Translation of proofs

[medellinguy]

Hi there,

Since my wife doesn't speak French or English and we communicate in Spanish, do I have to translate all our proofs into one of the official languages of Canada? Or do officers speak Spanish in the Bogota Office? I can't believe I have to translate everything, cards from employer and school letter etc??

Thanks

 

[alpesantezo]

No you dont have to translate everything... only the specific papers they ask you to wich is the birth certificate, marriage certificate, police certificate and in my case my degree of university..
The rest is fine
At local embassies both national peple and canadian people work together..

 

[canadianwoman]

Hi there,

Since my wife doesn't speak French or English and we communicate in Spanish, do I have to translate all our proofs into one of the official languages of Canada? Or do officers speak Spanish in the Bogota Office? I can't believe I have to translate everything, cards from employer and school letter etc??

Official documents have to be translated by a certified translator. Your relationship proof is not an official document, but everything you submit has to be in either English or French. Something like a greeting card will be OK untranslated, since it is obvious what it is, but emails, letters, chat, messages, etc. should be translated. What people usually do is print out the inbox of their email (for example) showing all the emails, and then print out a selection of the emails. Send in a copy of the original and a translation of it. For non-official documents, you can translate them yourself or get a friend to do it - this is not 100% the best practice, according to CIC, but everyone on this forum who has tried it has been OK. Then attach a declaration from the translator (even if it is you) stating the language translated and swearing that it is a true translation of the original.

The visa officers will speak Spanish at the Bogota office, but they still require everything to be in French or English.

 

[medellinguy]

what????????? I have for about 3 years of emials...do you really want me to pass the next 5 years translating???

 

[AllisonVSC]

Medellinguy, I think maybe you should read Canadianwoman's message again. She certainly did not say you have to translate all of your emails. I only sent 7-8 emails that were representative of the mutual interdependencies in our relationship. I didn't even think to send a screen shot of my inbox but I would have if I`d been a forum member at the time because I have 6 years of emails (1,707 at this point). There is no way the CIC is expecting you to send all that. Pick and choose what is representative and has meaningful content that is evidence of your relationship over those three years. Send those with a translation. Good luck. Don`t panic. Allison

 

[medellinguy]

my emails aren't like love declaration, it's more like daily "how are you ..what did you do today " because we exchange mail from work....so when someone says "meaningfull" emails, I do not think I have those...

 

[canadianwoman]

Try to find a few longer ones. But a selection of emails where all you do is ask each other how your day is going is OK too. Some people send in one sample email a month, or one a week; others try to find emails that show something important, or where they say they love each other.

 

[medellinguy]

Ok, I just called the cic phone center and they told me everything has to be translated into french or english, that I can't translate it myself because I am part of her family (husband).....is this true??

it says in the IMM 3900:

What factors can slow down processing?
Here is a list of common factors that can slow the processing of your application.

• Documents not accompanied by a certified English or French translation

WHat does that really mean? They will take them as evidence but it will take longer time to perform the analisys or do they reject the documents not translated in french or english?? The guide doesn't say I can't translate it because I am part of her family..

 

[canadianwoman]

This is an area where what people usually do and what ideally CIC wants them to do is not a perfect match. Getting everything translated by a certified translator is best - it will 100% be accepted - but it is prohibitively expensive. So many people get the official documents done by a certified translator (which you must do), and then for the supporting evidence find some cheaper way. Many people on this forum have done the translations themselves for things like emails and have had them accepted. I have never heard of anyone at the application level who had their supporting evidence rejected because the translation was not done by a certified translator. To be safer, but still cheap, you could get a friend to do it. If a friend does it or helps you do it, get him/her to sign a declaration stating the language translated, and swearing that it is a true translation of the original. This is to make the translation look more 'official'. You could also get it notarized. Some notaries, if bilingual, would actually notarize that the translation is accurate; others are really just notarizing that the translator has shown him his ID and is who he/she says he is.

On one appeal case I have read, the supporting emails were rejected as evidence because the sponsor's son (who had translated them) had not included the translator's declaration. In other words, the fact that the son did the translation was OK; the problem was the lack of a signed translator declaration.

To sum up: if you or a friend translate the emails, etc., it should be accepted. Just make sure to include the translator's declaration. But get a certified translator to do the official documents.

 

[medellinguy]

can I do the translations myself and ask for a friend who speaks Spanish to sign it? I don't see myself asking for a friend to translate, im the one who speaks better spanish...

 

[canadianwoman]

It's best to be honest. Have the friend help you, and then it would be OK for him to sign it.

 

[alpesantezo]

Medellin guy i am being processed in Bogota. i sent only the marriage certificate. birth certificate, police record and 2 of the 4 letter from my friends and family supporting our relationship

And the rest mails, messages and everything in Spanish. spanglish and english.... and i didnt have any troubles at all...

Like canadianwoman say you can translate some but the documents the embassy need to process your case that need to be in english are the ones that need to be certified by a translator like marriage certificate. birth certificate, police record .....

is too expensive to translate everything...
and remember things change according and specific region and country...


let me check further into that

La verdad ya puse un post en el site en español hay muchas cosas que cambian creeme a veces tonteras como si debes poner el nombre atras de la foto o no y unno se estresa por eso...(mira en el site colombiano ahi de ley te ayudan muchos de ellos solo hablan español! y deben tener muchas cosas parecidas a tu caso.. capaz que incluso te pueden dar informacion mas exacta de acuerdo a sus experiencias)