Certified Translations for Express Entry

Do I need certified translations?

If you are going through the Express Entry process, hopefully you will get an Invitation to Apply (ITA).

When that moment comes, you will be required to upload a set of documents to your online application, which must all be in either English or French.

If you live on a country that has an official language different from those two, it is almost certain that most (if not all) of your documents will need to be translated.

And Canada's government (IRCC) won't accept "home-made" translations. They need to be done by a certified translator.

So yes, if any of your documents are not in English or French, you will need certified translations.

Note: you can also get an affidavit instead of a certified translation. More details on the "are there alternatives?" section later on this article.

Certified translation requirements

It must be stamped with the translator's certification number. The translator will know what the technical requirements are.

Where do I find a certified translator?

The translator must be a member of one of the organizations of translators in Canada.

There are several of those organizations, and on their sites they have lists of their members.

Here are links to some of those lists:

• Association of Translators and Interpreters of Ontario
• Corporation of Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters of New Brunswick
• Association of Translators and Interpreters of Nova Scotia
• Association of Translators, Terminologists and Interpreters of Manitoba
• Association of Translators and Interpreters of Saskatchewan
• Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta
• Society of Translators & Interpreters of British Columbia

On the bottom of this article there is a list of translators extracted from these organizations websites!

How to get certified translations?

In general, you send translators the documents, pay a fee, and they sent you back the translation.

Some might be able to send you a digital version of the translation, which is enough to upload to your Permanent Residence application.

Those are general guidelines, each translator will have a specific process. So you are encouraged to contact one (or some) of them for specific instructions.

How much will it cost?

Each translator will have a specific price, but you can expect to spend something between $CAD 50 and 100 for each document, plus mail/carriers fees, if needed.

Do I need to upload the original (not in English) documents too?

For each translated document uploaded to IRCC, you will need to upload a certified photocopy of the original one as well.

A certified copy has a declaration by an authorized person stating that the copy is truthful to the original document.

Each country has its own process and entities to certify copies. Names for it change as well, but common ones are "notarized copy", "certified copy", "registered copy", etc.

Are there any alternatives?

Instead of getting certified translations, another option is to have someone not certified to translate your documents, and then get an affidavit from him/her.

On this process, the translator will need to take an oath stating that the translation is accurate, and have an authorized person to witness it.

Because each country has different processes for this, it might be "safer" to get certified translations instead.

List of Certified Translators

Check out this list of 304 certified translators that will be able to assist you with your immigration translations.

Note: We are not associated in any way with the professionals on that list. Their contacts were extracted from the associations of translators listed above.

Sources

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/apply-permanent-residence/scan-upload-documents.html

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship/helpcentre/glossary.html#affidavit

https://www.canada.ca/en/services/immigration-citizenship/helpcentre/glossary.html#certified_photocopy