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calidan
Joined: 06 Aug 2014
Posts: 44
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 Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 2:32 pm Post subject: Document legalization/translation |
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Howdy folks,
So, I got my degree and police clearance notarized (from Michigan and California, respectively), then I sent them to the state departments that certify those notaries, who then attach a cover letter with a state seal stating the notaries are valid.
I then took these to the Vietnamese consulate in San Francisco, paid the requisite $50 per document and they legalized and translated them. However, they only translated the state cover letters that certify the notaries, not the actual documents with content (i.e., my degree/diploma, or the actual police clearance).
Is this standard practice? Is it sufficient? I would think anybody in Vietnam that is interested in these documents would need to know what the actual degree and clearance say, not just the part from the state that says the notary is valid.
Thanks! |
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RustyShackleford
Joined: 13 May 2013
Posts: 449
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| Posted: Thu Oct 02, 2014 7:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Just take it with you to VN and get it translated there for less. That's my advice. |
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calidan
Joined: 06 Aug 2014
Posts: 44
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 3:57 am Post subject: |
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| RustyShackleford wrote: |
| Just take it with you to VN and get it translated there for less. That's my advice. |
Thanks, Rusty. Sorry for another newb question, but where (in general) do you get it translated in Vietnam so that it's "official"? |
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TRH
Joined: 27 Oct 2011
Posts: 340
Location: Hawaii
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 7:10 am Post subject: |
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| calidan wrote: |
| RustyShackleford wrote: |
| Just take it with you to VN and get it translated there for less. That's my advice. |
Thanks, Rusty. Sorry for another newb question, but where (in general) do you get it translated in Vietnam so that it's "official"? |
Let me answer for him based on first hand experience: Many government offices have translation services in house but this office is probably best in this case: Office of External Relations, 06 Alexandre de Rhodes, District 1, HCMC.
You will have to go there with your diploma and other documents anyway so I would say translate it there. This is where the US consulate sends people who have English documents generated in house. I would guess the same is available in Hanoi, as it is the capital, but I don't know the address.
I had the same situation that you did with the DC embassy certifying but not translating. This seemed to be OK with all of my marriage related documents but not for the work permit related ones (Diploma and TEFL Certificate.) It seems a little ridiculous as the country officials who handled our marriage spoke no English while I am Ivory Snow sure that the people at the Department of Education and Labor that handle the work permit know enough to read a diploma. It makes no sense but little else does with the bureaucracy here. As a result, I had my diploma and certificate translated at the above address as well as re-certified there.
Hindsight it better than foresight but we both could have saved time and trouble as well as money by foregoing the Viet Embassy/consulates in the US altogether. You notarize a self sworn statement of authenticity at the US consulate here ($50US each document,) then have it all translated and certified at the Office of External Relations.
Last edited by TRH on Fri Oct 03, 2014 1:25 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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ieltsteacher102
Joined: 24 Jun 2014
Posts: 37
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| Posted: Fri Oct 03, 2014 9:00 am Post subject: |
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| i cant find that street on a map please give me directions im in backpacker area |
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TRH
Joined: 27 Oct 2011
Posts: 340
Location: Hawaii
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| Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 12:33 am Post subject: |
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| ieltsteacher102 wrote: |
| i cant find that street on a map please give me directions im in backpacker area |
Are we having fun yet? |
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calidan
Joined: 06 Aug 2014
Posts: 44
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| Posted: Sat Oct 04, 2014 12:52 am Post subject: |
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Thanks for the info, TRH. I'm glad to know I can take care of it once I get to HCMC. The back-and-forth I had to go through to get this far was a little ridiculous, especially getting my Michigan diploma notarized and authenticated from California. Anyway, I'll just head over there and deal with with the rest of the issues later.  |
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EFL4Life
Joined: 30 Aug 2014
Posts: 25
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:30 am Post subject: |
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Last edited by EFL4Life on Fri Dec 30, 2016 6:56 am; edited 2 times in total |
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TRH
Joined: 27 Oct 2011
Posts: 340
Location: Hawaii
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| Posted: Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:53 am Post subject: |
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Strictly speaking, no. What they will do is notarize a statement that you make that the document is true. Whether that is good enough for the Viet bureaucracy, I don't know. It seems to be for diplomas so good luck.
