Certified Translations of Afrikaans Documents: SA or Canada?

Updated 9 September 2026. Plenty of South African families only discover how many of their documents are in Afrikaans when a Canadian checklist asks for everything in English or French. A matric certificate from an Afrikaans-medium school, a church marriage register, a great-aunt's affidavit — each needs a certified translation before it goes into a file. This is the practical view of what that means and where to get it done.

Why English or French is required

Canada's immigration system works in its two official languages, and IRCC's published instructions say that documents in any other language must be accompanied by a translation into English or French. The logic is simple: an officer has to be able to read every page, and the rule applies whatever the language — Afrikaans is just the one that catches South Africans, because so much of our older paperwork was issued in it or in both languages side by side. Bilingual documents are their own question: if the English text is complete and the Afrikaans merely repeats it, many families treat it as English, but that is a judgement to confirm against IRCC's current wording rather than assume.

What "certified translation" generally means

A certified translation is not simply a good translation. In general terms, it is the translated text together with a formal statement from the translator confirming that it is complete and accurate, plus a copy of the original it was made from. IRCC's instructions describe two broad routes: a translation by a translator who is certified by a recognised professional body, or a translation accompanied by an affidavit sworn by the translator before someone authorised to take oaths. The instructions also spell out who may not translate — applicants and their family members, for instance — so check the current page on canada.ca before asking a bilingual cousin to help.

The South African documents that commonly need it

• School records. Report cards, subject lists and older matric certificates from Afrikaans-medium schools; often needed for a child's school placement in Canada as well as for an application.
• Older Home Affairs certificates. Some birth, marriage and death certificates issued decades ago are in Afrikaans or bilingual, and the handwritten entries on the oldest ones are Afrikaans regardless of the printed form.
• Church marriage registers and pastoral letters, still common as supporting documents for older couples.
• Affidavits and commissioner-of-oaths statements taken at a police station in Afrikaans.
• Antenuptial contracts, wills and title deeds drafted by Afrikaans attorneys, and some employer letters from Afrikaans firms.
• Medical reports from Afrikaans-speaking specialists, which come up around the medical exam.

Getting it done from South Africa

South Africa has a long-established system of sworn translators, admitted by the High Court, whose translations carry a stamp and declaration; the South African Translators' Institute maintains directories and its own accreditation. The upside of translating at home is convenience: the translator can see the original, knows the Home Affairs formats, and can turn a stack of documents around in one go. The practical question is whether the certification a South African sworn translator provides matches what IRCC's instructions describe. Ask the translator what they attach, compare it to the canada.ca wording, and, if there is a gap, ask whether they will swear the affidavit IRCC describes. Prices and turnaround vary widely between translators, so get two or three quotes.

Getting it done from Canada

Each province has a professional translators' association whose certified members' work is widely accepted without a separate affidavit, and Afrikaans-to-English translators do exist in Canada, if in smaller numbers than for most languages. The advantage is that the certification is unmistakably in the form Canadian institutions expect; the disadvantage is that you are usually sending scans, the translator may never see the original, and a rare language pair can mean a wait. Many families do the bulk at home and keep a Canadian translator in reserve for anything that surfaces later, such as a document a school or a professional regulator asks for after landing.

Practical habits that save a second round

Translate the whole document, stamps and reverse side included, not just the parts that seem relevant. Keep the original, the translation and the certification together as one PDF. Have every name spelled exactly as it appears in the passport. And do the translations after the Home Affairs run, not before, so you are not paying to translate a certificate you then have to re-order. Our guides and the move-to-Canada guide cover the surrounding paperwork; if you want help organising the whole run, see our services. Which documents an individual application requires, and in what form, is regulated advice for a licensed RCIC or immigration lawyer, and IRCC's current instructions on canada.ca are the authority to check before commissioning any translation.