Foreign Birth Certificate Translation in Charleroi: CPAS, Moroccan and Turkish Communities

Do you live in Charleroi and need to have a foreign birth certificate translated for the CPAS, the municipality, or the Tribunal de première instance? Charleroi is home to one of the largest Moroccan and Turkish communities in Wallonia. This guide explains the sworn translation procedure into French for your administrative procedures in Charleroi.

See also: birth certificate translation in Belgium · translation agency in Charleroi

Charleroi: Moroccan and Turkish communities, CPAS, and birth certificates

Charleroi is a multicultural city with a strong presence of communities of Moroccan, Turkish, Italian, and sub-Saharan African origin. These residents regularly need to produce translated birth certificates in several contexts:

• CPAS of Charleroi applications : certain social benefits require civil status documentation, particularly for beneficiaries of foreign origin
• Walloon naturalisation : a complete file required by the FPS Justice, including the birth certificate translated into French
• Civil marriage in Charleroi : if one spouse is foreign, the municipality requires the birth certificate translated by a sworn translator
• Family reunification : a spouse or children joining a Charleroi resident; the Immigration Office requires translated documents
• Tribunal de première instance of Charleroi : binational divorce, international adoption, or paternity recognition proceedings

Procedure for a Moroccan or Turkish birth certificate in Charleroi

The procedure varies depending on the country that issued your birth certificate:

• Moroccan certificate: Morocco is a signatory to the Hague Convention. Obtain an apostille from the Moroccan Ministry of Justice, then have the apostilled document translated into French by a sworn translator
• Turkish certificate: Turkey is also a signatory. The apostille is affixed by the Turkish authorities, then the sworn translation into French is carried out
• Sub-Saharan African certificates (DRC, Senegal, Ivory Coast…): prior consular legalisation, then sworn translation into French

Our sworn translators specialise in Moroccan Arabic and standard Arabic, Turkish, Lingala, Wolof, Italian, and cover more than 70 languages.

What a birth certificate translation includes

The sworn translation is complete and covers all elements of the document:

• Full name and given name(s) as registered in the foreign civil registry
• Exact date, time, and place of birth
• Parents' identities - surnames, given names, and possibly occupation
• Certificate number, date, and identity of the civil registrar
• Marginal annotations: recognition, legitimation, adoption, marriage