All evidence must be in english?

[dream99]

I have a lot of evidence I can provide such as a joint cell phone bill with my spouse's entire family, but it's in japanese. And other stuff like obtaining a japanese driver's license with my spouse's adress on it, pay stubs from work, etc. A whole bunch of stuff that proves I've been together/living with my spouse and the family for the last while.

Is it useless to send these items as evidence? It's not like I can get the cell phone bills and my pay stubs translated into english but I believe they are strong proof to use as evidence that our relationship is genuine.

 

[wilson]

Yes dream, no need to translate all the stuff. Only try for the strong evidence. If you have group family photos and any other photos together could be more appropriate as it does not need to translate

 

[locolynn]

I have a lot of evidence I can provide such as a joint cell phone bill with my spouse's entire family, but it's in japanese. And other stuff like obtaining a japanese driver's license with my spouse's adress on it, pay stubs from work, etc. A whole bunch of stuff that proves I've been together/living with my spouse and the family for the last while.

Is it useless to send these items as evidence? It's not like I can get the cell phone bills and my pay stubs translated into english but I believe they are strong proof to use as evidence that our relationship is genuine.

If you are applying inland it may be useful to attach a sticky note explaining the individual items. If applying Outland...no need.

Lynn

 

[canadianwoman]

I have a lot of evidence I can provide such as a joint cell phone bill with my spouse's entire family, but it's in japanese. And other stuff like obtaining a japanese driver's license with my spouse's adress on it, pay stubs from work, etc. A whole bunch of stuff that proves I've been together/living with my spouse and the family for the last while.

Is it useless to send these items as evidence? It's not like I can get the cell phone bills and my pay stubs translated into english but I believe they are strong proof to use as evidence that our relationship is genuine.

Everything you send is supposed to be in English or French. You cannot count on the visa officers being able to read Japanese. They are Canadians, and even if they can speak Japanese at some level, reading it is a whole different problem. Get anything official translated (birth certificates, marriage certificate, etc.) The things you mention are secondary relationship proof, so they do not have to be translated by a certified translator (CIC would prefer it if they were, but to save money most people don't). But they should be translated. You can get a friend to do it. For things like bills, receipts, and pay stubs, the translation is actually very easy. Just put a copy of the original bill, then next to it have a translation of each line.

 

[dream99]

Everything you send is supposed to be in English or French. You cannot count on the visa officers being able to read Japanese. They are Canadians, and even if they can speak Japanese at some level, reading it is a whole different problem. Get anything official translated (birth certificates, marriage certificate, etc.) The things you mention are secondary relationship proof, so they do not have to be translated by a certified translator (CIC would prefer it if they were, but to save money most people don't). But they should be translated. You can get a friend to do it. For things like bills, receipts, and pay stubs, the translation is actually very easy. Just put a copy of the original bill, then next to it have a translation of each line.

So things like pay stubs, receipts, bills, can I just translate it myself briefly. Like for example a pay stub can I just make a memo with the original saying something like, ' My hourly wage is this, how many hours I worked, etc.'??

 

[dream99]

Also as Lynn said above, my application goes to Missisauga first then to a Tokyo so she said it doesn't need to be translated.... kind of confused... :

 

[locolynn]

Also as Lynn said above, my application goes to Missisauga first then to a Tokyo so she said it doesn't need to be translated.... kind of confused... :

I am no expert...but I don't believe mississauga will review your evidence...just ensure all papers are there and approve or refuse sponsorship. The evidence will be reviewed I Japan, where I would be shocked if the IO isn't fluent in Japanese. I have been to a few embassies and everyone has always spoken the local language in addition to English.

Lynn

 

[dream99]

I am no expert...but I don't believe mississauga will review your evidence...just ensure all papers are there and approve or refuse sponsorship. The evidence will be reviewed I Japan, where I would be shocked if the IO isn't fluent in Japanese. I have been to a few embassies and everyone has always spoken the local language in addition to English.

Lynn

I agree, thanks guys!

 

[ddobro2]

As Tokyo is your VO, the staff there *might* be able to handle documents in Japanese, but I don't think that this is a rule, so to err on the side of caution I would go the translation route.

Here's what I found on the Korean embassy's website:

"Q: I am gathering the documents required for an application to immigrate to Canada. Many of my documents are Korean, and not available in English or French. What should I do to get them translated?

