Tazkira Translation for UK Asylum Claims

Tazkira translation for the Home Office: what you receive

A Tazkira is the Afghan national identity document. The Home Office's Afghanistan guidance quotes the IOM describing tazkiras as "the most important document for Afghans". Because it carries so much weight, it is worth translating properly.

Every Afghan tazkira translation we deliver includes:

1. A full English translation of every printed and handwritten entry, on both sides.
2. A description of photos, stamps, seals, signatures and fingerprints, for example "[round stamp: civil registration office, Kabul]".
3. Dates written as they appear, with the Gregorian equivalent in brackets.
4. A signed certification statement on our letterhead.
5. A PDF by email, plus a posted hard copy if you need one.

GOV.UK's page on certifying a document (opens in a new tab) asks the translator to confirm it is a "true and accurate translation of the original document", with the date and the translator's full name and contact details. Our statement includes all of these, plus the translator's signature and credentials, and we are members of the ITI, CIOL and ATC. The Home Office does not require notarisation for this.

Sample

Certified translation

Tazkira (Afghan national identity document), paper version

Dari and Pashto → English

Full name

redacted

Father's name

redacted

Grandfather's name

redacted

Place of registration

redacted district, Kabul province

Age at time of issue

[As written, in a Solar Hijri year]

Registration number

redacted

Issuing office

Civil registration office (ACCRA)

• [Round stamp: civil registration office, partly illegible]
• [Fingerprint of the holder]
• [Translator's note: no date of birth is written on the original; the age is translated as written.]

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

Paper Tazkira and e-Tazkira

Two types of Tazkira are in use. Both are issued by Afghanistan's civil registration authority (ACCRA, formerly under NSIA). Older paper tazkiras kept the ACCRA logo even after NSIA took over in 2018.

What a paper Tazkira usually contains

A paper Tazkira lists the holder's name, father's name and often grandfather's name. It may give a volume and page number from the register, the province, district and village of origin, and physical details. The ink is often handwritten, and the stamps often overlap the text.

We transliterate names consistently, for example "Mohammad" or "Muhammad", and match the spelling you already use with the Home Office if you tell us. Where a word cannot be read, we write "[illegible]" rather than guess.

e Tazkira translation

For e Tazkira translation, some labels are already in English, but the entries next to them are often only in Dari or Pashto. We translate every entry and the reverse of the card. A photo of both sides is enough to start.

Dates and ages on a Tazkira

Afghan documents use the Solar Hijri calendar (also called Hijri Shamsi). Most paper Tazkiras do not show a full date of birth. Instead they give an estimated age at the time of issue, such as "18 years old in 1395". A full date of birth usually appears only if the person already had a birth certificate.

How we translate an age written in a Solar Hijri year

We never invent a date of birth. We translate the wording exactly and add the Gregorian year range, because a Solar Hijri year starts around 21 March. For example:

"Age: 18 in the year 1395 [Solar Hijri year 1395 = approximately 20 March 2016 to 20 March 2017]"

If the Tazkira shows a full Solar Hijri date, we convert it to a day, month and year and show both versions side by side. Home Office guidance notes that errors in dates of birth are more common where there was no birth certificate. Showing the original wording helps your solicitor or caseworker see exactly what the document says.

Where your translated Tazkira is used

Your translated Tazkira can support several stages of a UK case:

• Asylum claim: identity and nationality evidence sent to the Home Office. See our page on asylum claim evidence translation.
• Tazkira for age assessment: when a young person's age is disputed, a local authority or the National Age Assessment Board may look at the Tazkira. An exact translation of the age wording matters here.
• Appeals: the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) rules say documents not in English must come with an English translation.
• Later applications: ILR, citizenship and some family applications.

We translate; we do not give legal advice. How much weight a Tazkira receives is for the Home Office or the judge to decide. For advice on your case, speak to a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA, formerly OISC).

Tazkiras are one of several national ID documents we handle. Our main guide to ID card translation for asylum covers CNICs, Shenasnamehs and Iraqi IDs too.

Languages for Tazkira translation

Most Tazkiras are in Dari and Pashto, and many mix both on one page. Our tazkira translation Dari to English and Pashto to English work is done by translators who read Afghan handwriting and place names every day.

• Read more about our Pashto and Dari asylum document translation service.
• If your other papers are only in Dari, see Dari asylum document translation.
• For the full range of Afghan papers, such as marriage certificates, school records and threat letters, see our Afghanistan document translation for asylum page.

Tazkira translation price and delivery time

A Tazkira is normally priced as a single ID document, from £15. A Tazkira with extra handwritten notes or attached pages may be priced per page, from £18 per page.

• 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, for an extra charge from £10 per document

Prices shown are starting prices and include VAT. We confirm your exact price in a written quote before any work starts, so there are no surprises.

If you have an interview or deadline soon, use our urgent asylum document translation service. Full price details are on our translation prices page. Upload your Tazkira for a free Tazkira translation quote.

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