Citizenship applications: Translation of documents
This section contains policy, procedures and guidance used by IRCC staff. It is posted on the department’s website as a courtesy to stakeholders.
This section is about the policy and procedures for the translation of documents that accompany citizenship applications submitted to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) through consular missions abroad by persons living outside Canada and citizenship applications submitted directly to IRCC by persons living in Canada and the United States (U.S.).
Policy
Any document that is not in English or French must be accompanied by
- the English or French translation; and
- an affidavit from the person who completed the translation, if required.
Translations by family members are not acceptable. A family member is defined as being a parent, guardian, sibling, spouse, grandparent, child, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew or first cousin.
Note: An affidavit is a document on which the translator has sworn, in the presence of a commissioner authorized to administer oaths in the place where the affidavit is sworn, that the contents of the translation are a true translation and representation of the contents of the original document. Translators who are certified members in good standing of one of the provincial or territorial organizations of translators and interpreters of Canada do not need to supply an affidavit.
Original documents may be requested later in the process by an officer.
For applications submitted to consular missions abroad (except in the U.S.)
All documents submitted to a consular mission abroad (except in the U.S.) by an applicant as part of proof of citizenship, renunciation of citizenship and search of records applications must be submitted in their original language and accompanied by either an English or a French translation. If the applicant has submitted documents that have not been translated into English or French, the consular official must contact the applicant and advise them to
- translate the documents into English or French using a certified translator; and
- resubmit both the original document in the foreign language and the certified translation to the consular office.
Consular officials can accept only translations that were produced by a certified translator whose certification can be confirmed by a stamp or membership number of a professional translation association. Should the accuracy of the translation appear suspect, IRCC reserves the right to request a retranslation.