Immigrating to another country comes with a lot of excitement, stress, and paperwork. If your selected country speaks a foreign language, you may need to have all your immigration documents translated into that local language. In this guide, we have highlighted the essential documents that you may need to have translated for your immigration. The requirements for immigration will differ from country to country, meaning that you may also need to have additional documents translated for your specific visa. Document translation for immigration can only be performed by a sworn translator who can certify the accuracy of the translation of these important documents. When you need accredited and professional document translation services, IL Consultancy (IL Consultancy) is here to assist you.
Immigration Documents That Need to Be Translated:
If you are planning on emigrating from South Africa to another country, you may need to get your documents translated from English into the official language of your selected country. Alternatively, if you are planning on immigrating to South Africa, you will need to have your documents translated from your country’s language into English. To assist you with a seamless immigration process, we have outlined a few of the essential documents that you will need to have translated.
1) Birth Certificate:
The majority of immigration applications will require a copy of your unabridged birth certificate, even if you are over the age of 18. Unabridged birth certificates are required as they stipulate your full name, birth date, and ID number, the full names and ID numbers of both your parents, and your place and country of birth. The birth certificate will be used by the visa processing department to verify that the details on your immigration application match your birth certificate.
Another major reason behind producing your birth certificate is the prevention of fraud. Fraudulent visa applications are becoming increasingly common, and countries need a way to ensure that they can only accept viable immigration candidates into their country. If they feel necessary, they can confirm the authenticity of your birth certificate with your country’s authorities.
You will need to have your birth certificate translated into the local language of your selected country for immigration. This will allow the visa application processors to easily read and verify the information in your birth certificate.
2) Passport and ID:
While not common, you may need to have your passport and ID translated. For example, Libya will require you to translate your passport into Arabic and Canada will require you to translate your passport into English or French. The translation refers to all contents in your passport, especially any other previous travel visas or passport stamps. You will need to make copies of your passport, have these documents translated, and pair the translated documents with your passport when applying to immigrate.
3) Marriage or Divorce Certificate:
You may be required to provide your marriage or divorce certificate for your immigration, especially if you need to prove your marital status. For instance, you may need to prove your marriage if you are planning on immigrating on a spousal visa or have your divorce papers included if you are aiming to legally marry someone in your selected immigration country.
This immigration document translation is especially important for married or divorced women. If you decided to take your husband’s last name when you got married and have decided to keep it even if you are divorced, to have the same last name as your children, for example, your details will then be different from the name information on your birth certificate. To ensure that you can prove your verifiability, you should have your marriage or divorce certificates translated.
4) Proof of Funds:
Certain immigration applications will require you to provide proof of funds. Proof of funds is required by visa applications to ensure that you can financially support yourself, and any dependents, for a period of time until you can obtain work in your selected country. Proof of funds can be either through sponsorship or by providing your bank statements.
An immigration sponsor is a family member, friend, or business in your target immigration country who agrees to be financially responsible for you and your dependents. For someone to be eligible to be a sponsor, they need to earn a stipulated income that can demonstrate affordability for the sponsorship. They will also need to provide affidavits stipulating their financial accountability for you.
If you are planning to support yourself when you immigrate, you will need to provide bank statements with your visa application. You may need to provide a bank statement of the last 30 to 90 days, depending on your specific visa. The minimum amount you will need in your bank statements is dependent on your selected country and specific visa.
All documents provided by your sponsor or your personal financial documents will need to be translated. Translating any financial-related documents will ensure that the visa application processing department can quickly and easily verify that you have proof of funds for your immigration.
5) Police Clearance Certificate:
Certain immigration applications will require a police clearance certificate. A police clearance certificate will be an authorised certification of your current criminal status. Based on your police clearance certificate, your selected country for immigration will be able to determine whether or not you are of sound character, or that you will not pose any safety risks to your immigration country. To ensure that the selected country can understand the contents of your police clearance certificate, you should have this document translated.
