What do UKBA mean by "reliable translation"?

anaotchan · Post by **anaotchan** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 2:21 pm

Hello,

One quick question regarding the translation of documents for use by the UKBA.

I am applying for an EEA3 (certifying permanent residency), and the application form states

Any documents which are not in English must be accompanied by a reliable English translation

Sounds terribly vague to me, and that's all I can find on the question in the application. Does anyone know what they mean exactly? Would a translation provided by a reputable professional firm suffice, or does it need to be officially certified?

(I only need it to translate a French administrative document, for the 'comprehensive sickness insurance' requirement)

Thank you!

Lucapooka · Post by **Lucapooka** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 3:32 pm

It does not have to be certified or notorized.

wiggsy · Post by **wiggsy** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 4:13 am

Lucapooka wrote:It does not have to be certified or notorized.

http://translate.google.com < Does that mean people could see if that works?

Im pretty sure the translation needs to be done by a "professional firm"?

Reliable means Trustworthy...

Lucapooka · Post by **Lucapooka** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:02 am

Indeed, but that reliable translation does not then need certification or notorization. Just on the firm's or reliable entity or person's letterhead is fine.

anaotchan · Post by **anaotchan** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 9:46 am

thanks for the replies!

non-notarized, professional translation it is :)

JulietSoul · Post by **JulietSoul** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:30 pm

Hi,

I have some Belgian documents in French I need to translate too, please let me know if you find a professional agency that does this and their prices are reasonable... I have no idea how much this would cost.

Thanks!!

anaotchan · Post by **anaotchan** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:35 pm

JulietSoul wrote:Hi,

I have some Belgian documents in French I need to translate too, please let me know if you find a professional agency that does this and their prices are reasonable... I have no idea how much this would cost.

Thanks!!

will do - I've used Wolfestone in the past for certified translations, they were good and very quick but charged me around £100 for short one-page letters. May well be the normal price, but I did find it a bit steep.

I'll probably try them again and hope non-certified translations are more affordable - you can also email them your documents and they'll provide a quote for free. (would send you the link but their website seems to be down right now...)

JulietSoul · Post by **JulietSoul** » Mon Sep 09, 2013 2:39 pm

anaotchan wrote:
JulietSoul wrote:Hi,

I have some Belgian documents in French I need to translate too, please let me know if you find a professional agency that does this and their prices are reasonable... I have no idea how much this would cost.

Thanks!!
will do - I've used Wolfestone in the past for certified translations, they were good and very quick but charged me around £100 for short one-page letters. May well be the normal price, but I did find it a bit steep.

I'll probably try them again and hope non-certified translations are more affordable - you can also email them your documents and they'll provide a quote for free. (would send you the link but their website seems to be down right now...)

Thanks. That does seem really, really expensive!

anaotchan · Post by **anaotchan** » Wed Sep 11, 2013 8:42 am

update:

as it turns out Wolfestone do not have different prices for certified/non-certified. They are quoting me £79+VAT for two certificates delivered by French social security (both very short and straightforward). Both certified, and free delivery.

Hope it helps!

JulietSoul · Post by **JulietSoul** » Wed Sep 11, 2013 9:10 am

Thanks for letting me know. We have (among other documents) four Belgian payslips we need translated, I wonder if we need to pay for each one separately even though they are practically the same? Probably...

anaotchan · Post by **anaotchan** » Wed Sep 11, 2013 9:20 am

JulietSoul wrote:Thanks for letting me know. We have (among other documents) four Belgian payslips we need translated, I wonder if we need to pay for each one separately even though they are practically the same? Probably... :(

actually I would guess that would bring the price down, I don't know how they calculate it but I think they do take the relative difficulty into account.

you may as well ask for a free quote, nothing to lose!

good luck :)

Jambo · Post by **Jambo** » Wed Sep 11, 2013 9:26 am

JulietSoul wrote:Hi,

I have some Belgian documents in French I need to translate too, please let me know if you find a professional agency that does this and their prices are reasonable... I have no idea how much this would cost.

Thanks!!

You can also just translate them yourself. I would imagine UKBA are capable of understanding French.

anaotchan · Post by **anaotchan** » Wed Sep 11, 2013 2:57 pm

You can also just translate them yourself. I would imagine UKBA are capable of understanding French.

I'm always paranoid that if translate even the simplest and most straightforward documents myself, the UKBA will use that as an excuse to reject my application, or at least to send it back to me and make me lose months in the process... :-/

JulietSoul · Post by **JulietSoul** » Tue Sep 17, 2013 9:45 pm

Well, after getting lots of quotes from many companies, the lowest was from Bond St. Translators, 90 quid for 7 documents (5 of which are almost identical and the other two pretty much identical).
This is will be translated and certified, simply because certification seems always to be part of it. The other quotes were much higher...
Just didn't want to risk it.

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What do UKBA mean by "reliable translation"?

What do UKBA mean by "reliable translation"?