Our Services
Personal
ETS has been offering translation and interpreting services for the personal client for the last fourteen years. Our services not only deal with the translation of the document itself: we guide you through the translation process to determine what documents you need to translate and what documents you don’t. When you call us, we will ask questions regarding the purpose and the recipient of your document, to tell you what pages you need to translate, what formalities the documents have to go through and what we can do to best serve you with our translation and interpreting services. This a free consultation process that ETS offers, because we care.
Translation
ETS Translation Solutions has been working for the personal client for more than fourteen years, offering not only translation services but also guidance on the documents that need to be translated according to the final user.
ETS is knowledgeable of the documents required for immigration, weddings in Latin America, and other purposes. We work closely with embassies and consulates, and we keep up to date on the latest document requirements from CIC. We are aware of the different notarisation and authentication requirements of different countries, and we gladly share that knowledge to provide you with the best service possible.
Clients may also come with specific instructions (such as notarisation, authentication, apostilling), and we will make sure to provide you a final document as required by the institution where your documents will be used.
Weddings in Latin America
Congratulations! If you are reading through these lines, it is because you are getting married in a paradisiac beach in the Caribbean, and you are in the midst of planning the wedding of your dreams.
Either if you are a diligent bride who is preparing her wedding with months in advance, or a groom whose only task was to take care of the documentation and waited to the last minute, we are here to help. So, if you are the latter, relax—you’ll get married.
One of the main questions asked by future newly-weds is what documents need to be translated, and what are the processes the documents have to go through to be valid in the country where the wedding will take place. And one word that seems to be more mystical than your wedding destination itself is the word “apostille.” We’ll explain what an apostille is, and we will provide you the information regarding the processes your documents have to go through to be valid in your wedding destination. Please bear in mind that the processes vary from country to country, and what is perfectly fine in Mexico may not be fine in the Dominican Republic.
We also provide valuable information regarding on what do you upon your return from your wedding, and will guide you through the process of changing your name and marital status. Because we care.
What is an apostille?
An apostille is a form of authentication issued to documents for use in countries that are signatories of the Hague Convention of 1961. Most Latin American countries are signatories of this agreement, and therefore some registries may request a document to be apostilled to be valid in their country. Generally speaking, any notary public of a country that is signatory of The Hague Convention can apostille a document.
Given that Canada is not a signatory of The Hague Convention, for a document to be considered apostilled overseas, it has to go through a three-step process, which consists of:
- Notarisation by a notary public
- Authentication by the provincial government (Alberta Justice, Government of Saskatchewan, for example)
- Legalisation by the destination country’s consulate
Do I need an apostille?
It depends. In some countries, the notarisation of your translation by a notary public will suffice, as resorts will find that apostilling is the equivalent to notarising, but others may require that your documents go through the entire apostilling process.
Please be aware that Canada is not a signatory of The Hague convention, and therefore apostilles are not recognized in our country. If you are offered to have your marriage certificate apostilled after your wedding, kindly decline the service because you do not need it. Your document is valid in Canada as is, without any further legalisations or authentications. Apostilling a document can be both lengthy and expensive, and this is a step that you are encouraged to skip.
The following is a list of notarisation/apostilling requirements for the most common wedding destinations. Please be advised that while we try to keep our information up to date, some of the requirements may have been changed. This information is for general reference only. We always encourage you to talk to your wedding coordinator regarding the documents you will need to bring to your wedding ceremony.
Colombia
Requirements to be married in Colombia have been very consistent in the last ten years, which helps a huge deal when it comes the time to translate your documents.
Marriages in Colombia are officialised by a notary public, who will need all the documents to be duly processed and authenticated. If you are marrying in Colombia, you will need:
- Long version of your birth certificate (the one that include your parents’ names)
- Divorce certificate (if applicable)
- Marriage search certificate
These documents need to go through the following process, in this order:
- notarised by a notary public;
- authenticated by a provincial government;
- translated by a certified translator, and
- legalised by the Consulate of Colombia of your jurisdiction.
These documents should not be older than three months; otherwise they will not be valid in Colombia.
Dominican Republic
In order to marry in the Dominican Republic, you will require the following documents:
- Long version of your birth certificates (the one that includes your parents’ names)
- Affidavit of single status
- Divorce certificate
These documents need to go through the following process, in this order:
- translated by a certified translator or the Dominican Consulate;
- authenticated by the Consulate of the Dominican Republic of your jurisdiction.
The Consulate charges $100.00 to authenticate the translation, and the process may take from one to three weeks.
Cuba
To be married in Cuba, you will need your documents to be notarised and then sent to the Consulate of Cuba of your jurisdiction to be authenticated. For your wedding ceremony, you will need:
- Long version of your birth certificate (the one that includes your parents’ names)
- If you are marrying for the first time or have been divorced longer than two years: affidavit of single status (bride and groom) (click here for sample – at the end of this document)
- If you have been divorced for less than two years: divorce certificate (if applicable).
These documents need to go through the following process, in this order:
- translated by a certified translator;
- notarised by a notary public; and
- legalised by the Consulate of Cuba of your jurisdiction.
Please be aware that the Consulate of Cuba charges $176.00 per authentication of every document. Translations count as separate documents, so you will have to double this amount for every document you need to translate. For example, if both, the bride and the groom, are marrying for the first time, you will need to authenticate the groom’s English birth certificate, the bride’s English birth certificate and the parties’ English affidavits of single status (four documents). Because you will have one translation for every single one of these documents, you will need to add four more documents to your file. Therefore, you will have to authenticate eight documents, which will give you a total of $1,408.00. Also note that you will have to pay for express mailing (to and from the consulate), and an additional fee of $40.00 for non-personal service. The Cuban Consulate only accepts money drafts.
