Many permanent residence applications lose time for a simple reason. A required document was not translated, or it was translated the wrong way. Here is what to translate for Express Entry and other PR streams, what you can leave as is, and how to keep a multi-document file consistent.
The general rule
Any document you submit to IRCC that is not in English or French needs a certified translation, and the translation goes in together with a copy of the original. This holds across Express Entry, the Provincial Nominee Programs, and family sponsorship. The translation has to come from an accredited translator, since a self-translation is not accepted. Our IRCC certified translation page sets out the standard officers apply.
Identity and civil status
Birth certificates establish who you are and how you are related to the people in your application. Marriage certificates come into play when a spouse or partner is included. Both are among the most common documents we certify for PR files, and both need to read consistently with your passport. See birth certificate translation and marriage certificate translation.
Police clearances
A police certificate is required from each country where you have lived for a qualifying period, often six months or more as an adult. These are frequently issued in the local language and need certified translation, with every stamp and seal reproduced in full, since an officer assesses admissibility from them. See police clearance translation.
Education documents
If you are claiming points for education or completing an Educational Credential Assessment, your diplomas and transcripts need to be translated. The assessment body runs its own process, which we cover in our guide on getting a foreign diploma recognized. See diploma translation and academic transcript translation.
Work experience letters
Reference and employment letters that back up your work history points have to be readable by the officer reviewing them. When they were issued abroad in another language, they need certified translation, including any company letterhead and signatures. The wording in these letters carries weight, since the officer reads them against your claimed job duties and dates. See employment letter translation.
Proof of funds and financial documents
Several streams ask you to show settlement funds. Bank letters and statements issued by a foreign institution in another language need certified translation so the officer can confirm the balances and the dates. See bank statement translation.
Documents for your spouse and dependent children
An application rarely covers only the principal applicant. When a spouse is included, their identity and civil status records follow the same translation rule. For dependent children, birth certificates establish the parental link, and an adoption order or a custody document may be needed depending on the family situation. Keeping all of these certified and consistent prevents questions about who belongs in the application.
The Provincial Nominee step
If you go through a Provincial Nominee Program, the province has its own document list before your file ever reaches the federal stage. Provinces often want translated proof of work experience, education, and sometimes settlement funds tied to their selection criteria. Check the province’s requirements first, because a document accepted federally may need to satisfy the province as well.
What usually does not need translation
Documents already in English or French do not need translating, and your passport biographical page is generally accepted as issued. When there is any doubt, the instructions for your specific stream are the authority, since requirements differ between programs.
Putting the file together and timing it
Consistency matters when several documents are submitted as a set. Names, dates, and place names should read the same way across every translation, which is far easier when one provider handles the whole file rather than several. Timing matters just as much. Gathering originals from abroad, a police certificate or a sealed transcript, often takes longer than the translation itself, so start with the slow items and translate them as they arrive. See all documents we translate or order online.
Adoption, guardianship, and custody records
Families bringing children into an application often need more than a birth certificate. An adoption order, a guardianship document, or a custody decision establishes the legal relationship, and when these are issued abroad in another language they need certified translation. They are read closely, because they determine who can be included and on what basis, so completeness and accuracy carry real weight here.
Documents that are partly in English or French
Some foreign documents are issued in two languages, or carry an English summary alongside the local language. This does not always mean a translation is unnecessary. If any part an officer needs to read is in another language, or if the bilingual version is not complete, a certified translation is still the safe choice. When in doubt, translating the whole document removes the question.
Keep your certified set for later steps
Permanent residence is rarely the last time you will show these documents. Citizenship, professional licensing, a mortgage, or a child’s school registration can each call for the same records again. Keeping the certified translations you ordered for your PR file means you are ready for those moments without paying to translate the same document twice. A single, consistent set serves you well beyond the application that prompted it.
Uploading the original and the translation together
When you submit through an IRCC portal, each document slot expects the proof in a single, clear file. The cleanest way to handle a translated record is to combine the certified translation and the original scan into one PDF, so the officer sees both without hunting for a matching file. Name the file plainly, keep the scan legible, and make sure nothing is cut off at the edges. Small handling habits like these reduce the back and forth that slows a file down, and they are easy to get right once you know the officer is comparing the two pages side by side.
Building your PR file?
We certify every document your application needs, kept consistent across the set.