A: All documents in a language other than English or French must be translated into one or the other of these languages. The translation should be attached to a photocopy of the original document. Translations should be prepared by qualified, professional translators. To certify a translation, the name, place of employment and professional qualifications and affiliations of the translator should be provided with the translation; this may be done in the form of a stamp or note directly on the translated document, or in the form of an attached letter of certification. The seal of the translator should be affixed to the information above. View our standard certification document. | PDF * (18 KB). If you yourself, your family member or friend can translate them accurately, you do not have to use a professional translation service.

Mississauga has no involvement in reviewing the documents that make up the non-undertaking portion of the application, although they may check that the application contains all required parts. Once they approve the sponsor in this case, they send the file to the VO and that's when a review of the relationship evidence, among other things, will occur.

I agree, thanks guys!

 

[canadianwoman]

ddobro2 is right. Anything not in English or French has to be translated. The staff you deal with at an embassy is not usually the Canadian foreign service officers; you will first deal with local staff, who of course will know Japanese. The foreign service officers (the visa officers) may be able to speak Japanese; in a country where the official language is something like Spanish or some other easier language, I would assume they can also read the local language; but Japanese is an extremely difficult language that I am sure most of the visa officers cannot read. If you submit untranslated documents, you risk the visa officer ignoring them because they can't read them. Get them translated; it seems doing it yourself is OK (based on the fact doing it yourself is OK at the Korean embassy), at least for secondary relationship evidence.

 

[dream99]

ddobro2 is right. Anything not in English or French has to be translated. The staff you deal with at an embassy is not usually the Canadian foreign service officers; you will first deal with local staff, who of course will know Japanese. The foreign service officers (the visa officers) may be able to speak Japanese; in a country where the official language is something like Spanish or some other easier language, I would assume they can also read the local language; but Japanese is an extremely difficult language that I am sure most of the visa officers cannot read. If you submit untranslated documents, you risk the visa officer ignoring them because they can't read them. Get them translated; it seems doing it yourself is OK (based on the fact doing it yourself is OK at the Korean embassy), at least for secondary relationship evidence.

So secondary documents, such as, bills and pay stubs, do not have to be originals? They can be photo copys? Also, as Canadianwoman said I can just write a translated explanation on each line...can I write on the paper or should it be one of those sticky post-its?

 

[ddobro2]

Sponsorship of a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child living outside Canada — Part 1: The sponsor's guide (IMM 3900):

Any document that is not in English or French must be accompanied by:

 the English or French translation, and
 an affidavit from the person who completed the translation, and
 a certified copy of the original document.

Note: An affidavit is a document on which the translator has sworn, in the presence of a commissioner authorized to administer oaths in the country in which the translator is living, that the contents of their translation are a true translation and representation of the contents of the original document.

Here`s what I would do. I would self-translate anything that falls under evidence of your relationship with the primary applicant (if it`s stacks and stacks of communication I would summarize each in a paragraph) and have a professional translate everything else. In the guideline above I believe CIC refers to the word `document`in the strictest sense - an official record that is provided by a government agency.

Only the official documents they refer to in their forms as needing to be original need to be original. You can have sticky notes but I would personally staple them to the corner of each page or set of pages they refer to, write quite legibly, and have the note be large enough. I would only use a single note per staple because if you have so much to write, you might as well attach a full-sized cover page and not multiple small yellow squares of paper.

So secondary documents, such as, bills and pay stubs, do not have to be originals? They can be photo copys? Also, as Canadianwoman said I can just write a translated explanation on each line...can I write on the paper or should it be one of those sticky post-its?

 

[canadianwoman]

So secondary documents, such as, bills and pay stubs, do not have to be originals? They can be photo copys? Also, as Canadianwoman said I can just write a translated explanation on each line...can I write on the paper or should it be one of those sticky post-its?

I agree with ddobro2 again.
For things like bills, what I would do is photocopy the bill and then write the translation next to it, or put the bill and the translation together and photocopy that so the two are on the same page.

 

[dream99]

Ok! You guys got that part really cleared up for me!

Once again, thank you so much

 

[ddobro2]

;D

I agree with ddobro2 again.
For things like bills, what I would do is photocopy the bill and then write the translation next to it, or put the bill and the translation together and photocopy that so the two are on the same page.