Afghan Document Translation for UK Asylum Claims

Afghan documents we translate for asylum

If a document is partly in English, such as a letter from a foreign employer, we translate the Dari or Pashto parts, including stamps and handwritten notes, and say clearly which parts were already in English.

How Afghan documents are issued

Paper Tazkira and e-Tazkira

The Tazkira is Afghanistan's national identity document. Two types are in circulation: the older paper Tazkira and the electronic, biometric e-Tazkira. According to the Home Office's own country guidance, the IOM has described Tazkiras as "the most important document for Afghans" (Home Office CPIN, Afghanistan (opens in a new tab)).

Tazkiras were historically issued by the Afghanistan Central Civil Registration Authority (ACCRA). The National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) took over in 2018, but paper Tazkiras kept the ACCRA logo. Since 2021, ACCRA is again named as the issuer. We translate the issuing body exactly as printed on your card, so a paper Tazkira and an e-Tazkira from different years are both rendered correctly.

The same Home Office guidance notes that getting a Tazkira has become harder since August 2021. It also notes that errors in dates of birth and personal details were more common for people who applied without a birth certificate. We translate what the document says. We do not correct it, even if you know a detail is wrong. Tell your solicitor about any error instead.

Other Afghan documents

Marriage certificates are known by several names, including Nikah Khat and Nikah Nama. Letters from employers and former government bodies can matter in resettlement-related cases. The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) closed to new applications on 1 July 2025, but existing applications are still processed. Night letters are often handwritten, so we transcribe any names, dates or group names carefully and mark any word that cannot be read.

Languages used on Afghan documents

Afghan official documents are in Dari, Pashto or both. Paper Tazkiras use Dari and Pashto, while the e-Tazkira has field labels in Pashto, Dari and English. For detail on scripts, dialects and our translators, see our Pashto and Dari asylum document translation page.

Many Afghans lived in Iran before coming to the UK. Iranian papers are written in Farsi and look different from Afghan ones. Our Iran document translation page covers those.

Dates and names on Afghan documents

Solar Hijri dates

Afghan documents use the Solar Hijri (Hijri Shamsi) calendar. Its year starts at Nowruz, around 21 March. Afghan documents usually name months after the signs of the zodiac, such as Hamal and Sawr, rather than the Iranian month names.

Most paper Tazkiras do not show a full date of birth. They show an estimated age at the time of issue, for example "18 years old in 1395". A full date of birth appears only if a birth certificate existed.

We translate this exactly: "18 years old in 1395". We then add a translator's note that 1395 in the Solar Hijri calendar runs from about March 2016 to March 2017. We never turn an age into an invented date of birth. This matters, because the Home Office compares dates across all your documents and interviews.

Names

Many Afghans do not use a family surname. The Tazkira records your father's name and often your grandfather's name instead. Names can also be written in English in many ways, such as Mohammad or Muhammad. We use the spelling from your passport, eVisa or Home Office letters, and keep it the same on every document.

Afghanistan document translation for asylum: price and delivery

A Tazkira is usually priced as one page. A longer employment file or a set of night letters is priced by the total number of pages. We give a fixed price first.

• Certified translation: from £18 per page (ID cards and single certificates from £15 per document)
• Standard delivery: 1 working day for ID cards and certificates, 2–3 working days for longer documents
• Urgent delivery: same day or within 24 hours, from £10 extra per document

Prices shown are starting prices and include VAT. We confirm your exact price in a written quote before any work starts.

If you are searching for Afghanistan documents translation UK services because an interview date has arrived, see our urgent asylum document translation page. Full fees are on our translation prices page.

What your certified translation includes

• The full English translation, with the layout kept close to the original
• Notes on stamps, seals, signatures and any unreadable words
• A signed certificate confirming it is a "true and accurate translation of the original document", with the date and the translator's full name and contact details, as GOV.UK asks
• Our credentials: we are members of the ITI, CIOL and ATC, and we never use machine translation for certified work

Sample

Certified translation

Tazkira (Afghan national identity document), paper version

Pashto and Dari → English

Full name

redacted

Father's name

redacted

Grandfather's name

redacted

Place of registration

redacted district, Kabul province

Age at time of issue

redacted years [Solar Hijri year as written]

Registration number

redacted

Issuing office

Civil registration office

• [Round stamp: civil registration office, partly illegible]
• [Translator's note: Solar Hijri dates are given as written, with the Gregorian equivalent in square brackets.]

Translator's statement

I confirm that this is a true and accurate translation of the original document.

Date

DD/MM/YYYY

Translator

Full name

Signature

We keep your files private under UK GDPR and delete them after delivery. We do not give legal advice. For help with your claim, contact a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA).