UKC

Hi, does anyone have any info about the procedures needed to get an official translation of a birth certificate? There seems to be a lot of companies that I found online that do it for various prices.
I could do with it by the end of the month, and all these sites seem to show a turnaround of less than a week which is good.
Wondering if anyone knows of a genuine service which can do it without trying to rip you off.
Any tips appreciated!

Colin

In reply to ColinVern:

It depends what's its for

In reply to ColinVern:

Why do you need it translated? Is it in baby language...

In reply to ColinVern

From which language into which language? I'm currently doing an MSc in translation, so may be able to help or a class mate may be able to

In reply to RomTheBear:
I would need Polish to English. It's for my application to the naval services, last time I went into the AFCO I was told I would probably need a translation as it is used for proof of identity etc. This is why I'm thinking it would need to be done by someone who could put an "official" stamp on it rather than just the bog standard translation which I could do myself.

In reply to ColinVern:

Don't know about the British authorities but for the French authorities you often need to have documents translated by an approved translator, even if its very basic. Worth checking.

In reply to ColinVern:

Don't you know anyone Polish who could help you? I can't imagine it's too difficult if you sit down with someone Polish with good English. It's much easier to translate into your native language by the way.

I recently had a flyer translated from English to Polish by a Polish girl I know in town for the price of a box of chocolates.

I would check whether it needs to be someone accredited though, as someone else pointed out.

In reply to Malcolm Tucker's Sweary Aunt:
I know a little myself and have family here who are fluent so getting an exact translation copied onto another bit of paper wouldn't be difficult.

But like you and others mentioned, it might need to have an accredited person do it.

In reply to ColinVern:
I'd hope that there's a department somewhere in Government that knows what various national ID documents look like*, and what the various fields mean, and how to determine if it is genuine. Since it's an international issue, you might hope that someone like the UN would maintain the 'master reference' for such information. The UNHCR, perhaps?

* since identity verification is a fundamental need for border control and immigration, amongst other government functions.

But, googling for a bit suggests my hope might be somewhat forlorn...

Of course, since ID verification is such an important issue, maybe the exchange is done by a secret network of inter-governmental agencies who don't post details in public, so that fraudsters won't have a handy reference for creating fraudulent documents...

In reply to Malcolm Tucker's Sweary Aunt:

Pretty sure it will need to be an approved legal translator. I need that for any official document - I'm English living in Spain. Still not expensive and the turnaround tends to be quick.

There's not much to choose between different suppliers so long as you get the stamp so choose the quickest / cheapest.

In reply to ColinVern:

I'v got one:
my foreign birth certificate that was translated (I think by) the British consulate abroad.
my parents sorted that one out a long time ago.......
what you'll probably end up with is a translation sheet permanently fixed to the original with some state stamp and seal (kind of tamperproof thing to show it's the bona-fide approved translation).

either way; talk to the gov first: not sure which department tho.
any old translation won't be worth shit if it's not got a approved stamp/seal........

In reply to ColinVern:


OK so you need it to be done by a certified translator. The thing is there is nothing in UK law that says what is a "certified" translator, it merely means that the translation has to be approved by someone whose identity and credentials can be verified and who can vouch that the translation is correct.

In reply to ColinVern:

no definitive solutions coming up here,
for my two cents; couple of general suggestions:
"....would probably need a translation ......"
I'd ring them up and ask if there is a definite need

Then get in touch with the Polish consulate; they should be able to advise / help since they are best placed to verify the authenticity of the original BC, and they might have dealt with this type of thing before......
part of what they are there for.

In reply to ColinVern:
Thanks for all the suggestions. Have fired off a few emails to try and get a definitive answer of whether I need a translation or not. It seems like using a certified translating company is the quickest route at the moment. There must be loads of people in the same situation so can't be as complicated as going between consulates I'm hoping!

In reply to ColinVern:

As Doug says in France this is a regular, and irritating thing - I recently had to have my birth certificate translated for a house sale, cost 120€ plus two trips into Paris to deliver and pick up the originals, and yet a year before the same notarial office didn't require this! There is a stamp on it from someone with a status of a magistrate certifying the translation is exact. In Britain I've never had to do this but it might be some EU thing - this is what I was told, there was some new rule that required the certified translation, so surely the easiest thing would be to ask the people who are asking you for the translation? I'd phone myself rather than a long exchange of emails. If they require it ask what they need exactly as on a forum unless there is someone involved with the exact same problem you are likely to get a load of varying opinions based on individual experience in other realm, which won't really solve your problem... a bit like mine

In reply to ColinVern:

As you have a Polish background, can I ask how you pronounce the Polish name "Lena"? Is it Leena, or Lyena (like in Russian)? Or neither...?

In reply to Bruce Hooker:
Have phoned myself and I definitely do need a translation, so it's off to find the quickest/cheapest service that can do it for me!

In reply to Malcolm Tucker's Sweary Aunt:
The 'Le' pronounced the same as in "leg" and the 'na' with the sound the same in "gnat", same 'a' sound as in bat or spat. May be short for Helena.

In reply to ColinVern:

Stamped and authenticated translations are the norm for this sort of thing, but if you were born in Poland it might be worth briefly checking if the Poles are modern and can provide official documents like this in English. I recently got my criminal records check from the Finnish ministry of justice in English, to use in the UK. Both public and private institutions can be quite good there in providing official documentation in languages other than Finnish and Swedish, the national languages. Our old insurance company also gave us a no-claims certificate in English for use once we moved here to England.