Languages We Translate for Asylum and Refugee Documents

Most requested asylum translation languages in the UK

These languages match the countries most people claiming asylum in the UK come from. Each has its own page explaining the script, dialects, calendars and the documents we see most.

Urdu

Urdu papers from Pakistan: FIRs, CNICs, Nikah Namas and court files, often handwritten in Nastaliq. We also cover Punjabi and Sindhi. See Urdu asylum document translation.

Arabic

Documents from Sudan, Iraq, Syria, Yemen and Libya, with translators matched to your dialect. We convert Hijri dates where they appear. See Arabic asylum document translation.

Farsi

Iranian papers such as the Shenasnameh, Kart-e Melli and court summons, with Solar Hijri dates converted. See Farsi asylum document translation.

Tigrinya

Eritrean ID cards, baptism certificates and national service papers in the Ge'ez script, with church calendar dates converted. See Tigrinya asylum document translation.

Pashto and Dari

Afghan Tazkiras, night letters and employment letters, often in both languages on one page. See Pashto and Dari asylum document translation.

Kurdish

Sorani, Kurmanji and Badini, from Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria, matched to the right dialect and script. See Kurdish asylum document translation.

Bengali

Bangladeshi FIRs, GD entries, court case files and NID cards. See Bengali asylum document translation.

Other languages we translate

Every language below is translated by a native speaker and certified in the same way as our main languages. We also translate Home Office letters from English into each of them. See Home Office refusal letter translation.

Somali

Somali has been written in the Latin alphabet since 1972. Documents from Somalia and Somaliland include birth certificates, ID papers, school certificates and letters from clan elders. Many records were lost in the conflict, so letters and witness statements are common. Our Somali translation UK asylum service is on our Somali asylum document translation page.

Albanian

Albanian uses the Latin alphabet with the letters ë and ç. Common documents include civil status certificates, family certificates, police reports and court papers. For Albanian translation UK asylum clients need, see Albanian asylum document translation.

Vietnamese

Vietnamese is written in Latin letters with many tone marks, and a missing mark can change a name. We translate birth certificates, household records, ID cards and messages. For Vietnamese translation UK asylum work, see Vietnamese asylum document translation.

Amharic

Amharic is written in the Ge'ez script and Ethiopian documents use the Ethiopian calendar, about seven to eight years behind the Gregorian one. We show both dates. For Amharic translation UK clients, see Amharic asylum document translation.

Turkish

Turkish uses a Latin alphabet with letters such as ç, ğ, ı, ö, ş and ü. We translate Turkish ID papers, population registry extracts, court papers and police documents, including those of Kurdish clients from Turkey. See Turkish asylum document translation.

Tamil

Tamil has its own script. Tamil documents in asylum cases often come from Sri Lanka, such as birth certificates, police papers and letters, sometimes alongside Sinhala or English. See Tamil asylum document translation.

Sinhala

Sinhala, the majority language of Sri Lanka, has its own rounded script. Sri Lankan civil records may be in Sinhala, Tamil, English or a mix. See Sinhala asylum document translation.

Oromo

Oromo is written in a Latin-based alphabet called Qubee. Many official Ethiopian papers are in Amharic, so Oromo clients often have documents in both languages. See Oromo asylum document translation.

Dari

Dari is the Afghan form of Persian. Afghan documents in Dari use Solar Hijri dates and Afghan terms that differ from Iranian Farsi. See Dari asylum document translation, or our Tazkira translation page for the Afghan ID.

Punjabi

In Pakistan, Punjabi is written in Shahmukhi (Perso-Arabic script). In India, it uses Gurmukhi. We translate both. See Punjabi asylum document translation.

Sindhi

Sindhi in Pakistan uses its own Perso-Arabic alphabet with extra letters. Land records and local papers from Sindh may be in Sindhi. See Sindhi asylum document translation.

Sylheti

Sylheti is mostly spoken. Official documents held by Sylheti speakers are usually written in standard Bengali, so we translate those Bengali documents into English, and Home Office letters from English into written Bengali. See Sylheti asylum document translation.

Hindi

Hindi is written in the Devanagari script. We translate Indian birth certificates, police papers, court documents and letters. See Hindi asylum document translation.

French

Many people from French-speaking African countries have civil records, court papers and school certificates in French. See French asylum document translation.

Languages by country of origin

Most people know their country better than the name of their language on paper. Use this table to find the right page. Each country page explains the documents issued there.

Documents often mix languages. An Eritrean ID card is printed in Tigrinya and Arabic. A Pakistani CNIC has Urdu and English. We translate every language on the page, so you only need one order.

Rare languages and dialects

We cover 140+ languages, but some languages have few professional translators in the UK. Tell us the language and we confirm before you pay, and we are honest about timing.

1. Tell us the language and region. For example, "Hazaragi from Ghazni" or "Sudanese Arabic from Darfur". The region helps us find the right person.
2. We search our network. For a rare language translation UK clients ask for, we look for a native speaker with document experience.
3. We confirm before you pay. We tell you the translator's language, the price and a realistic delivery date. Rare languages can take longer than our standard delivery of 1 working day for ID cards and certificates, or 2–3 working days for longer documents.
4. We check the result. Where possible, a second speaker checks names, dates and numbers.

If we cannot find a qualified translator, we will tell you plainly and not take the order. For urgent deadlines, ask about urgent asylum document translation, though this depends on the language. Prices are on our translation prices page, or ask for a fixed quote for your language.