Urdu to English Translation

This direction is used when an Urdu document has to be submitted in an English-speaking country. The typical applicant is someone applying to a university, employer or immigration authority in the United Kingdom, the USA or Canada with documents issued in Pakistan; the large Pakistani diaspora in the United Kingdom keeps demand for this direction constant. The document is written in the Arabic-based Urdu alphabet and runs from right to left; the authority that will read it assesses it against a Latin-script, left-to-right Anglo-Saxon order.

Concrete examples clarify the direction: a student applying for a master’s degree in England with a Pakistani diploma, the marriage and birth records of someone going to the United Kingdom through family reunion, the criminal record and civil status documents of a family emigrating to Canada. What they have in common is that the document makes sense within the Pakistani system while the receiving side cannot read it directly.

The long-established Pakistani diaspora in the United Kingdom keeps this direction in constant demand for immigration and family matters; in family reunion, marriage and citizenship files the marriage record, the birth certificate and the criminal record certificate are requested together, and all of these documents are expected to be prepared with a consistent transliteration and the same form of the name. If the same person’s name is written differently in one of them, the coherence of the file suffers.

On the education side, Pakistani diplomas and mark statements are translated for recognition; these files call for a detailed breakdown of the courses and the degrees. Fixing the transliteration against the passport is the common point that secures the identity match in both education and immigration applications, and it is not altered anywhere in the file.

Pakistani education documents are often issued by provincial examination boards, and the names of these boards and the formats of the documents vary; the names of matriculation and secondary education certificates are conveyed in their original form with an explanation. Giving the name of the board consistently across documents belonging to the same student prevents confusion in the recognition assessment.

Transliteration of names in this direction is handled at file level rather than document by document: the same person’s name is given in a single English spelling across their diploma, civil status and marriage documents; among the common variant spellings of Islamic names (for example Muhammad, Mohammed) the form in the passport is chosen and then not changed.

Since English and Urdu are often interwoven in these documents, which parts are to be translated is settled at the outset; a translation that clashes with the original English wording is aligned so that it does not create a duplication for the official on the receiving side. The seal and registration details in the document are kept in place.

Technical issues specific to Urdu into English

The first problem in this pair is the writing direction and the change of alphabet: Urdu is written from right to left in the Nastaliq style. Names and place names are carried into Latin script by transliteration; since the same Urdu name may have more than one English spelling (for example Muhammad / Mohammad), the spelling in the person’s passport is taken as the basis and kept throughout the file. Inconsistent transliteration gives the official the impression of two different people.

In Urdu official documents dates and figures sometimes appear in local form; when they are carried into English the international format is used, but the value is not changed. The father’s name is a separate field in Pakistani documents; it is not dropped in the English translation but carried across as a separate line.

Institution and document names are rendered according to their function; registration numbers are not translated but given as a reference to the record. In moving from right-to-left writing to a Latin layout, the page layout and the orientation of tables are reworked.

English and Urdu are often found together in Pakistani documents; where only the Urdu parts are translated, consistency with the original English wording is maintained. The seal and registration details in the document are conveyed in place.

Which documents call for this direction

• Diplomas, the marksheet (mark statement) and course descriptions
• Birth, marriage and civil status records (including the nikahnama)
• Employment, service and criminal record documents
• Bank and income documents
• Powers of attorney and family documents

Recognition files call for a detailed breakdown of the courses; a summary translation leaves the assessment at a dead end. In family reunion files it is critical that the marriage and birth records are conveyed with a consistent transliteration.

In powers of attorney the wording setting the limits of authority is preserved. Giving the name in a single Latin spelling across documents belonging to the same person makes the application coherent.

Chain of certification

Because the destination is an English-speaking country, no sworn translator system comes into play: the United Kingdom and the USA ask for a signed statement of accuracy, Canada for a translator registered with a provincial association or an affidavit, Australia for NAATI accreditation. Since the apostille regime for documents coming from Pakistan is new, its current status should be confirmed from an official source.

For these differing expectations, look at the certification regime of the destination country and the document type requirements. Tell us the spelling of the name in the passport and the destination institution before you send the document.

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The account here summarises the typical case; notarisation and apostille steps are costed as separate items. The final requirement is set by the authority the application will be made to; confirm it in advance.