For students who wish to study at a foreign university or workers starting a new job abroad, an official translation of a diploma, degree certificate or academic transcript will most likely be required. Espresso Translations offers accredited translation of any official document you may need to study or work abroad.
Diplomas and Educational Certificate Translation
When you need to produce proof of your foreign academic qualifications to universities in the United Kingdom or UK certification to an educational institution abroad, you will need professional translations. You cannot translate documents for official use yourself and must use an accredited translation company or risk your translated documents being rejected.
If you have academic certificates in a foreign language that you need to submit to a UK school or university, a certified translation will be required. These types of translations are accompanied by a statement of truth from the translator which testifies to the accuracy and precision of the translated document. In the UK, certified translations are accepted by all official authorities, government departments and educational institutions.
For schools and universities abroad, depending on the country, you may need to provide sworn translations of diplomas and transcripts. The process of obtaining a sworn translation is similar to that of a certified translation. Both are done by professional translators but a sworn translation involves a third party such as a notary public or court official. The translator swears an oath in front of this official that the translation is a true and faithful representation of the original document. This oath bestows legal status on the translation and means the translator can be held criminally responsible if the translation is found to be inaccurate or incomplete. Countries such as France, Italy, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands may require a sworn translation of your diploma or degree depending on the guidelines of the requesting entity.
The type of documents which may require professional translations include:
- Diplomas
- Degree certificates
- Academic transcripts
- School reports
- ENIC documents e.g. Statement of Comparability
- Personal statement
- Academic references
When moving abroad to study, you may also need to use document translation services for your passport, birth certificate, criminal record check and any medical certificates required by the host country’s authorities.
When do you need a diploma certificate translation?
Individuals may need to have a diploma or degree certificate translation when they are intending to study or work in another country. By providing certified translations of your educational qualifications, you can offer official proof of your education level to any university for their application process or to a potential employer as part of the hiring procedure.
In either case, for an academic institution or an employer, you may need to supply a certified, sworn, or legalised translation depending on the host country. A certified translation is accepted by all UK authorities and this includes documents translated as part of your application to study in the UK. A sworn translation of your degree certificate, diploma or academic transcript will be required if you are hoping to study in a civil law country such as France, Spain, Germany or the Netherlands.
You may also need a translation of your credential evaluation from UK ENIC, the National Information Centre for the recognition and evaluation of international qualifications or WES, the World Education Services which performs the same task in the US and Canada.
It is important to make sure that you order the correct type of translation depending on the requesting authority. If a sworn or legalised translation is needed, a certified translation will not be sufficient. At Espresso Translations, we can provide a certified, sworn, legalised or notarised translation according to your needs and the requirements of the requesting institution.
Are there online diploma translation services?
All of our certified translation services, including our diploma and transcript translations are available online. This means that you can digitally send us the documents you need to translate and we will return the completed translation to you in the same way. If you require a hard copy, we can send that to you by post for a small fee.
It is important that you obtain an accurate translation of your educational diploma and for this you must use certified translation services such as those provided by Espresso Translations. Even if you are fluent in the source and target languages, translations produced by you will not be accepted and cannot be used for official purposes. Most academic institutions will only accept translations of important documents from professional certified translation services such as ours.
Our organisation provides a network of accredited translators around the world who work in more than 200 languages and produce translations that are accepted globally. Whether you need your diploma translated in the UK or China, we can provide accurate and professional translations of your document in a fast turnaround time. Please contact us for more information on how we can help you with your translation requirements. To get in touch you can use our online contact form, send us an email or call us.
Also read: What is the meaning of a sworn translation?
How to translate a diploma?
The translation of documents into different languages for academic purposes must be carried out by an accredited translation agency or translator in order for the requesting institution to recognise their validity.
Applications in the UK require a certified translation which means it must be carried out by a professional, qualified translator who will translate and certify the diploma so that it is accepted as a true and accurate representation of the original document.
The first step in the translation process is for you to send us your translation requirements such as an academic degree or diploma. We will respond to your enquiry within an hour, providing you with a free price quote for the work. When you accept the quote, you will be assigned a dedicated project manager who will locate the most appropriate translator in our network for your needs. This means someone who is fluent in the source language and a native speaker of the target language, ensuring a natural sounding translation. This translator will also have subject matter experience which means they will be familiar with the higher education sector and its terminology.
The appointed translator will translate your diploma and then it is passed to a second translator with the same linguistic qualifications who will proofread the document. Lastly, the translation is passed to your dedicated account manager, who will carry out final quality control checks to make sure it is error free. Only then will it be sent to you for final approval.
When Espresso Translations provides a certified translation, the document is accompanied by a statement from the translator which attests to the accuracy and precision of the translated document. This affidavit will be completed on our letterhead as part of our global certified translation services, London, Milan and New York.
Depending on the country you are intending to study or work in, your translation needs may differ from the above. Many countries will only accept sworn, legalised or notarised translations. Civil law countries often require sworn translation of documents for official use, only permitting such certified translations as part of an application process to university.
A sworn translation follows a similar process to a certified translation up to a point. In fact, sworn translations are certified translations in that they are also accompanied by a statement verifying the accuracy and truth of the translation. However, the sworn statement is approved by a public official such as a notary public and bears their signature, seal or stamp, something which is not required for a certified translation . This swearing to the accuracy of the translation is done when the translation is complete and the translator takes the oath in front of a court or public official thus adding an extra step and increased validity to the process. Sworn translations can only be provided by officially appointed translators from the requesting country.
For some countries, a legalised or apostilled translation may be required. By attaching an apostille certificate to a translated document, it is given a higher level of authentication and is accepted in any country which is part of the Hague Convention. An apostille translation is often called a legalised translation.
On occasion, a notarised translation may be requested by a foreign university or academic institution. This simply means that the translated document is taken to a notary public by the translator and the notary public affirms the identity of the translator by signing or stamping the translation.
How much do diploma translation services cost?
As part of our comprehensive language services, Espresso Translations provide a clear per word pricing policy with no hidden costs. We offer various types of translation and each has its own price.
To get a certified translation you will pay £30 plus VAT while a sworn translation costs slightly more at £50 plus VAT. A notarised translation starts at £90 plus VAT and the same price applies to an apostilled or legalised translation.
The final price that you pay to translate your documents will depend on several factors:
- Length of the document: longer texts will cost more
- Formatting: stamps and seals that need to be reproduced will add to the cost
- Language pair: rare and unusual language combinations will cost more than more common languages as there will be fewer translators for these languages
- Type of translation required e.g. sworn translation in a foreign country will incur extra costs due to the involvement of a third party
- Expedited or urgent delivery will cost more than standard delivery
- Hard copies of your translated document can be posted for a small fee, digital copies are included in your quoted price
To get a precise cost for your translation, send us a request for an instant quote. This is a no-obligation service which will set out exactly what we will provide and the price that we charge.
How long does it take to translate a diploma?
The time it takes to translate a high school diploma or similar will usually be within our 48-hour or 24-hour delivery turnaround. Of course, a lot depends on the type of diploma, the length of the text and how complex the formatting is but in general, certified degree translations for individuals are done quite quickly.
If the document must be translated by a sworn translator this will increase the turnaround time. The translator or a representative of the translation agency must make an appointment with a court or public official to swear the oath which can add a day or two to the turnaround time.
Uncommon or unusual language combination can take longer as there won’t be as many available translators for these languages. We offer expedited delivery with our same-day service for urgent translations of a university degree, diploma or academic transcripts.
