Accreditation system
Document Translation for Canada
IRCC asks for a translator registered with a provincial translators’ association (ATIO, OTTIAQ, STIBC); where this is not the case, a sworn declaration (affidavit) is attached. Apostille practice changed recently, so confirm the current position from the official list.
Certification regime
Which translations does Canada accept?
A translator accredited by a particular body is required. For a translation made in Türkiye to be valid in Canada, it has to be prepared in line with that regime.
Target language
English, French
Certification required
certified translator (CTTIC member)
Recognition and equivalence
WES Canada / ICAS
Immigration and visa authority
IRCC
The chain of certification
Apostille or consular legalisation?
Türkiye has been a party to the Hague Apostille Convention since 1985. Where the other country is a party as well, an apostille on the document is enough; where it is not, consular legalisation is required.
The form of certification for Canada may have changed recently. Confirm against the official list before you apply; consular legalisation applies where it is still required.
Current list of contracting states: the official HCCH status table.
- 01 Obtain the document from the issuing authority The civil registry office, the university, the courthouse — the source document must be an original.
- 02 Have the apostille or legalisation added The governor's office for administrative documents, the judicial justice commission for judicial ones. This step comes BEFORE the translation.
- 03 Have the sworn translation made Prepared in line with the certified translator (CTTIC member) regime that applies for Canada.
- 04 Notarisation, where required If the institution asks for it, the translator's signature is certified by a notary.
Translation languages and rates for Canada
Prices are starting per-page rates on economy delivery. Full list by language pair.
The costliest mistake applicants to Canada make is supposing that they, or a member of their family, can do the translation. The Canadian immigration system is clear on this: the applicant, their spouse and any relative named in the application may not produce the translation. However good their command of the language, the condition of impartiality is not met, so a translation of that kind is treated as invalid from the outset. The rule holds up a great many files every year.
Who may produce the translation
What Canada expects is a translation from an independent and qualified source. Where no translator registered with a local professional association can be found, the translation is required to be supported by an affidavit confirming its accuracy. With files sent from Türkiye it is this second route that is used more often, and set up properly it works without trouble.
The form in which the affidavit is drawn up matters, and so does submitting the translation together with the source document. When the upload to the application system is made, the source document and the translation are expected to sit in the same file, in order. Pages uploaded separately create a matching problem, and rather than decide on incomplete information the officer asks for further documents.
The assessment report has a life span
This is the second trap peculiar to Canada. The assessment report showing the Canadian equivalent of your diploma does not last indefinitely; it carries a set period of validity, and once that has run out it cannot be used in an application. Candidates who move early and obtain the report years in advance find, when their turn to apply comes round, that it has lost its validity, and they go through the whole thing again.
The right strategy is to obtain the report after you have decided that you really will make the immigration application. The documents needed for the report can be got ready beforehand, because a diploma and an academic transcript do not go out of date. Keeping the documents ready and obtaining the report at the right moment is the most efficient approach in terms of both time and cost.
| Stage | What is asked for | Note on timing |
|---|---|---|
| Credential assessment | Diploma, academic transcript, identity document | Allow for the period of validity of the report |
| Creating a profile | Language test result, assessment report | Both are tied to a period |
| Application file | Birth, marriage, record and employment documents | Record certificates have to be current |
| Evidence of work experience | Letters of reference, social security employment record | Job description and dates are essential |
| Family members | Documents of the spouse and children | All must be prepared to the same standard |
Work experience documents are the heart of the file
On points-based immigration routes, experience is the item that gives rise to most argument. The Canadian side looks for the following in a letter of reference: the dates worked, the job title, the weekly hours, the salary and a detailed description of the work done. Employers in Türkiye mostly write letters two sentences long, and letters like that do not support the points claimed.
The way to close that gap is to have the letter of reference rewritten so that it contains the elements required, and to add your social security employment record alongside it. Together the two put the dates and the duties beyond dispute. In translating these documents, job titles and job descriptions have to be carried across without free interpretation.
The student route and what follows graduation
The file of someone going to Canada as a student is built on a different logic from the immigration route. Here the letter of acceptance carries the process, but evidence of financial means and of your educational history is your own responsibility. Bank documents are expected to be translated in a way that shows whose account it is and that the money has been sitting there for a certain length of time.
In moving on to a post-graduation work permit, it is the documents from your school in Canada that come to the fore, and documents brought from Türkiye fall into the background. Against that, once you move on to an application for permanent residence, your education and employment history in Türkiye comes up all over again. In other words, documents that were not needed during your student years are asked for once more a few years later.
That is why it makes sense to have certified translations of your diploma, academic transcript and employment history documents ready before you leave Türkiye. Obtaining these documents remotely while you are abroad takes weeks, what with the correspondence with institutions and the certification step.
What comes of being a bilingual country
Federal business in Canada may be conducted in either of the two official languages. The administrative language of the province you settle in, however, is what shapes daily life; for anyone moving to Quebec the weight of French rises markedly. Professional registrations and school procedures at provincial level go by the language of that province. In deciding which language to translate into, take as your basis not the federal application but the place where your daily life will be lived.
Common mistakes
- The translation being produced by the applicant or by a relative.
- Losing sight of the period of validity of the assessment report.
- Letters of reference that do not contain the elements required.
- Uploading the source document and the translation separately.
- Record certificates obtained too early and out of date by the time of the application.
Start your preparation with the diploma and the academic transcript; these do not go out of date and are needed on every route. You can see the per-page cost in our price list, and send us your file to settle the scope.
This content is for information only; the country’s practice on apostilles or consular legalisation can change. We recommend checking the current position with the authority that will handle the matter.
Documents most often translated for Canada
Each document has its own rules of format, field matching and certification when it goes to Canada — set out on the page for that document.
Document groups for Canada
The purpose of the application determines which documents are asked for and which authority reviews them. There is a separate page for each purpose for Canada.
Countries under the same certification regime
Other countries that apply Accreditation system. The process runs much the same way, but the target language and the recognition authority change.
Have a document going to Canada?
Upload your document: we will work out together which level of certification is needed, and the price and delivery date appear straight away.