Under the rules of Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), every document not written in English or French – including police record, birth certificate etc – must be accompanied by an official translation into one of these languages. IRCC does not accept translations performed by family members, friends or applicants themselves.
All Canadian authorities including IRCC, prefer to receive translations performed by certified translators who are members of a provincial translators’ association (in BC see www.stibc.org, in Alberta see www.atia.ab.ca, in Ontario see www.atio.on.ca, or www.cttic.org for the federal regulatory organization that lists all the member associations). All the translator associations offer a search function on their websites that will help you find a certified translator in the language combination (direction) you need. Canadian translator certification is a guarantee of quality, ethical business practices, and certainty that the translations will be accepted by IRCC. Certified translators must pass an examination in the appropriate language combination plus an examination in rules of ethics that include protection of confidential information and security of computer records.
Translations prepared outside of Canada are accepted by Canadian authorities only in some cases, under the condition of certification by Notary in the form of an affidavit that must be written in English or French. In our experience, utmost vigilance in regards to quality is needed when using translation services of providers who are not members of provincial translator associations, since precise translation may be a key factor in your application. The second alternative, that came into existence due to lack of certified translators in some rare languages is a certification of translation by a consulate of the appropriate country. However, the option to certify translation using the consulate stamp does not mean that the consular staff has any professional qualification as a translator.
If you are looking for a reliable and experienced translator from Czech or Slovak into English (or from English into Czech), we have many years of great experience with Ms. Hana Kucerova, Certified Translator (www.kucerovatranslation.com). She is a certified member of translator association in BC and we can recommend her without hesitation. Hana offers both electronic translations delivered by e-mail that are suitable for all online applications, including Express Entry, Working Holidays, Young Professionals etc., and hard-copy translations (on paper, delivered by post) suitable for all applications filed on paper, including Family Sponsorship, PNP etc. She offers another benefit – you can use her services from all over Canada, and from outside of Canada as well. She is usually able to provide translations within two days of the first contact by email at hkucerova@telus.net.