Kontoauszug Translation into English: A Guide for UK Visa Files

The rule is paragraph 39B of the Immigration Rules, and the family rules in Appendix FM-SE repeat it for partner applications. It covers the whole document, so a translation of the closing balance alone isn't enough. If you're applying from inside the UK, for an extension or settlement, the translation also has to be certified by a qualified translator with their credentials stated. Our bank statement translation service includes all of that on every page we deliver.

For the rules that apply in every language, start with our bank statement translation guide. This post is the German part: the words on the page, the formats German-speaking banks use, and the version of the statement that works best for a visa file.

A German statement packs a lot into narrow columns. Each line usually carries two dates, a short type label, a Verwendungszweck (the payment reference, often where the word Gehalt or Lohn shows your salary) and an amount. Older Sparkasse and Volksbank layouts mark amounts with S for Soll (debit) and H for Haben (credit) instead of a minus sign, which looks cryptic until you know. We keep both dates, the references, merchant names and amounts exactly as printed, and translate every label around them.

At the end of each quarter, many banks add a Rechnungsabschluss: a page setting out account fees and interest for the period. It belongs to the statement, so it's translated with it if it falls inside your window. The Kontoführungsentgelt is the monthly account fee, the one line on the page that nobody ever disputes.

An Umsatzübersicht or Umsatzanzeige is the running list of transactions you see when you log in. It's useful for checking your balance and not much else: it often lacks the bank's header, the statement period and the account details a caseworker expects. The proper Kontoauszug is the numbered PDF your bank files in your online Postfach, or the printout from the Kontoauszugsdrucker in the branch. That's the version to translate.

For family applications the Appendix FM-SE wording on electronic statements is specific: a bank letter on headed stationery, or the bank's stamp on every page. Ask your branch which it can do, get it done first, then send us the stamped pages so the translation matches what you submit. If the bank can issue the statement in English, headers and Verwendungszweck included, you don't need a translation at all. Our post on documents that are already in English explains where bilingual statements fall short.

Austrian banks use the same core vocabulary with a few local habits, and the layout of an Erste or Raiffeisen statement differs from a Sparkasse one mainly in where the balance sits. Swiss statements tend to be tidy and in CHF, and a Swiss bank may also give you a Saldobestätigung, a short letter confirming the balance on a given date. Some accounts are also multi-currency, with a separate balance for each currency, and the translation keeps each one separate, exactly as the bank does.

You don't need to convert anything. For funds requirements the Home Office converts foreign currency into pounds itself, using the OANDA spot rate for the date of your application, so the translation keeps the euro or franc figures as printed. Our German to English translation team handles all of these formats, including the occasional statement where a Swiss bank switches language halfway down the page.

For a Student visa, the money must be in your account for at least 28 consecutive days, and the end of that period must be within 31 days of your application. Skilled Worker applicants who need to show savings must have £1,270 for 28 days in a row, again ending within 31 days of applying, unless their sponsor certifies maintenance or they've been in the UK on a valid visa for 12 months. One monthly Kontoauszug can cover that window, so check the dates before you translate three.

Partner routes go further back. The spouse visa translation guide covers the full file, but in short: statements must match the payslip period, usually the last 6 months, or any period of employment in the last 12 months if you've been with your employer for less than 6. Savings must be held for the 6 months before you apply. And for family applications, the most recent document must be dated no earlier than 28 days before your application date, so don't translate a batch in spring for an application in late summer.

German statements print the holder's name in the address block, and joint accounts often show both names joined with "und" or as "Eheleute" for a married couple. We reproduce the names exactly as the bank prints them. Umlauts are a classic source of mismatch: the bank says Müller, the passport says MUELLER, and the caseworker sees two spellings. Tell us the spelling on each passport and we'll use it consistently across the order. Our guide to names spelled differently across documents covers what to do when the bank and the passport genuinely disagree.

The IBAN, BIC and account number printed on the statement are reproduced exactly as they appear. They're part of the statement translation, so there's nothing extra to order for them. If you're a student relying on a parent's account, the proof of relationship is often your birth certificate, so a German Geburtsurkunde may join the order too; our birth certificate translation covers it at the same per-page rate.

You pay per page, so it's worth looking at what you're sending. German statements are numbered "Seite 1 von 3" and so on, which makes it easy to check every page is there and spot the ones you don't need. Leave out the bank's Hinweise pages of general conditions and any product leaflets. Keep every page with your name, a balance, a transaction, the Rechnungsabschluss if it falls in your window, or the bank's header and stamp.

Put everything German in one order: statements, payslips (the Gehaltsabrechnung), the Arbeitgeberbescheinigung or employer letter, all of it. One team handles the lot, so names, amounts and terms come out the same way across the file. Every document includes two free revisions if anything needs changing. Upload your statements for an instant quote, or send them on WhatsApp or by email if you'd like us to tell you which pages are in scope first.