An essential part of the immigration process is providing the required documents to the authorities. If the documents are not in English, they may need to be translated. The requirements to attest for the translation vary from authority to authority and document to document. They range from minimal to very specific. Whatever the case, to avoid wasted time and money and possible rejection, it is necessary to ask the authority for their specific requirements. If you need a “certified translation”, be aware that that the term may have different meanings depending on the government body and language combination.
The most demanding (and expensive) requirement is a transition by an
embassy-approved translator with an affidavit. In most countries, the cost of
the legal seal is set by the government and is rather high, unlike in the
United States. Thus, the applicant must pay for both the translation and notary
seal.
Another equivalent option, when there is no requirement for an
embassy-approved translator, is to find a translator-attorney, who will both
translate and attest to its accuracy.
Such a translation should satisfy even the most demanding authorities.
However, the number of translators that are also attorneys is limited, which
would be reflected in their fee.
Fortunately, this high level of certification is not always required.
Authorities will often accept translation by a “certified” translator. The meaning of that term depends on the language
and place. In a few countries, like Argentina, the government approves
translators. In the United States, the
American Translators Association certifies translators of many but not all
language combinations through a test. A
list of ATA certified translators can be found on their site https://www.atanet.org/. For some language
combinations, you need to contact the national translator’s organization for
the equivalent. For example, the highest level of certification for the
Hebrew-English pair is “Recognized Translator” by the Israeli Translators
Association. In this case, the translator must sign a statement attesting to
the accuracy of the translation and, in so required, attach an avadavat
attesting to the signature.
It should be noted that translation by a non-professional or self-translation
will almost never be acceptable for reasons of accuracy and objectivity and may
even make the application invalid. It should go without saying Google Translate
is not an option.
In summary, when translation of documents is needed, the applicant needs
to clarify the requirements and identify the closest equivalent. it is always advisable
to confirm the acceptability of the option with the specific authority. While it is often possible to avoid notary
fees, immigration documents must be translated by a professional translator to
ensure their acceptability.
© Stephen Rifkind –
Gaguzia Translations 2019
Hebrew/French/Russian to
English
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