6) Adoption Certificate:
An adoption certificate is necessary if you are immigrating with a dependent child that is adopted. The documents required will be the adoption certificate and any other legal documents issued by your country relating to the adoption. These documents will need to be translated to ensure that the application processing department understands the relation of the child to your family.
7) Medical Certificate:
Depending on the country you are emigrating from and the country you are immigrating to, you may need to provide a medical certificate as part of your immigration process. This means that you will need to take an immigration medical exam specific to your target country for immigration. The immigration medical exam will test for certain contagious diseases, such as Tuberculosis if you are emigrating from South Africa. An immigration medical exam certificate is required by some countries to prove that you will not be a health risk to the country. To prove your health to the immigration processing authorities, you will need to have this certificate translated.
8) Job Offer:
Providing a verifiable job offer is only needed by certain countries for immigration purposes. If your selected immigration country needs proof of job offer, such as an employment contract, you will then need to have this document translated. If a job offer is not required for the immigration application but you have signed an employment contract with a company in your target immigration country, we recommend having this translated and including it in your application as additional supporting information.
9) Accommodation Information:
Accommodation information is not often a requirement for an immigration application but can be a useful additional document to provide. If you have secured accommodation in your selected country, such as paid a deposit on a rental home or have documents authorising that you will be living with a relative, this can further demonstrate your commitment to immigrating. We recommend having any proof of accommodation translated to boost your immigration application.
Who Can Do These Document Translations?
If you are proficient at the required language for translation, you may be tempted to translate your immigration documents yourself. The documents required by visa applications are of high importance, meaning that they need to be translated by certified professional translators for credibility. For immigration document translations, you should always acquire the document translation services of a sworn translator.
Sworn translation is a certified translation of your documents. Sworn translations are performed by an accredited sworn translator who is proficient in both your target language and at translating financial documents, legal documents, or certificates. Sworn translators are eligible to translate all your necessary immigration documents, such as your birth certificate, marriage or divorce certificate, and sponsorship affidavits.
Sworn translation is essential for immigration documents. Once your documents have been translated by a sworn translator, they will get an authorising stamp and signature from the translator. The authorising stamp and signature is a credible and verifiable statement that the translation of the documents is an accurate copy of the original documents.
It is important to note that a few specific countries will only accept translations performed by their stipulated translators or embassies. Before you have your documents translated, we recommend researching or enquiring with a professional immigration company adept at your specific immigration about any document translation requirements. This will prevent you from wasting any time or money on unnecessary document translation services.
IL Consultancy Document Translation Services for Immigration:
IL Consultancy is a global translation company offering professional document translation services. We offer document translation services for a wide range of documents, including certificates, financial material, and general documents needed for immigration purposes. With IL Consultancy, you will enjoy efficient and affordable document translation services that will assist you in getting one step closer to your immigration.
IL Consultancy document translation services are offered by highly qualified and expert translators. For the sworn translation of your immigration documents, we have a collection of sworn translators who are accredited to perform this important type of translation. When you choose our document translation services, you can feel confident that the translations will be an accurate reflection of the original documents or certificates.
IL Consultancy document translation services are offered for a diverse array of language combinations. If you are emigrating from South Africa, we can effortlessly translate your documents into any of the major international and African languages. The international language combinations for our document translation services include French, Portuguese, Spanish, German, Italian, Hebrew, Hindi, Gujarati, Urdu, Dutch, Russian, Arabic, Chinese (Mandarin and Cantonese), and Japanese. Our African language combinations include Igbo, Chichewa, Shona, Swahili, ‘African’ Portuguese, and ‘African’ French. If you are immigrating to South Africa, we can translate any of these languages into required English.
About IL Consultancy:
IL Consultancy offers a wide array of language services to clients all over the world. Alongside our document translation services, we also offer editing services, proofreading services, interpretation services, transcription services, and TEFL courses. We strive to be your total solution to your language service needs.
With IL Consultancy, you can enjoy high-quality language services at an affordable rate. As a global company, we base our language service costs on globally competitive rates. Our language services are your budget-friendly option for any editing, translating, or transcription requirements you may have.
Take the stress out of your immigration document translation by using IL Consultancy’s professional document translation services.