Joint Press Release of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Digital Governance

Better and faster procedures for official translation through metafraseis.services.gov.gr

Citizens who wish to use the procedure for official translation of documents of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, can now avail themselves of this service in a digital, simpler, faster and more secure way through the Single Digital Portal of Public Administration gov.gr.

The procedure includes two new digital services designed by the General Secretariat of Digital Governance and Simplification of Procedures of the Ministry of Digital Governance and the competent Services of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The implementation is carried out in the framework of Law 4781/2021 “Organization and operation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and of the World Council of Hellenes Abroad, regulation of international development cooperation and humanitarian aid issues and other provisions”, following relevant decisions of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs Nikolaos Dendias and State and Digital Governance Kyriakos Pierrakakis.

The new services concern:

1. Searching for a certified translator (for citizens and businesses)

2. Entering translation particulars (for certified translators)

The services are designed in an extremely simple and citizen-friendly way

Specifically:
–  Citizens are not required to visit the former Translation Service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They can enter gov.gr using Taxisnet login (user name/password) and they can easily and quickly search for the certified translator of their choice in the Register of Certified Translators of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in the section “Citizen and Everyday life / Translations / Search for a certified translator” or at metafraseis.services.gov.gr. Contact between citizen and translator, as well as the sending of documents can be done exclusively digitally, without the need for a visit to a public agency.

–  Translations bear a unique barcode and the qualified electronic signature of the translator.

The implementing bodies of the new services are National Infrastructures for Research and Technology (GRNET S.A.), operating under the auspices of the Ministry of Digital Governance and the General Secretariat of Information Systems for Public Administration of the Ministry of Digital Governance.

Certified translators officially translate the following types of documents from a foreign language into Greek and vice versa and provide their services as freelancers:

–  Public and private documents submitted by individuals or public agencies

–  Foreign public documents, as defined in the Hague Convention, provided that they bear the stamp of the Hague Convention “APOSTILLE” when they originate from a country that is a party to the Convention.

–  Private documents may be officially translated if they are validated or certified. Certified translators may also translate non-validated, non-certified, unsigned and computer-generated private documents, whose translation shall not be official.