In our increasingly borderless world, many countries are trying to attract the best talents from different parts of the world. Human mobility is at its highest in history due to the ease of transportation and the opening of countries to allow cross-border employment and migration. A business-friendly environment in many countries has also encouraged huge multinational corporations to set up branches and regional headquarters.
Translation for Employment and Visa
With its limited natural resources and small population, a country like Singapore must rely heavily on external resources to support and maintain its economy. This includes foreign talents. Singapore must compete with the rest of the major cities in the world to attract higher-calibre foreign workers to help with the growth of Singapore and positioning as a global city.
The employment process for these talents, though mostly left to the private companies hiring these talents to qualify, the process of approving the permit to work and stay in Singapore for these foreign talents is one undertaken by the government agency responsible for immigration and manpower.
Those seeking employment or permission to live here must submit their application to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority of Singapore (ICA). During the submission, if their documents, be it educational qualifications, birth certificates, marriage certificates etc., are not in English, they must be translated, notarized, and authenticated for submission. The document could be for overseas travelling, business, or even a school project. Many claim to be able to produce translations accepted by the authorities, but the truth is that what is required is more than just a simple translation of the documents.
In Singapore, you should work with a professional translation company that can produce a certified translation and know how to get the translation notarized and authenticated. Professional Translation Companies like Lingua Technologies International can help with your document translation in Singapore. They will guide you through the process of legalizing your translated document to ensure that your translated documents are accepted by the authorities and government agencies here in Singapore.
For an expatriate working in Singapore, the translation for the following documents is usually required:
- Medical and hospital reports
- Divorce decree translation
- Birth Certificates
- Marriage Certificates
- Household Certificates
- Educational Qualifications
- Police reports
- Driver's license
Translation in the Corporate sector
Many multinational corporations and organizations operating in Singapore have business dealings globally. Many international companies operate a regional headquarters from Singapore, with the HQ here overseeing the operations of branches around this region. Marketing and operating in regions that prefer or mandate the use of local languages for internal and external communication means that translation must be an integral part of the business's communication strategy. Translation service is essential to facilitate daily communication and operations.
Translation into Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Indonesian, Thai, Khmer, Vietnamese, Myanmese and Laotian are popular languages requested by businesses operating in this region. Working with a professional translation company with a globally recognized certification such as ISO 17100 will ensure high-quality translation output. Professional translation companies often work with qualified native translators, and your translations are looked after by a dedicated project manager who provides great project management service to ensure the success of your translation projects. Most trustworthy translation service providers have a good track record of delivering high-quality translation. Most of them incorporate translation technology in their translation process to improve efficiency, consistency, quality and turnaround time.
Below are some common documents requiring translation for businesses:
- Business plans and business documents
- Legal documents, contracts, and agreements
- Patents and IP documents
- Scientific and academic translations
- Financial reports
- Technical manuals
- Employee handbook
- Business profiles
- Websites
Popular languages requested for document translation in Singapore
Most professional translation companies can provide translation for a range of languages. This can range from the official languages of Chinese, Malay Tamil into English and from English. For the Southeast Asian market, the popular Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Malay, Indonesian, Vietnamese, Khmer, Laotian and Myanmese are the most requested languages. Languages that cover the rest of the world like French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Eastern European languages including Russian, Indic languages including Hindi, and middle eastern languages including Arabic are popular choices. Documents in various file formats such as MS Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, etc., are accepted.
Standard attributes of a large professional Translation Agency in Singapore
A professional translation company in Singapore is usually a multilanguage translation service provider. They specialize in major Asian and European languages, with many of them covering more than 20 different languages. When you work with a professional translation company for your document translation in Singapore, you can expect the following:
- Translators are native linguists. They ensure the most accurate translation service is produced, considering the latest slang, terminologies, context, tone, and cultural sensitivity.
- Prices are transparent. You get to know the per word rate and will be presented with the total word count. If the company deploys translation memory technology, you will be shown the breakdown in terms of repetitions and reusable translation.
- Only a professional translation company can scale up their team to handle a huge volume of translation within a short time. They can organize translation teams headed by an editor to consolidate and edit all translations for consistency. By deploying a specialized translation management system, a professional translation company can manage your translation professionally, thereby increasing the productivity of each translator within the team and shortening the turnaround time required for huge volumes.
- Professional translation companies with globally recognized standards like ISO 17100 possess the standard's strict quality control measures. This standard also mandates a minimum requirement for the recruitment of translators, training for project managers and security for your data.
- ISO 17100 mandates data protection requirements to ensure the safety and security of your information. As most content and data received for translation are sensitive, only professional translation company with ISO 17100 can provide a certain level of confidentiality. Many translations service also work with a non-disclosure agreement.
Conclusion
Document Translation Service in Singapore is an important service for businesses that, when done wrongly, may have legal and financial ramifications. Certified translation is one of the Singapore authorities' requirements for people who want to work here. One must only approach a professional translation company with a globally recognized ISO certification to avoid any pitfalls and disappointments. This will ensure that the contents of your documents are not lost in translation and that they are being successfully accepted by the authorities, customers and business counterparts.