Mexico
Requirements to marry in Mexico vary from resort to resort. While some resorts will be more than content with having your documents in English, most of them will require the document to be translated to Spanish and notarised, and some others will require the documents to be translated to Spanish, notarised, and apostilled (i.e., authenticated and legalised). Please bear in mind that some resorts use the term “apostille” as an equivalent to “notarisation,” and you will probably not need to notarise, authenticate and legalise your documents. Please contact us to guide you in this process.
The documents that you will need to marry in Mexico are:
- Birth certificates
- Divorce certificate (if applicable)
These documents need to go through the following process, in this order:
- translated by a certified translator; and
- notarised by a notary public.
Some resorts may also ask to add the following to the process:
- authenticated by the provincial government; and
- legalised by the Mexican Consulate of your jurisdiction.
In our experience, most resorts will only ask to have the documents go through processes a) and b). It is very rare that resorts ask for process c) and d), but they may.
ETS also offers processing services, which includes notarisation, legalisation, and authentication. Please contact us should you require us to take care of the entire document processing.
When you come back …
Congratulations! You came back from the wedding of your dreams in the Caribbean. Now it comes the time to do all the paperwork, such as changing your marital status and, if you’re the newly-wed wife, to change your maiden name into your married name. In order to change your name on official documents, such as your driver’s licence, your passport or your SIN, you will need to translate your marriage certificate from Spanish into English.
Please be aware that Canada is not a signatory of The Hague convention, and therefore apostilles are not recognized in our country. If you are offered to have your marriage certificate apostilled after your wedding, kindly decline the service because you do not need it. Your document is valid in Canada as is, without any further legalisations or authentications. Apostilling a document can be both lengthy and expensive, and this is a step that you are encouraged to skip.
You have probably received one, two or up to six pages of documentation that are part of your marriage package. You do not need to translate all the pages, only the marriage certificate, a one-page document. If you are not sure what piece of documentation you need to translate, please contact us to go through your documents with you. We will guide through the process, and identify the piece of documentation that is equivalent to the marriage certificate valid in Canada—that’s part of our service to you, because We care.
Immigration and Citizenship
Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) often changes their requirements regarding the documents you need to submit for immigration purposes. Currently, CIC requires all the documents submitted by applicants to be translated by a Certified Translator. This list includes, but is not limited to, common documents that you need to translate for immigration purposes, such as:
- Birth, marriage, divorce, death certificates
- Police clearances
- Academic records (transcripts, certificates, diplomas)
- Documents for refugee cases
- Medical reports
- Identity cards
- Driver’s licences
For refugee cases, they may require all proving records (letters, facts, testimonials, emails, others) to be translated into English. ETS Translations also provides translation services for these cases.
For passports, CIC requires the translation of the following documents to prove citizenship, change of name, or marital status:
- Birth certificate
- Marriage certificate
Medical Expenses
Yes, it happens. You’re having the adventure of your life in Costa Rica, surfing the Pacific like Laird Hamilton, and a huge wave makes you end up in the hospital with a broken arm. Or you were just sipping piña coladas by the pool and you slipped on the toy left by that cute toddler whose chubby cheeks you pinched just two minutes earlier, when you were admiring how cute he was. Accidents happen – anywhere.
Although most health insurances offer accidental insurance coverage for incidents overseas, you will need to pay all your medical bills upfront in the country you are visiting. To be refunded, you will need to translate your medical bills, prescriptions and doctor’s notes. ETS can help you with your Spanish translations of:
- Medical reports
- Doctor’s notes
- Prescriptions
- Transportation bills
- Health-related invoices
Please be aware that you don’t need to translate every single page of the documents you were provided in the country you were visiting. Please contact us to go through your documents with you. We offer this additional consultation service, because We care.
Academic and Settling
Congratulations! You just arrived in Canada and you’re ready to conquer the land with your great abilities and skills. You are finding a place to live, probably buying a car and maybe planning to study some courses to make you more marketable. We understand … after all, we always love to work with newcomers!
As a newcomer to Canada, you may have to translate certain personal documents, and we are here to help. Among others, for academic and settling purposes, we translate:
- Driver’s licenses
- Transcripts
- Diplomas
- Academic records
- Others
If you need to translate any personal document for academic or settling purposes, please contact us! We will be more than happy to help you and guide you through the translation process, to make sure that you are only translating the documents you need to translate.
Adoption Papers
When you are adopting a child from another country, chances are that you will need to translate certain document from and to English. You will probably need to translate letters and documents from you, such as doctor’s reports and alike, and to translate records of your new child when he or she is already home with you in Canada. ETS has experience translating adoption papers, which may include:
- Medical reports
- Letters of good standing
- Letters of recommendation
- Medical records
- Others
If you have already started with your adoption process and need to translate documents, please contact us! We will be more than happy to help you and guide you through the process of the documents that you need to translate.
Other Document
For the public general, we translate personal documents such as:
- Birth certificates
- Marriage certificates
- Divorce certificates
- Death certificates
- Police checks and clearances
- School documents
- School transcripts
- Adoption documents
- Criminal records
- Driver’s licences
- Court orders
- others
If you need to translate any of these documents, please contact us! We will be more than happy to help you and guide you through the translation process, to make sure that you are only translating the documents you need to translate.
Interpreting
ETS works with Community and Court Interpreters that are members of the Association of Translators and Interpreters of Alberta. By relying on the services of these professionals, you will be provided with the best service in the industry, as these language specialists abide by ATIA’s Code of Ethics and Professional Conduct. We offer consecutive and simultaneous interpreting for:
- Refugee interviews
- Doctor’s appointments
- Legal interviews
- Court hearings
- Trade exams
In order to provide you with our best service, please contact us at least three business days prior to your appointment or interview.