Canadian Passport Program updates requirements regarding translation of documents in foreign languages

Canada, October 26, 2022

Canadian Government requested all documents must be in either French or English when submitting applications for passport. For children under 16 who were born outside Canada, they either had to wait till they turn 16 to apply or parents had to translate the birth certificate using certified translators.

It sounds easy, right? Just find any certified translator and pay for the translation, get it done as fast as you can and, you have what you need for your child’s passport application.

And, because you and your family are Canadian, the Canadian Immigration Authority already approved all documents many times, you have Canadian citizenship, of course things will be easy from now on.

If you think that way, at least before Oct 2022, you are (were) very wrong. You can have your own passport and your child will receive a letter saying that the birth certificate was not translated the way they wanted, meaning you have to go find the “right” one.

For many languages here in Canada, finding a translator is not hard, finding a certified translator is easy pizzy lemon squeezy. For many languages, like Vietnamese, it is unbelievably hard to find the one with proper requirement. And, if you can find one, it is unbelievable expensive.

ED Notary has certified translators for all kinds of purpose. However, it is not the goal of this article.

From October 26, 2022, the Canadian Passport Program updated a change for translation requirement that allowed all translators, certified or not, translate documents to submit. As long as the translators confirm their ability and knowledges under oath, and submit the translation form, the document is accepted.

It is a new change to prove that the government does listen to the opinions and suggestions from us, people who are dealing with documents on daily basis. Two years ago, Elise Dang, the Notary Public in Saskatchewan questioned several Saskatchewan MPs and asked them to bring to the Common House and requested to change. Even she never heard from any of the MPs about the suggestion, or if any of the suggestions mentioned her name, she is now very happy to see the progress. This change will help parents of minors – who are new Canadians – to do their passport applications in a very doable and affordable way. You can find more information about the new change here.

ED Notary is pleased to provide all translation services, including the translation for the Canadian Passport Program, with affordable prices. The processing time is normally under 24 hours (48 hours max) per document.

Contact us if you need anything from translation to legalization. You will never guess how fast we can do.

ED NOTARY