Employment Letter and ARAP Evidence Translation

Employment letter translation for the Home Office: what you receive

An employment letter is written proof that you worked for someone. It usually states your role, your start and end dates and who you reported to. For asylum and resettlement cases, it can also show why you were at risk because of who you worked for.

Every employment letter translation includes:

• A complete English translation of all text, including letterheads, reference numbers and handwritten notes.
• Descriptions of stamps, seals, logos and signatures, such as "[Oval stamp: Ministry of Public Health, Human Resources]".
• Dates given as written, with the Gregorian date added where the original uses another calendar.
• A signed certification statement matching GOV.UK's guidance on certifying a document (opens in a new tab): a "true and accurate translation of the original document", the date, and the translator's full name and contact details.
• A PDF by email, and an optional posted hard copy.

Sample

Certified translation

Employment letter from an employer

Source language as on original → English

Employer

redacted

Employee

redacted

Job title

redacted

Period of employment

redacted to redacted

Date of letter

redacted

Reference number

redacted

Signatory

redacted

• [Letterhead: company or ministry heading, translated]
• [Round stamp: partly illegible]
• [Signature]

Translator's statement

I confirm that this is a true and accurate translation of the original document.

Date

DD/MM/YYYY

Translator

Full name

Signature

Work documents we translate

We translate most documents that prove a work history:

1. Employment and experience letters from government offices, companies, NGOs and schools.
2. Work references and character letters from former managers.
3. Employment contracts, appointment orders and salary letters.
4. Payslips, bank salary records and staff ID cards.
5. Letters of thanks, commendations and training certificates.
6. ARAP documents translation, such as letters and ID cards from work with the UK government or UK forces in Afghanistan.

A note on ARAP

The Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy (ARAP) closed to new applications on 1 July 2025. Existing applications are still being processed, according to GOV.UK guidance on Afghan resettlement (opens in a new tab). We translate ARAP-related evidence for people with existing cases, and for anyone using the same work records in an asylum claim or a later application. We do not advise on eligibility. For that, speak to a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA).

Job titles and employer names

Job titles are where many translations go wrong. A literal translation can make a senior role sound junior, or the reverse. Our translators know how public-sector and military ranks work in the source country.

How we handle the tricky parts:

• Job titles: we translate the title accurately and, where helpful, add the original term in brackets, for example "Director (Modir)".
• Employer names: we use an official English name if one exists. Otherwise we translate the name and keep the original transliteration, so the employer can still be searched.
• Personal names: we spell your name to match your passport, eVisa or Home Office papers, if you tell us the spelling to use.
• Calendars: Afghan and Iranian letters often use the Solar Hijri calendar. We keep the original date and add the Gregorian date in brackets.
• Damaged or unclear parts: we mark them "[illegible]" rather than guess.

Where your translated employment letter is used

• UK employers: to show previous experience, especially for skilled roles.
• Home Office: as asylum claim evidence of your job and the risk linked to it. Our asylum claim evidence translation page covers the wider bundle.
• ARAP and resettlement files: for existing cases still being processed.
• Settlement and citizenship: some later applications ask about your history. See ILR and citizenship translation.

A work reference translation also often goes with qualification papers. If you are sending both, see our education certificate translation for refugees page.

Languages for employment letter translation

• Dari and Pashto letters from Afghan ministries, NGOs and security forces, through our Pashto and Dari asylum document translation team.
• Arabic letters from Iraq, Syria, Sudan and Yemen, through our Arabic asylum document translation team.
• Farsi, Urdu, Kurdish, Tigrinya, Bengali and more. Country-specific help is on our Afghan document translation page.

Employment letter translation price and delivery time

• Price: from £18 per page (from £15 for a single short letter or ID card).
• Standard delivery: 1 working day for a short letter, 2–3 working days for longer documents.
• Urgent delivery: same day or within 24 hours, from £10 extra per document.

Prices shown are starting prices and include VAT. We confirm your exact price in a written quote before any work starts. Several short letters can be quoted as one order. See all rates on our translation prices page.