Diploma Translation for Canada

The ECA and the diploma translation are separate pieces of work

The ECA carried out by WES Canada or ICAS establishes the Canadian equivalent of your Turkish degree; the translation does not make that decision, it feeds into it. The translator conveys the name of the degree as it stands: turning “Lisans” straight into a Canadian title is an act of levelling, and that authority lies with the assessing organisation. These organisations will often want the document to reach them directly from the university in a sealed envelope; the translation is added to that chain rather than standing in its place. Learning from the application guide which type of report is wanted – document-by-document or course-by-course – keeps the scope from widening needlessly. The organisation will usually expect a word-for-word translation, since it derives the Canadian equivalent from the raw data on the document itself.

An accredited translator or an affidavit for IRCC

In immigration applications the recipient is IRCC. IRCC expects the translation to be produced by an accredited translator – a certified translator registered with a provincial translators’ association such as ATIO, OTTIAQ or STIBC; where the translator is not registered, a sworn statement (affidavit) is attached to the translation. The translator’s name, membership details and signature must be visible on the translation. Because the document is read together with the other immigration documents, the spelling of the name has to be consistent with the passport and with the file as a whole; the translation carries identity details across in the spelling used on the official documents, without interpreting them. Inconsistent conversion of Turkish special characters can make the same person look like a different one and hold the file up.

A federal application and Québec are not the same

Canada has two official languages, and immigration authority is shared between the federal government and the provinces; because Québec runs its own immigration and assessment process, the document form and the language expected there – French – can diverge from a federal application. It is therefore worth settling at the outset whether your diploma is to be translated into English or into French and which body it will go to, so that you are not left having the same document translated twice. If the same diploma is going both to a university and to IRCC, the form of translation and approval each of them accepts has to be confirmed separately, since a translation a university accepts may not meet the accreditation condition in an immigration file.

If the diploma runs to several pages or has annexes, the page order is preserved and the translation is presented in the same arrangement as the source document; a translation delivered in pieces leads the assessing organisation to treat the document as incomplete. The seal, the coat of arms and the wet signature on a Turkish diploma are marked in the translation not by their text but by their presence, in square brackets; a seal that cannot be read is shown with an [illegible] note, and no reading is invented. On QR-coded e-diplomas the presence of the QR code and of the electronic verification wording is marked with [QR code] and [e-signature verification] notes; the content of the code is not decoded, and whatever stands on the document is what is conveyed. Since organisations such as WES and ICAS expect the document to reach them directly from the university in a sealed, closed envelope, knowing from the start that the translation depends on the contents of that envelope and does not replace it saves a needless cycle of resubmission. Where the same diploma will be used in more than one application, preparing a separate certified copy and an accompanying translation for each of them heads off the delays that come of having only one copy in hand.

Apostille or consular legalisation?

Canada’s position under the Hague Apostille Convention changed recently, which is why it is wrong to assume in advance whether your diploma will be submitted with an apostille or by way of consular legalisation. Confirm the current position both from the official HCCH list and from the authority you will be submitting to. The order of approval is as follows:

• Verify from an official source whether the route is the apostille or consular legalisation.
• Complete the legalisation or apostille before the translation.
• In IRCC files, meet the condition of an accredited translator or an affidavit.

You can see the level of approval required for other documents on our document types page, review the cost on our pricing page, and upload your document to request a quotation. Translations are handled from our single office in Ankara Kızılay. The document and the level of approval required can differ from one institution to another; ask in advance.