Living abroad as a US citizen means translating US documents into the local language for residency permits, foreign marriages, work visas, business registration, and property purchase. We translate, certify, apostille, and legalize the full expat document set.
Each US document on this page maps to a specific foreign authority and a specific expat use case. The US Birth Certificate is submitted to foreign civil registry offices for marriage abroad (Spain, Italy, Mexico, Brazil), dual-citizenship by descent applications (Italy, Ireland, Poland, Germany), and child registration with the local registrar. The US Marriage Certificate goes to the same civil registry offices to register a US marriage in the destination country and to foreign immigration authorities for spouse-sponsored residency. The US Divorce Decree is filed with foreign courts and civil registries to lift a prior marital tie before a new marriage abroad. The US Passport (informational copy) is presented to foreign embassies, consulates, and foreign banks to open accounts and prove identity at notarial appointments. US Diploma & Transcripts go to foreign universities for graduate admissions, credential evaluation, and to foreign employers and professional licensing boards for skilled work visas in Germany, the Netherlands, Australia, and the UAE.
The FBI Background Check (Identity History Summary) is the workhorse of expat residency files: it is required by foreign immigration authorities for the Spain non-lucrative visa, Portugal D7, Italy elective residence, Mexico residente temporal, UAE residence, and Costa Rica pensionado, and by foreign employers for skilled work permits. Because it is a federal document, it is apostilled only by the US Department of State; we coordinate the full chain. IRS Tax Returns (Form 1040 plus schedules) and Bank Statements are submitted to foreign banks for mortgage applications and to foreign real estate authorities (notarios in Spain, notaios in Italy, escribanos in Argentina) to prove income and source of funds for property purchase, and immigration authorities also reference them for the income threshold on retiree and digital-nomad visas. For Hague Convention countries the apostille is enough; non-Hague destinations like the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Vietnam require embassy legalization — see our apostille guide and embassy legalization translation page.
The Power of Attorney is notarized in the US and then submitted to foreign real estate authorities, foreign banks, and foreign courts so a relative or agent abroad can sign a property closing, manage a foreign account, or appear in a local lawsuit on the expat's behalf. The Death Certificate (for inheritance abroad) is filed with foreign civil registry offices, foreign courts (probate), and foreign banks to release inherited property, foreign accounts, and pension residuals to US-based heirs — this is especially common for Italian and German real-estate inheritance and for Latin American probate. We provide certified translations accepted by 95% of expat destinations, plus sworn (jurada, asseverata, assermentee) options for Spain, Italy, France, Germany, Brazil, and Mexico when local law requires a court-registered translator. For destination-specific work see Spain residency translation and Spanish certified translation. Get a free quote with your destination country and intended use.
Tell us your destination country and the documents you need translated. We deliver certified, sworn, and apostilled translations accepted by every foreign embassy, immigration authority, and civil registry.