Do I need a NAATI-certified translation for my skills assessment?

Yes. All Australian skills assessment bodies including VETASSESS, ACS, and Engineers Australia require NAATI-certified translations of non-English academic documents and employment evidence.

What academic documents need to be translated for a skilled visa?

At minimum, your degree certificate and full academic transcript. Some skills assessment bodies also require a professional licence or registration certificate where one exists in your country.

Do I need to translate my employment letters for a skilled visa?

Yes, if your employment letters or reference letters are in Spanish or another language other than English. Employment evidence is a key part of the skills assessment and visa application.

Which police certificate do I need for a skilled visa?

You need a police clearance certificate from every country where you have lived for 12 months or more since turning 16. If any of those certificates are not in English, they must be translated by a NAATI-certified translator.

What Documents Need Translation for an Australian Skilled Visa?

Overview — skilled visa translation requirements

Australian skilled visa applications — including the Skilled Independent visa (subclass 189), Skilled Nominated visa (subclass 190), and Skilled Work Regional visa (subclass 491) — require applicants to provide evidence of their qualifications, work experience, identity, and character. Any documents that are not in English must be accompanied by a NAATI-certified translation. This also applies to documents submitted to Australian skills assessment bodies before lodging the visa application itself.

Academic qualification documents requiring translation

Skills assessment bodies and the Department of Home Affairs require certified translations of all Spanish-language academic documents, including:

University degree certificate (Título Universitario, Licenciatura, Grado Universitario) — this is the primary document confirming you completed your qualification. See Diploma and degree translation.
Academic transcript (Certificado de Calificaciones, Historial Académico, Certificado Analítico) — required by most skills assessment bodies to confirm the subjects studied and results achieved.
Postgraduate certificates (Maestría, Doctorado) — if your postgraduate qualification is relevant to your nominated occupation.
Professional licence or registration certificate — some countries issue a separate professional licence alongside the degree certificate (e.g. Cédula Profesional in Mexico). Skills assessment bodies may require both.

Employment and experience documents requiring translation

If your work experience evidence includes Spanish-language documents, these must also be translated:

Employment letters and reference letters — confirming your role, responsibilities, and duration of employment. See employment letter translation.
Payslips — if used as supporting evidence of employment.
Tax documents — if required as evidence of self-employment or professional income.

Identity and character documents requiring translation

Birth certificate translation — required to confirm identity.
Police certificate translation — required from every country where you have lived for 12 months or more since turning 16. This must be translated if not in English.
Passport bio page — if not in English.

Skills assessment bodies and their translation requirements

Each Australian skills assessment body has its own requirements, but all require NAATI-certified translations of non-English documents. The most common bodies for Spanish-speaking skilled migrants include:

VETASSESS — assesses a wide range of professional and technical occupations. Requires NAATI-certified translations of degree certificates and academic transcripts.
If your qualifications are from Colombia, Chile, Argentina, Peru, Mexico, Venezuela or Ecuador, view the relevant country guide for document names and formats.
ACS (Australian Computer Society) — assesses ICT professionals. Requires translations of degree certificates, academic transcripts, and employment references.
Engineers Australia — assesses engineering qualifications. Requires translations of degree certificates, academic transcripts, and employment evidence.
AIQS — assesses quantity surveyors. Requires translations of academic documents.
AHPRA — assesses health practitioners. Requires translations of qualifications and registration documents.

Expression of Interest and invitation to apply

Skilled visa applications begin with submitting an Expression of Interest (EOI) through SkillSelect. At EOI stage, you do not submit documents — but you must have your skills assessment completed first, which requires translated documents. After receiving an invitation to apply, you then submit the full visa application with all supporting documents including translations to the Department of Home Affairs.

How to order your skilled visa translations

Upload your documents to Trans Lingo. You can upload multiple documents in a single order. Each document is translated and certified by a NAATI-certified translator and delivered as a secure PDF within 24 hours, ready for submission to your skills assessment body or to the Department of Home Affairs. For more on the wider requirements, see the Skilled visa document guide.