An immigration package for Canada: how we prepared it

Situation

The client was preparing to move to Canada under an immigration program. The application checklist had a standard requirement: certified translations of all education documents and the military ID. The package held six documents: two diplomas with supplements, a school certificate, and a military ID.

Task

Translate everything into English and certify it so Canadian immigration authorities would accept it without questions — and make the application deadline.

How we did it

1. Checked the program’s requirements. Notarized translation was the right level of certification here; where an apostille was needed, it went on before translation.
2. Translated the package. Educational documents have their own conventions: subject names, grading systems, seals and stamps are rendered with established equivalents, not word-for-word.
3. Checked every name against the international passport. The review revealed that the passport transliterated the client’s first name differently from the common default. Left as-is, the package would have carried two spellings — an easy trigger for an officer’s questions. Fixed before certification.
4. Certified and delivered. Scans went to the client’s email right after certification; the paper originals traveled by Nova Poshta to another city.

Result

The full package was ready in under a week. The client applied on time, and no follow-up questions about the translations came back.

Worth knowing

• The most common source of trouble in immigration translations is inconsistent name spelling across documents. One rule: follow the international passport.
• A diploma and its supplement are separate documents — certification (and apostille, if required) applies to each.
• Timing depends on volume, but a typical 5–7-document package takes us a few business days.