Certified Translator Montreal—Certified Translation Services in English, French, and German
Are you an individual or a company looking for a German, French, or English-certified translator in Montreal and don’t know where to start your research?
Look no further.
I’m Catherine Diallo, a non-practising German-qualified lawyer and certified translator in Montreal, Quebec.
I am certified to translate the following language combinations:
- French to English
- German to English
- French to German
- English to German
I specialize in translations pertaining to the legal field, international business, and financial services, as well as immigration, estate, and litigation matters.
Many of my clients are law firms & notaries, accountants, legal departments, and HR departments. I also work with private individuals.
Who requests what kind of services depends on the client’s specific needs, their location, and how / where the translation will be used.
Over the years, I’ve come to see certain patterns when receiving service requests for a certified translator in Montreal for different language combinations.
I have outlined them below. Hopefully, that will make it easier for you to decide if my services and your needs are a good match.
Certified Translator Montreal—French to English
Translations in this language pair are often requested by
- Quebec-based law firms,
- Quebec-based notaries, and
- Quebec-based accountants,
on behalf of their Quebec-based clients.
Often, Quebec-based individuals contact me directly through the OTTIAQ portal when looking for a certified translator in Montreal.
These clients regularly own real estate or businesses outside of Quebec or have family ties outside of Quebec, and are required to present certified English translations of their French documents to non-Quebec authorities.
The most common text types I translate in this language pair are wills, protection mandates, company statutes and registration documents, contracts, and official documents, such as death certificates accompanying wills.
People interested in Canadian immigration do not request translations in this language pair, as Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) accepts documents issued in French and English.
Another group of clients that regularly look for a certified translator in Montreal in this language pair are Montrealers and other Quebecers applying for US work permits.
The birth certificates, diplomas, etc. of many Quebecers are issued in French only, and US authorities request immigration-related documentation in English.
So, finding a certified translator in Montreal authorized to translate from French to English is crucial for the US immigration plans of Quebecers and Montrealers.
Certified Translator Montreal—German to English
Translations in this language pair are often requested by individuals from Germany or Austria interested in immigrating to Canada.
Swiss and Luxembourgish individuals, though frequently German-speaking, typically do not request these services, as their official documents are also issued in French.
There are a couple of scenarios in which these immigration-related translations are requested.
When it comes to Canadian immigration, it is not unusual for the person to be already in Montreal, looking for a certified translator in Montreal to translate their documents into English.
However, the more common scenario is that of a person living outside of Canada applying for a Canadian immigration program for the first time.
As a certified translator in Montreal, the most common documents I translate in that immigration-specific scenario are the following: birth certificates, diplomas, marriage certificates, employment reference letters, court documents, and contracts.
Even though the number of immigrants coming from Germany is relatively small compared to immigrants from other countries such as India, China, and the Philippines, the demand is steady.
Lately, I’ve been receiving a growing number of requests from non-German individuals who graduated from German universities, are now ready to move on, and chose Canada as their next destination.
The documents they send to me to get certified translations are German study permits and other German immigration documents, diplomas, transcripts, university contracts, pay stubs, and other official documents.
Even though these clients often graduate from English programs offered at German private post-secondary institutions, many of their documents are issued in German and must be translated into English.
The second group of clients retaining me for German to English translations are German companies looking to expand into Canada.
For them, it is especially important that the translations aren’t just translated correctly, but also culturally aligned.
German companies doing business in the US and Canada also contact me to translate website content, legal and HR documents, and reports for them, as needed for business expansion and international hiring purposes.
As a certified translator in Montreal, I am not only a member of the Ordre des traducteurs, terminologues et interprètes agréés du Québec, but also a member of the official translators associations in Alberta, Ontario, and Nova Scotia.
Hence, I am strategically well-positioned to serve clients from coast to coast.
Certified Translator Montreal—English to German and French to German
Certified translations in these language pairs are most often requested by two types of clients:
- Individuals living in Canada or the US with family ties in Germany
- Canadian or US companies looking to expand into Germany
The former group is similar to individual clients requesting French to English translation services, in that they have a personal and/or business interest outside of Quebec.
When it comes to business expansion, many Quebec-based companies already have business relationships outside of Quebec within Canada.
Hence, their documentation is partly in English and partly in French, all of which needs to be translated into German for German expansion purposes.
And since I’m certified to translate from French to German and from English to German, I’m the certified translator in Montreal they are looking for.
Certified Translator Montreal – How to find one
There are many ways to find a certified translator in Montreal.
I have outlined a couple of ways my clients find their way to me below:
- Referrals: Many of my legal clients and some of my individual clients are referrals from other clients that are satisfied with the services I provide.
- Translator association directories: I am listed on the website of the translator associations of Alberta, Nova Scotia, Quebec, and Ontario. These memberships allow clients to search for a certified translator in Montreal or elsewhere. Some of them also allow filtering by specialization.
- Other clients browse the web for certified translators in Montreal and land on my website. They then have the option to email me, call me, or complete the contact form. I always respond within 24 hours.
- Finally, some clients, especially larger ones, such as a Canadian university I have done translation work for, have found me via my LinkedIn profile. There, I have listed testimonials of satisfied clients and relevant content.
Once a certified translator in Montreal has been identified, it is crucial to verify their credentials, specialization, and availability.