Official translation of documents for an embassy Thread poster: Dércio Bene
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Dércio Bene 
Mozambique
Local time: 08:34
English to Portuguese
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Hello everyone,
I own a small, local translation agency and I'm new to the translation business. A client has recently requested a translation of 3 documents as part of a visa application to an embassy from English to German to be submitted to a German embassy. I outsourced this job to someone else online, a certified translator with very good reviews, but residing in another country. I'm wondering if you guys have experience with this sort of thing and if the embassy could reject the tran... See more Hello everyone,
I own a small, local translation agency and I'm new to the translation business. A client has recently requested a translation of 3 documents as part of a visa application to an embassy from English to German to be submitted to a German embassy. I outsourced this job to someone else online, a certified translator with very good reviews, but residing in another country. I'm wondering if you guys have experience with this sort of thing and if the embassy could reject the translation because of it having been done abroad and without being notarized by someone local. If you have any experience, please let me know what I could do to prevent the embassy from rejecting the translation.
With regards,
Dércio Bene ▲ Collapse
| | | | finnword1
United States
Local time: 02:34
English to Finnish
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You are ultimately responsible for the translation, not you outsourced translator.
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 08:34
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
Dércio Bene wrote:
I own a small, local translation agency and I'm new to the translation business. A client has recently requested a translation of 3 documents as part of a visa application to an embassy from English to German to be submitted to a German embassy.
Typically, embassies in local countries accept the certification requirements of the local country. This means that the requirements for a certified translation for the German embassy in Mozambique may be the same as the requirements for a certified translation in Mozambique. So you should ask yourself: in which country is the client's German embassy, and what are that embassy's requirements (they may be the same as the requirements for that country itself). Note that I say "typically", because the requirements of embassies are sometimes incomprehensible.
I outsourced this job to someone else online, a certified translator with very good reviews, but residing in another country.
The term "certified translator" means different things in different countries. Also, there is a difference between a certified translator (the person) and a certified translation (the document). Depending on the country, it's not always necessary that a certified translation be done by a certified translator, and not all certified translators would be able to produce a certified translation.
In South Africa, for example, sworn translations can only be done by sworn translators. Sworn translators are translators who have been sworn in by the South African high court. But in the United States, any translator can produce a certified translation... and many certified translators are not certified by the US government or the US courts, so the term "certified translator" means something entirely different and unrelated in the US compared to e.g. South Africa.
For a visa application in the US, you might need a US certified translation. The translator doesn't need to have the physical document in his hands, but the translation must be notarized by a notary public. For a visa application in South Africa, you might need a South African sworn translation. The translator must have the physical document in his hands, but the translation doesn't have to be notarized (although it must be signed and stamped by the translator).
I'm wondering if the embassy could reject the translation because of it having been done abroad and without being notarized by someone local.
Well, in the US, the translation must be signed by either the translator himself or by a representative of the translation company. If your or the client's country has a similar rule, then it may be possible for you to sign the translation (since you are the agency representative) and get it notarized locally. Keep in mind that when you sign it, you are swearing an oath, so don't lie (e.g. by claiming that you are the translator), otherwise you can get into legal trouble locally.
The wording in the US might be something like "I, John Smith, the translation company representative, hereby formally declare that I believe that the target-language text is an accurate and complete translation of the source-language text." Avoiding the words "swear" or "certify". That's not a lie. (-:
If you have any experience, please let me know what I could do to prevent the embassy from rejecting the translation.
If the embassy requires that the translator must work from a physical copy of the source text, then there is nothing you can do after the fact. You should have determined the client's specifications and requirements before you started the translation.
In some countries, sworn translators are allowed to translate off of physical or electronic copies of the document, but then their signed statement will reflect this, e.g. "I, John Smith, the translator, hereby certify that this is a true and accurate translation from [source language] into [target language] of the attached electronic document. I have not personally seen the original document and cannot attest to its authenticity."
| | | | Samuel Murray
Netherlands
Local time: 08:34
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
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