Translation of Police Certificates needed ?

[Pummelchen]

Hi

I am not sure if police certificates need to be translated as I read in the guidelines that we have to send the originals ?
I have to provide three - from Germany, UK and Portugal.

Thx,

Pummelchen

[turquoise]

I far as I know, Yes. you have to translate your police certificates. I let a translation company translate my husband's police clearance CERTFIED. As for certification, that I don't know if it's mandatory....done it for safer side.

[missmini]

Hi

I am not sure if police certificates need to be translated as I read in the guidelines that we have to send the originals ?
I have to provide three - from Germany, UK and Portugal.

Thx,

Pummelchen

we'll include both the originals and the certified translations of those originals...that's what it states in our regional guide

[Elizabeth Joe]

Yes, everything that is not english or french needs to be translated. You have to include the original and the translation. I asked the embassy in berlin about that.

[sidkrose]

I don't have experience with UK and Portugal, but if your app is being processed through the Berlin Visa office, the German police clearence does not need to be translated; I asked them directly.

here is the email reply I received when I asked them:

"Dear Sir,
 
we do not require a translation of German police certificates if the application will eventually be processed in Berlin.
 
Kind regards / Meilleures salutations / Mit freundlichen Grüßen / Met vriendelijke groet
 
Ambassade du Canada | Embassy of Canada
Visas et Immigration | Visa and Immigration Section
Leipziger Platz 17, 10117 Berlin, Germany | Allemagne"

[Elizabeth Joe]

That is interesting I got the following answer when I asked them about the police certificate:

"Sie sollten immer das Original in der jeweiligen Landessprache und eine beglaubigte Uebersetzung ins Englische oder Franzoesische beilegen.
 
Kind regards / Meilleures salutations / Mit freundlichen Grüßen / Met vriendelijke groet

Ambassade du Canada | Embassy of Canada
Visas et Immigration | Visa and Immigration Section
Leipziger Platz 17, 10117 Berlin, Germany | Allemagne"

[sidkrose]

Elizabeth, that is so strange! I have no idea now :S I mean, I am not going to get it translated, because they gave me that reply...Perhaps I should print out that email and send it along with the Police certificate, just in case? I also asked if Personalausweis and passport need to be translated, and they said no to that as well... odd. We are not translating anything, because we have no official docs (other than the ones I mentioned) that are in German. We just have a few secondary "proof" items, such as a couple birthday cards from his family to me, a bank statement of his showing his net funds and that's about it.

Madness

[canadianwoman]

I'd print out and send that email in with the police certificate. It seems it depends on who is answering the question, since you two got different answers from the same place. Ordinarily, things have to be translated into English or French.

[Elizabeth Joe]

yeah, I won't send a translation of my passport or personalausweis either, because they are international. And I think bank statements explain itself. I'll get the police certificate translated, because I got that answer, but you really should send that email with it and you won't get any problems. Especially, because they all speak German and translating doesn't make much sense!

[canadianwoman]

The visa officers processing the applications are Canadians, and have to know French and English. They will not necessarily be able to read German, though I am sure that most posted to the Canadian embassy in Berlin will know some German. Thus the requirement to translate everything.

[sidkrose]

I am going to send that email with it. I do think most visa officers will speak German though, I have never come across someone at an embassy or consulate (either Canadian or German) who didn't speak the language of the country they were posted in. Don't they have to when they're dealing with questions from people who don't speak the language of the country?

Anyhow, any thoughts on whether it's worth sending receipts/invoices that are in German or Czech without an "official" translation? (I will just point out and translate the relevent info, which is usually just the date/address/what was bought etc.) I don't think it will be a problem, but should I try to limit evidence in other language without accredited translations? Again, these are just secondary items like tickets and receipts and invoices.

[canadianwoman]

I am going to send that email with it. I do think most visa officers will speak German though, I have never come across someone at an embassy or consulate (either Canadian or German) who didn't speak the language of the country they were posted in. Don't they have to when they're dealing with questions from people who don't speak the language of the country?

The people working at embassies that most of us 'deal with' are often locally hired people. The visa officers are foreign service officers (diplomats), and don't deal with general questions from the public. I would expect most Canadian diplomats posted to Germany can speak German; in countries with less-commonly studied languages, though, I wouldn't count on the visa officer knowing the local language well enough to read it.

Anyhow, any thoughts on whether it's worth sending receipts/invoices that are in German or Czech without an "official" translation? (I will just point out and translate the relevent info, which is usually just the date/address/what was bought etc.) I don't think it will be a problem, but should I try to limit evidence in other language without accredited translations? Again, these are just secondary items like tickets and receipts and invoices.

Everything not in English or French is supposed to be translated. For official documents, the translation is supposed to be certified. Since you got an official letter saying the police certificates didn't need to be translated, you should be safe there. For non-official things, such as most relationship proof, the translations don't have to be done by a certified translator. A friend can do them, or you (though a few embassies state that the translations cannot be done by a family member or you - check your region specific guide). You don't need to limit this type of evidence, but you do need to provide translations of it. Many people on this forum have reported that they did the translations themselves, or got a friend to do it, for the relationship proof, and that this was not a problem. They did this to save money, though, it is not an official policy. But non-translated evidence can be and has been rejected.