Rick and Gabi got married in Orlando
Like a typical love story, Ricky and Gabi fell in love at first sight, but where love came easy, her status as a Brazilian and His as an American complicated things. After getting married in Orlando, they wanted to register their marriage in Brazil. In order to register their marriage in Brazil, Ricky needed help with obtaining documents, translating them into Brazilian Portuguese and something called an Apostille. Not knowing what to do, Ricky searched on Google and Gabi went to Facebook, both searches found the same person, Sonia Cunha-Goldner of SCG Law & Language.
Looking for a Professional Translator
Next, Ricky and Gabi went to Sonia's website, www.scglawandlanguage.com where they learned that Sonia Cunha-Goldner, a Notary Public and professional translator for English to Portuguese had the experience of helping many other couples with this process. They decided to get in touch with Sonia by clicking on Get A Quote, and filling out the form with their information and what service they needed. Sonia responded with a few questions because she needed to know:
Where Ricky was born. (copy of the Birth Certificate)
If Ricky was previously married (copy of Marriage Certificate and Divorce Decree)
Note: These documents can be uploaded using the Get A Quote form or they can be sent by email to Sonia@scglawandlanguage.com
What is an Apostille?
In order to use Ricky's documents in Brazil, the originals must be apostilled and then translated by a sworn translator in Brazil. In a few words, an Apostille is issued by the Department of State in the state where the document was issued. It verifies the authenticity of the document and the authority of the person who issued the document, for countries that are part of the Hague Convention. You can learn more about Apostilles by reading the blog post: The Act of the Apostille.
Since Ricky was born in Los Angeles, California, Sonia obtained an Apostille with a Certified Copy of his birth certificate issued by the Department of Vital Statistics in CA. Ricky had been married previously in Nevada and he was divorced in California. So, Sonia contacted the Department of Vital Statistics in Nevada, California, and Florida to obtain the following:
Certified Copy of his Marriage Certificate (Nevada)
Certified Copy of his Divorce Decree (California)
Certified Copy of his Marriage Certificate (Florida)
And she also contacted the Department of State in these 3 states to have the certified copies apostilled.
Sworn Translation - Why it is necessary
After having these documents apostilled, they must be translated in Brazil by a sworn translator in order for them to be valid outside the United States. No Google Translate is allowed! As a professional translator, Sonia Cunha-Goldner networks with other translators around the world in order to provide sworn translations to clients like Ricky and Gabi.
Sonia used a sworn translator to translate all of Ricky's documents making the process much less complicated for Ricky and Gabi. Now they can take the documents to the 1st Notary Public office in the city of Gabi´s previous residency, and plan their Brazilian honeymoon trip to Rio.
Do you want a bilingual wedding? Sonia can do that too! Check out our wedding webpage!
SCG Law and Language is here to help you with these and other services. Contact us and get a quote today!