French Asylum Document Translation to English

Certified French to English translation for asylum

French is an official language in DR Congo, Guinea and Cameroon, so most official papers from these countries are in French. Many claimants read French well but still need an English version for the Home Office or the tribunal.

Our French to English certified translation UK service follows the GOV.UK guidance. The translator confirms it is a "true and accurate translation of the original document", with the date, their full name and contact details (GOV.UK: Certifying a document (opens in a new tab)). Each certificate is signed, and we are members of the ITI, CIOL and ATC.

Sample

Certified translation

Birth certificate extract (acte de naissance)

French → English

Full name

redacted

Date of birth

redacted

Place of birth

redacted, DR Congo

Father's name

redacted

Mother's name

redacted

Register number

redacted

Issued by

Civil registry office (état civil)

• [Round stamp: commune civil registry, partly illegible]
• [Handwritten: entries in the register margin]
• [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

For appeals, the tribunal rules say a document not in English must come with an English translation. See our asylum appeal bundle translation page. The Home Office has no approval scheme for translators; the decision-maker decides how much weight each document gets.

French documents we translate

We translate French papers of every kind, including:

• Identity: national ID cards, voter cards and passports; see id card translation for asylum
• Civil status records: birth, marriage and death certificates, and court judgments that replace a missing birth record; see birth certificate translation for asylum
• Police papers: statements, summonses and wanted notices. Our police report translation for asylum page explains how we present them
• Court and arrest papers: arrest warrants, judgments and release orders; see arrest warrant translation
• Medical records: hospital reports and medical certificates
• Political and personal evidence: party membership cards, letters and statements

Together these make up the asylum claim evidence translation you may rely on at interview.

French script and dialects

French uses the Latin alphabet with accents such as é, è, ç and ô. Accents matter: "interné" and "interne" mean different things. On poor photocopies, accents can disappear, so our translators read each word in context.

African French and local languages

French in Central and West Africa has its own words and official terms. Documents may also include words or passages in local languages. We cover 140+ languages: tell us if any part is not in French, and we confirm how we will handle it before you pay.

Legal terms that are easy to get wrong

French legal words often look like English words but mean something else. For example, "prévenu" means the accused person, not "prevented". A "procès-verbal" is an official written record, often of a police interview. We translate the legal meaning, so the caseworker understands exactly what the document says.

Documents from DR Congo, Guinea and Cameroon in French

Country notes

• DR Congo: names often include a "postnom", a second name between the surname and first name. We keep all three parts in the order shown. We translate voter cards as well as other identity papers.
• Guinea: many civil records are handwritten. Where a birth was registered late, a jugement supplétif may appear alongside the birth record.
• Cameroon: English and French are both official languages. Documents from the North-West and South-West regions may be in English or mixed. We translate only the French parts and reproduce the English as it appears.

French documents write dates day first, for example "05/03/2019" means 5 March 2019. We write each date out in full to avoid any confusion.

English to French: Home Office letters in your language

If French is the language you read best, we provide English to French Home Office letter translation. This covers refusal letters, interview records and tribunal decisions.

With our home office refusal letter translation service, you get the full letter in clear, formal French. We translate only and do not give legal advice. Talk to a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA). In the UK, the appeal time limit is 14 days from the decision.

Our French translators

Every French translator UK asylum clients work with through us is a UK-based professional translator working between French and English. We work to ISO-certified quality processes and never use machine translation for certified work.

• Familiar with civil, police and court documents from Central and West Africa
• Careful with handwriting, stamps and damaged pages
• A second linguist checks names, dates and case numbers
• Encrypted upload, UK GDPR and deletion after delivery

French translation price and delivery time

• Certified translation: from £18 per page (from £15 for an ID card or single certificate)
• Standard delivery: 1 working day for ID cards and certificates, 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.

The Home Office normally accepts certified translations without notarisation. Request a fixed French asylum translation quote before you decide.