Oromo Asylum Document Translation to English

Certified Oromo to English translation for asylum

Oromo is also called Afaan Oromoo. It is one of the most widely spoken languages in Ethiopia and the working language of the Oromia region.

Our Oromo 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" and adds the date, their full name and contact details (GOV.UK: Certifying a document (opens in a new tab)). The certificate also carries the translator's signature and credentials, and we are members of the ITI, CIOL and ATC.

Sample

Certified translation

Kebele identification card (Ethiopia)

Afaan Oromo → English

Full name

redacted

Father's name

redacted

Date of birth

redacted

Place of birth

redacted

Region

Oromia

Card number

redacted

Issuing office

Kebele administration office

• [Round stamp: kebele office, partly illegible]
• [Photograph]
• [Translator's note: dates are in the Ethiopian calendar; we add the Gregorian date in square brackets.]

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

There is no Home Office list of approved translators. Caseworkers and judges decide how much weight to give each document.

Oromo documents we translate

Oromo-speaking clients usually bring papers in Afaan Oromoo, Amharic, or both. We translate:

• Identity: kebele ID cards and other ID; see id card translation for asylum
• Civil records: birth, marriage and death certificates
• Police and court papers: summons, detention records, release papers and court decisions. Our guide to police report translation for asylum explains how we lay these out
• Political evidence: membership cards and letters; see political party card translation
• Medical records: hospital notes and treatment letters
• Personal evidence: letters, witness statements, and social media posts in Oromo

These are the papers most often used as asylum claim evidence translation for your Home Office interview.

Oromo script and dialects

Qubee: the Latin alphabet for Oromo

Oromo is written in Qubee, a Latin-based alphabet that has been its official script since the early 1990s. Qubee looks familiar to English readers, but it works differently:

• Long vowels are written double, as in "baay'ee"
• Double consonants change meaning, so "badaa" and "baddaa" are different words
• Pairs such as "dh", "ch", "ny", "ph" and "sh" stand for single sounds
• An apostrophe marks a glottal stop

A missing letter can change a word, so Qubee needs careful reading, especially in handwriting. If your document is in another script, send a photo and we will confirm whether we can translate it before you pay.

Dialects

Oromo has several regional varieties, including Borana, Eastern (Harar), Western and Central forms. Speakers from Kenya often use Borana Oromo. Tell us where you or the document come from, and we confirm the right translator before you pay. The translation is always written in standard English, so the meaning is clear to a caseworker.

Documents from Ethiopia in Oromo

Many Ethiopian documents are not in Oromo at all. Federal documents are mainly in Amharic, which uses the Ge'ez script. Regional and local documents from Oromia may be in Afaan Oromoo.

If your papers mix Oromo and Amharic, we translate both languages in one order. See also our Amharic asylum document translation page.

Ethiopian calendar dates

Ethiopian documents use the Ethiopian calendar. It runs about seven to eight years behind the Gregorian calendar, and its new year falls in September. We give each date as written and add the Gregorian date in brackets, for example "1 Meskerem 2016 [12 September 2023]". This avoids errors about your age or the timing of events.

Ethiopian names

Ethiopians usually have no family surname. A person's name is their given name, followed by their father's and sometimes grandfather's name. We keep this order, so UK officials do not mistake a father's name for a surname.

English to Oromo: Home Office letters in your language

We also provide English to Oromo Home Office letter translation. This covers refusal letters, interview records and tribunal decisions.

Our home office refusal letter translation service gives you the full letter in clear Afaan Oromoo. We do not give legal advice. For that, contact a solicitor or an adviser regulated by the Immigration Advice Authority (IAA). If you are in the UK, you usually have 14 days to appeal.

How we handle your Oromo documents

We cover 140+ languages. For Oromo, tell us the language and where the document comes from, and we confirm the translator and price before you pay.

• Translation by a qualified human translator; we never use machine translation for certified work
• Mixed Oromo and Amharic documents translated in full, in one order
• Names, dates and calendar conversions checked by a second linguist
• Encrypted upload, UK GDPR compliance and deletion after delivery

Oromo translation price and delivery time

Oromo is a less common language in the UK, so we quote each order individually. Price depends on page count, handwriting and any Amharic text.

• Certified translation: from £18 per page (ID cards and single certificates from £15 per document)
• 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 does not normally require notarisation; a certified translation is usually enough. Ask for a fixed Oromo asylum translation quote before you commit.