What Immigration New Zealand Asks For When Your Evidence Is Not in English
Couples applying under partnership-based categories often have years of conversation in a language other than English. INZ's partnership evidence checklist lists chat and communication records, with dates, as useful evidence, especially for periods you spent apart. The same checklist says evidence that is not in English must come with an English translation. The guidance below covers what that translation needs to look like and how we handle the size and format of real chat histories.
Who Is Allowed to Translate Your Evidence
INZ's page on providing English translations says it will not accept translations done by you, a member of your family, or the immigration adviser who is helping with your application. For residence and most other visas, translations should be certified as correct by the translator and stamped or signed by the translator or translation business, on letterhead where possible. A partner who speaks both languages is therefore not the right person to translate the couple's own messages, even if their English is excellent.
What We See in Real Partnership Files
Over the last few months, relationship evidence has been the largest single type of work sent to us through this site. A few patterns repeat:
- The files are long. Arabic chat histories of 25, 57 and 60 pages have all come through in the same season. Long files are quoted per page after we see them, not guessed in advance.
- People ask us to keep the chat exactly as it reads. The most common instruction is to keep sender names, timestamps, message order and emojis. We do that by default.
- Screenshots arrive already labelled. Advisers often number screenshots before sending them. We translate only the text in each image and keep the label, so the case officer can match T5 in English to T5 in the original.
- Many orders come after an INZ request. A request for more information usually has a reply date, so tell us the date when you upload and we will confirm whether we can meet it before you pay.
- Advisers order for clients. Licensed advisers regularly send evidence on behalf of an applicant. That is fine, as long as the adviser is not the person translating.
Do You Need to Translate the Whole Chat?
INZ does not set a number of messages or pages, and its checklist says evidence is not limited to the documents listed. Many couples pick representative sections that show contact across the whole relationship rather than every message ever sent. Which sections to include is a decision for you and your adviser. Once you have chosen, we translate every line of the pages you send, including the parts that look unimportant, so nothing in the English version can be read as selective. If you only want part of a document translated, our partial translation of selected pages service explains how untranslated sections are marked.
How We Lay Out a Translated Chat
We keep the structure of the original export: one block per message, with the date, time and sender before the text. Voice notes, photos and stickers are marked, for example [voice message, 0:42] or [photo], because a translator cannot certify content they cannot read. Where a message mixes two languages, both are rendered in English and a short note says so. Mixed-script text, such as Arabic with English words or Tagalog with English slang, is common in couples' chats and is handled by a translator who reads both.
Which Other Documents Usually Travel With the Evidence
Relationship evidence is only part of a partnership application. Civil documents such as a foreign marriage certificate in English and police certificates are separate documents with their own requirements. For an overview of every document type in a visa file, see our guide to certified visa document translation in NZ.
Pricing and Turnaround for Chat Evidence
Short letters of support and single screenshots are priced per document, from $69, GST inclusive. Chat exports and long message histories are quoted per page once we have seen the file, because a 4-page chat and a 60-page chat are very different jobs. Standard delivery is 2–4 working days for most evidence sets. Express and urgent options are available, and on very long files we will tell you honestly whether a deadline can be met before you commit.