translating documents

[rachel6992]

Wait a minute...are we supposed to translate birth certificates too? We just sent Miguel's to the Mexican embassy untranslated...but then again, the IO is in Mexico, so one would assume they would know the basic info on a birth certificate...right??? As my former boss once said "assumption is the mother of all f- ups"...

 

[heatherusa]

"assumption is the mother of all f- ups"...

I always heard that to assume was to make and "ass" of "u" an "me" hee hee

 

[iarblue]

Now that was cute Heather i have never heard that before.Im not sure about the translating as it says it should be in english.I sent mine off to Brazil i didnt translate any of my spouses.My part was in english which went to Mississauga,her info was in Portugese as it went to Brazil.Her app was in english but her documents were not i have had no problem.(then again im not finished yet)so i may be talking too fast yet.

 

[Lois Lane]

you are dealing with Canadian immigration, it doesn't matter what country you are applying from, all documents need to be in english or in french

 

[katie3234]

WOW! Thank you everyone for all your comments. Very nice to know that I wont have to get a gazillion emails printed out, translated and notarized. So if I understand correctly I should choose a few emails to get translated and notarized, and for the rest just print screen the pages showing the dates and such of the emails and correspondence??

Also .....

I was just talking with a friend from the UK who is sponsoring her husband and she said: The immigration lawyers dont like reprints of phone bills and such, that they prefer the originals. Is this the case in Canada as well?

 

[canadianwoman]

I've never heard of them not wanting a reprint. Anything that looks like it might have been faked is not good, but not everyone will have kept the original bills so a reprint is better than nothing.

For emails not in English or French: print your inbox showing all of the emails - gives the date, sender and recipient. Get a selection translated. They're not official documents, so you don't really need a certified translator. But get a letter from the translator stating it is an accurate translation and giving his/her contact info. Notarized won't hurt.

 

[katie3234]

Wow, thank you all for your comments! I can’t believe how informative this forum is, and how willing people are to give advice to others – almost makes me rethink my decision to hire an immigration lawyer when I know I have somewhere to turn with my questions, and people willing to help. Anyways, thank you all for your help and advice. Off to find a certified translator I go!

 

[AllisonVSC]

... I would completely disagree with the idea that CIC is not interested at all in the contents of your email. .... Reading the actual contents of your emails is one way for the visa officer to judge the genuineness of your relationship. ...I really think that they do want to see that you talk to each other in a way that would be 'expected' of two people in love and planning a future together.

I agree with airell too, especially for conjugal partners and common law applicants (not currently living together) where there is an additional burden of proof for the genuineness of your relationship. Emails (and postal mail handwritten letters if anyone still does this!) are critical to show evidence of the level of "marriage-like" interdependence required by the cic. How else could they assess the level of emotional interdependence for couples not even living in the same country? When choosing evidence from your inbox consider the span of time you've been communicating as a couple AND the content of your communication.