Residence and Family Document Translation for Canada

Sponsorship: an application with two sides

Family migration in Canada works through a twofold structure known as sponsorship. A Canadian citizen or permanent resident applies as sponsor, while the spouse or close relative abroad applies for permanent residence. The two applications are put to IRCC together and assessed together. The sponsor’s undertaking is financial in nature and runs for a fixed term: they undertake to provide for the spouse’s maintenance and to see that the spouse does not have recourse to social assistance for a given period. That undertaking also opens the sponsor’s own history to examination; circumstances that take away the right to sponsor leave the application without prospect from the outset.

For couples who will be settling in Québec there is a further layer: the province’s own assessment comes into play, and the sponsor files a separate application with the provincial authority. Whether or not the target province is Québec has a direct effect on the process and on the list of documents.

IRCC’s rule on translation

When IRCC asks for a translation of documents that are not in English or French, it lays down an explicit rule about the translator’s standing: the translation must be made by a translator registered with a provincial translators’ association in Canada or, where the translator is not registered, a sworn statement must be attached to the translation. A sworn statement is the translator’s declaration of the accuracy of the translation before an authorised person. For translations made in Türkiye it is in practice this second route that is used. The original of the document, or a certified copy of it, is also expected to accompany the translation, and applicants and their family members cannot translate their own documents.

Party	Documents submitted
Sponsor	Proof of status, income information, undertaking forms
Applicant spouse	Birth certificate, marriage record, criminal record certificate, medical examination
Both	Evidence that the relationship is genuine

The commonest ground of refusal: whether the relationship is genuine

In spousal sponsorship the most widespread ground of refusal is a failure to convince the officer that the relationship is a genuine and continuing one. IRCC expects a broad range of evidence, from the story of how the couple met to their shared financial life, from photographs to a history of correspondence. Submitting the marriage certificate alone makes for a weak file. The second frequent ground is that time-limited documents such as the criminal record certificate and the medical examination have lost their validity by the moment of decision. The third is that no sworn statement has been attached to the translation, or that the translation has been made by a relative of the applicant.

An apostille, or some other route

Canada’s practice on international certification changed recently, and for that reason whether an apostille is needed for Turkish documents has to be confirmed from the official list. In immigration applications IRCC mostly looks at the form of the document itself and at the translation rules, and may not require certification in addition. Documents that will be used in a court or civil registration matter in Canada, by contrast, do raise the question of certification. For detail document by document see our document guide, and to see the differences between countries our country list.

Children, custody and school enrolment

Where children are added to a sponsorship file, the birth certificate and the custody position are examined together. A parent travelling alone is asked for a document showing that the other parent consents to the child settling abroad; where there has been a divorce, the whole of the court judgment governing custody is translated, together with the endorsement of finality. Conveying only the operative part is treated as incomplete, because IRCC reads the scope and the date of the judgment from the reasoning. These documents make up the bulkiest section of the file, and preparing them takes markedly longer than it does for civil status documents.

School enrolment moves forward as a separate chain and is run at provincial level. The school administration asks for previous educational documents and the birth certificate in order to decide which year the child will be placed in, and an English or French translation is expected at this stage too. Since enrolment periods open on set dates, it is sensible to prepare the documents alongside the immigration file. Otherwise the child may fall a term behind.

Registering children born in Canada with the Turkish civil register is a separate procedure again. That notification requires the Canadian birth certificate to be translated into Turkish, and certification of the document at provincial level may be asked for; the direction of translation reverses. Where the notification is late, the child’s Turkish identity card and passport procedures are held up as well. The same holds for a marriage solemnised in Canada.

It is worth bearing in mind, too, that the sponsor’s undertaking runs for a fixed term. Even if the marriage comes to an end, the term of the undertaking does not end of itself, and that has consequences for both parties in the event of separation. What becomes of residence status in such a case is a matter for separate assessment, and the translation of court judgments comes round again.

Marrying in Canada, and registration

Marriage formalities are conducted at provincial level; the provincial office to which the application for permission to marry is made may ask the foreign party for identity and marital status documents. Where there has been a previous divorce, a translation of the judgment and, in some cases, further examination are needed. A marriage solemnised in Türkiye is generally recognised in Canada, but the certificate cannot be used in any procedure without a translation in proper form.

Another point to watch throughout the process is that documents are gathered under a file number. When IRCC asks for a further document it allows only a short time; if a document whose translation is not ready cannot be produced within that time, the file may end badly. That is why preparing in advance, once the file is opened, the translations of the documents likely to be asked for is common practice. To see the per-page cost you can look at our pricing page, and you can request a quotation by uploading your documents.

The information on this page gives the general framework; the authority applied to may ask for additional documents or a different form. We recommend obtaining confirmation from an official source before you begin.