Translation of Education Documents for Luxembourg

A small country, a trilingual file

Recognition of education documents in Luxembourg runs through MENJE. Small as the country is, its administration is multilingual: for one and the same procedure a file prepared in French or in German may be accepted, though which of the two is preferred varies with the unit applied to. In practice French is the commonest language of administration; against that, a file in German is taken as the natural thing from candidates whose schooling was in German. Asking which language is expected before you apply comes far cheaper than having a second translation made afterwards.

Luxembourg’s second peculiarity is that a great many students pursue their undergraduate education in neighbouring countries. A file put together here may therefore be submitted later to an institution in Belgium, France or Germany as well. Allowing for that possibility while you prepare the documents can spare you having the same document translated twice.

What each document does

The diploma shows the degree, while the academic transcript brings out what the programme actually demanded; in a recognition review the transcript is the document really read. In recognition applications at secondary level the pass certificates for each year and the leaving result are asked for together, because secondary education is matched up year by year. A student certificate shows an enrolment still running, and a language proficiency certificate shows that the candidate meets the language the programme is taught in.

Document	Why it is asked for
Diploma	That the degree exists, and the standing of the institution that granted it
Academic transcript	The study load by year and by credit
Secondary school documents	Working out the equivalence year by year
Language certificate	Fitness for the language of instruction

The setback met with most often

The commonest trouble here is the choice of language: the file is prepared in German while the unit expects French, or the other way round. The second frequent setback is a translation not made by a sworn translator; in official procedures Luxembourg looks for a translation by an authorised translator. The third is sending the secondary school documents incomplete – the diploma alone is thought to be enough, whereas the results for each year are wanted too, so that the equivalence by year can be worked out.

Where translation and approval fit in

First the target language is settled, then the original documents and their certification annotations are completed, and the translation is made last. Disturbing that order leaves the certification annotation untranslated and sends the file back. The translation is submitted bound to the source document. You can see which approval is needed for which document on our document page, and compare what neighbouring countries do in the country guide.

Cross-border study and the second life of a file

A substantial share of the students studying in Luxembourg, or living there, complete part of their education in neighbouring countries. That means the education file prepared here will go on being useful after its first use. A set prepared in French can be used again in France and in Wallonia, one prepared in German in Germany and Austria. Since every country has its own regime for approving translations, the same text may have to be reissued in a different form of approval; having the text ready still settles the greater part of the work.

For that reason, keeping terminology decisions in writing is especially valuable in Luxembourg files. If the renderings chosen for course names, titles and descriptions of institutions are put on record, documents added later will speak the same language. Where translations are made at different times by different people, the problem seen most often is the same course appearing under two different names in two documents; that pushes the assessor into asking further questions.

• Decide at the outset which countries the file will be used in.
• Keep a record of your terminology decisions.
• Check each country’s approval regime separately.
• Keep more than one copy of the original documents.

Another matter peculiar to Luxembourg is that recognition at secondary level is conducted in comparatively fine detail. Because qualifications at that level are compared year by year, a secondary school career in Türkiye has to be documented class by class. Sending the diploma alone is often not enough; the result certificate for each year is looked for, along with the hours of any foreign language courses. Gathering these documents before you leave Türkiye is the most practical course.

In settling the scope of the translation it also pays to look at which documents were drawn up in a foreign language to begin with. Some Turkish schools and universities issue documents bilingually; with these, a partial translation covering the seals and endorsements that remain in Turkish may be enough. Narrowing the scope in this way brings the volume down markedly.

When a file comes back, the reasons should be asked for in writing. In a multilingual administration it is only from a written statement of reasons that you can tell whether the shortcoming arose from the choice of language or from the scope of the documents, and only then can the correction be a targeted one.

If there is any chance you will use the same file in more than one country, say so at the start; we will build the language plan around it. Take a look at our pricing page, or upload your documents and request a quotation.

The information on this page gives the general framework; the authority you apply to may ask for further documents or a different form. We would advise you to confirm it from an official source before the procedure.