German translations on a budget - frugal exchange

[Incroyable]

I've just had this idea that may save people on translations! Particularly from German to English, though others can organize themselves for translations from other languages too, using this same idea.

My husband is from Germany and will need to translate his police check soon. Since his police check (or any other gov document) is a pretty straight forward translation, we were thinking of

1. Translating document ourselves.
2. Asking German native speaker (who also knows English) to look over translation and to sign an affidavit that swears the translation is correct.
3. Doing same exchange for other Germans (or Austrians or Swiss) who are in the process of immigrating to Canada and who need translations.

Then the cost of translating documents is greatly reduced, as only certifying the copy and affidavit is necessary.

Is anyone interested? We're in the Toronto area and prefer the exchange to be in person.

Does anyone see any problems with this method?

The CIC says this about translations, so it appears to be allowed.

Unless we tell you otherwise, all supporting documents must be in English or French.


If it is not in English or French, you must send it with:

• the English or French translation and
• an affidavit from the person who completed the translation and
• a certified photocopy of the original document

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=018&top=4

 

[Jaywill]

Thats interesting to see if that works because my understanding is it needs to be a translator and if not a certified canadian translator, it would be a foreign translator with an accompanying affidavit. Further i thought a non/proffessional translator could only translate unofficial documents (personal letters)

 

[JulianaAndrew]

Does anyone see any problems with this method?

Yes, this method does not work.

Translations must not be done by the applicants themselves nor by members of the applicant’s family. This includes a parent, guardian, sibling, spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner, grandparent, child, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew and first cousin.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5289-sponsor-your-spouse-common-law-partner-conjugal-partner-dependent-child-complete-guide.html#documents

In my opinion, it would be easier to just do it with an official/certified translator, at least for official documents. They don't have to submit an affidavit, since they have a seal/stamp. Anyway, what you are suggesting simply does not work. The person who translates the documents must provide an affidavit stating they translated it, and that they are proficient in both languages. If you do the translation yourself (which, according to the rules, you cannot) and have someone else claiming he/she did it, you are lying, and that is never advisable, not dealing with CIC.

On a side note, I would recommend you to do things right and follow the rules.

Further i thought a non/proffessional translator could only translate unofficial documents (personal letters)

I believe that is the case too, although I am not 100% sure.

 

[Incroyable]

The translations don't have to be done by the applicant or family themselves. In this situation, I'm seeking other native speakers of German proficient in English, who could do the translation (maybe we could do a draft, or they can do the entire translation themselves). It would be a reciprocal agreement between parties who are in need of these translations, for the purposes of saving money.

Yes, it is 'wrong' to translate it yourself and have someone sign for it. But the translations are very basic like 'name', 'birth date', and 'there are no records found'. So not really hard for anyone to recreate.

But upon further searching I did find the entry that says only certified translators can translate police checks:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=039&top=4

Bummer! Though this method could work with other less official documents.

Does anyone know a good German to English certified translator?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I've just had this idea that may save people on translations! Particularly from German to English, though others can organize themselves for translations from other languages too, using this same idea.

My husband is from Germany and will need to translate his police check soon. Since his police check (or any other gov document) is a pretty straight forward translation, we were thinking of

1. Translating document ourselves.
2. Asking German native speaker (who also knows English) to look over translation and to sign an affidavit that swears the translation is correct.
3. Doing same exchange for other Germans (or Austrians or Swiss) who are in the process of immigrating to Canada and who need translations.

Then the cost of translating documents is greatly reduced, as only certifying the copy and affidavit is necessary.

Is anyone interested? We're in the Toronto area and prefer the exchange to be in person.

Does anyone see any problems with this method?

The CIC says this about translations, so it appears to be allowed.

Unless we tell you otherwise, all supporting documents must be in English or French.


If it is not in English or French, you must send it with:

• the English or French translation and
• an affidavit from the person who completed the translation and
• a certified photocopy of the original document

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=018&top=4

Very big problem, as IRCC clearly states that you can't translate your own documents. You can't have someone just verify that your own translation is correct and sign an affidavit; they need to be the one actually translating the document.

 

[Incroyable]

^That could be arranged. Please don't get caught up in the details, it's the process of finding other native (whatever language) speakers proficient in English or French who are also in need of translations, to form reciprocal agreements with each other.

 

[BayernBua]

Interesting idea overall. My wife and I are in BC so we're out. Anyway, I also suggest going with certified professionals because I think generally in a PR application you'll want everything to be as much "standard" as possible and avoid anything that the officer might frown upon. My tip for saving on translations in Germany: Send emails to a bunch of translators around your city and get quotes. Don't rely on the companies that agglomerate several translators as they are most expensive in my experience. Try to find someone operating from home and only doing this part-time. These people exist. You won't find them on the top of your google search but if you look up your city's list of certified translators and find someone who's not heavily advertised, chances are they'll give you a reasonable price. I also saved some money by going with someone that I could ride my bike to and thus paid nothing at all for mail. And I kept going to the same translator, who soon started giving me a slight discount. In the end, I still poured a bunch of money into these translations but I don't regret it.