or a government-sponsored programme; a child joining a parent who is British or settled; and a child applying with a parent under the partner route in Appendix FM. The questions are always the same. Is this person really the partner or child of the main applicant? Where a child applies with one parent only, does that parent have sole responsibility, or has the other parent consented? Is there money to support them? In a Turkish family the answers are in the civil registry (nüfus) records, family court files and notarial consent letters, all in Turkish.

The translation rule

For children of partners under Appendix FM the translation paragraph is FM-SE 1(j), which asks for the original, a full translation that can be independently verified, the date, confirmation of accuracy and the translator’s or company representative’s name, signature and contact details, with company credentials for in-country applications. For dependants on the work and study routes the general GOV.UK certifying rule, quoted in the box, applies: written confirmation that the translation is a true and accurate translation of the original document, the date, and the full name and contact details of the translator or a representative of the translation company. Our certification satisfies both sets of words, and no notarisation is needed.

The Turkish documents that prove a family

• A single nüfus kayıt örneği for the whole family, which lists parents, marriage and each child with dates and is often the most economical way to prove several relationships at once.
• Each child’s birth certificate (doğum belgesi) where a caseworker or adviser prefers individual documents.
• The parents’ marriage certificate for a partner application.
• A custody order (velayet kararı) from the family court where the parents have separated and one of them is bringing the child.
• A consent letter (muvafakatname) signed by the parent staying in Türkiye, usually drawn up before a Turkish notary, agreeing to the child living in the UK.
• Adoption or guardianship decisions where the child is not the applicant’s biological child.
• Bank statements for the dependants’ maintenance funds where the sponsor has not certified them.

Typical difficulties on dependant files

• A consent letter translated without the notary’s attestation block, so the caseworker cannot see that it was signed and by whom.
• A custody order without the finality note (kesinleşme şerhi), leaving doubt whether it is in force.
• Children’s names on the nüfus record and on the passports spelt differently, including the Turkish letters ı, ş and ğ, with nothing to reconcile them.
• A short nüfus record covering only the applicant rather than the whole family, so the children do not appear.
• A maintenance statement in the main applicant’s name only, when the amount for each dependant must be shown as well.
• Documents for one child translated and the sibling’s left in Turkish because the second application was made later.

How we handle a family bundle

Send all the documents for every family member in one go. We translate them as a set, so that names, dates and places are rendered identically across the parents’ and children’s documents, and we add a translator’s note wherever a Turkish record differs from a passport. Each page carries our certification with the accuracy statement, date, signature, company name, Ankara registry number and contact details, and each original is attached behind its translation in the PDF. A family bundle with a full nüfus kayıt örneği, a marriage certificate and two birth certificates is usually £40–60 and ready in 1–2 working days; a custody judgment or notarial consent letter adds £10–40 depending on length. No UK VAT is charged. For the main applicant’s side see our Skilled Worker or spouse and partner page.