Again hindsight is better, but an FBI certificate can be ordered pre-notarized and as US DoS will certify that without running through state government channels, the Embassy should. If not you could send round trip to the US for certification. |
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I'm With Stupid
Joined: 03 Sep 2010
Posts: 432
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| Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 2:41 am Post subject: |
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| TRH wrote: |
| Strictly speaking, no. What they will do is notarize a statement that you make that the document is true. Whether that is good enough for the Viet bureaucracy, I don't know. It seems to be for diplomas so good luck. |
That is good enough. I just did it at the British consulate. It's called witnessing a signature, so basically you just write a short statement on your police check (I confirm this is my original police check, or something along those lines), sign it, write your passport number, and they will stamp it saying that it's your original signature. I suspect what actually happens is that the person reading the document doesn't actually speak English and so doesn't know what the stamp is for, but sees that it has an official UK government stamp on it, and assumes that it's an endorsement of the contents. But yeah, apparently that's enough. |
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SeldomSeen
Joined: 07 Feb 2013
Posts: 40
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| Posted: Tue Oct 14, 2014 12:42 pm Post subject: |
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That is good enough. I just did it at the British consulate. |
What? The British Consulate actually providing a useful service. That's new!
I've used them on a few limited occasions and found them expensive bureaucrats. Others have used them and labelled them as bordering useless / incompetent. Half the time they don't know the rules / guidelines of their own FCO website (it depends on which memeber of staff you speak to on the day), at other times they just can't provide any kind of useful service.
If you are in the situation of not having your middle name, for example, on your teaching certificate yet it appears on your passport then to the BC this situation is impossible for them to resolve. Just like it it is for the Vietnamese authorities - "Cannot compute - reject". I struggle to think of any positive sentence with the words "common sense" and "the British Consulate" in them |
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I'm With Stupid
Joined: 03 Sep 2010
Posts: 432
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| Posted: Wed Oct 15, 2014 7:09 am Post subject: |
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| SeldomSeen wrote: |
| Quote: |
That is good enough. I just did it at the British consulate. |
What? The British Consulate actually providing a useful service. That's new!
I've used them on a few limited occasions and found them expensive bureaucrats. Others have used them and labelled them as bordering useless / incompetent. Half the time they don't know the rules / guidelines of their own FCO website (it depends on which memeber of staff you speak to on the day), at other times they just can't provide any kind of useful service.
If you are in the situation of not having your middle name, for example, on your teaching certificate yet it appears on your passport then to the BC this situation is impossible for them to resolve. Just like it it is for the Vietnamese authorities - "Cannot compute - reject". I struggle to think of any positive sentence with the words "common sense" and "the British Consulate" in them |
Hmm, no it's still a massive joke. So in order for them to do this, you have to first email a photocopy of the document you want to Hanoi, along with a signed form with your bank details, giving them permission to debit your bank account (mmm, secure). They will then email you back with a reference number, which you use to make an appointment on the abortion that is the British Consulate website. Then, and only then, are you actually allowed in the building. So I write my statement and sign it, and she refuses to stamp it because I used the word "declare" instead of "confirm" despite the email explicitly stating that the wording of the statement is up to me and they are only validating the signature, not the statement itself. But yeah, apparently writing the word "declare" makes it a declaration or oath, and that costs £55 instead of £20 (I think she didn't have a clue what she's talking about, in reality - I think an oath is a bit more complicated, hence the higher fee). Thanks for telling me that before I write it on the original document. So I now have to cross out declare and write confirm and sign the change, and finally she stamps it for me. So yeah, I'm now cleared to work with children on the strength of a signed statement from me that a document is genuine, and a stamp from the British Consulate saying that they saw me sign it.
But yeah, I remember when we first got our CELTA certificates, they drilled it into us how important it is that the name of your certificate matches that on your passport exactly, because bureaucrats in every country are just completely incompetent jobsworths who can't handle anything that doesn't fit into their pre-approved boxes. |
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