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English to (European) Portuguese Translations

Specialist Fields 

I translate a range of general texts, and can issue certified or sworn translations approved by the Home Office and all organisations in the UK, as I am a Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists. I am proficient in the following specialised fields:

Types of Documents Translated 

I provide certified translations that are professional and whose formatting is in as much as possible the same as the original from and into Portuguese. I translate Birth, Marriage and Death Certificates, Divorce Decrees and Article 39 Forms (required for Divorce matters), Powers of Attorney, Deeds of Change of Name and other official documents such as passports, etc. These translations are duly stamped and certified. My certification is in the form of a Translator’s Certificate which states my details and qualifications and confirms that the translations that are attached to this Certificate are accurate.

Translations from Portuguese into English to be used in the UK are certified by myself, as a Member of the Chartered Institute of Linguists and will be valid anywhere in the UK including the Home Office.

Where translations are to be used in another English speaking country outside the UK or in a Portuguese speaking country, my Translator’s Certificate will have to be signed before a Solicitor, who will certify my signature. Any document bearing a British Solicitor’s signature will then need to be legalised by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in order to be accepted and valid abroad. I can arrange legalisation or you can arrange it yourself – please see which documents can be legalised and how at https://www.gov.uk/get-document-legalised

It is always useful to send me scanned documents of the documents to be translated as I will be unable to give you a quote otherwise to lurdes@portuguese-english.co.uk. Once I see them I will confirm if your original documents will need to be legalised. If these are British documents, I will advise you to arrange legalisation after you receive my translations, as my Translator’s Certificate will also need to be legalised. It will be in your interest to legalise all the documents at the same time, or to arrange for me to do this.

The following steps are required for certified translations:

  1. Email lurdes@portuguese-english.co.uk the documents to be translated so you get a quote.
  2. Translation and Certification
  3. Legalisation (if required) – for this service to be provided I will require that you send me your originals by post.
  4. Once the documents are ready, these will be sent to your address by special delivery in case documents bear the signature of a solicitor, or by first class post otherwise.

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Clients 

My client portfolio includes:

Formats 

I am able to produce translations from a wide variety of formats, including Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint and Adobe Acrobat Reader. Documents for translation may be emailed, faxed or posted. I am on a broadband internet connection but please note that many email programs do not allow attachments greater than 2MB in size.

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Request a free translation quote 

Email lurdes@portuguese-english.co.uk

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Frequently Asked Questions 

What's the difference between translating and interpreting?

Translations are written communications, interpreting is the spoken word.

Can I use a free computer translation tool instead?

A computer or machine translation (MT) is useful if you simply need to know what the main subject is of a Portuguese text. However automatic translation tools will not be able to provide you with a professional translation. Often the results are humorous at the very least, as punctuation is often misunderstood and words taken out of context or translated wrongly - or not translated at all, if they do not feature in the computer's database.

For example, the following example shows text translated from Portuguese into English using a free translator tool in comparison to a professional (human) translator:

Professionally translated:

I offer a range of language services delivered to a high standard of professionalism, on time and at competitive rates.

Machine translated:

I offer a scale of the delivered services of language to a high standard of professionalism, in the competitive time and taxes.

Why do I need a technical translator?

If the text which you need to be translated into Portuguese is for example a legal document, you are much more likely to get an accurate translation from a translator who has experience in the legal field, as they understand the terms being used and appreciate the importance of the document's vocabulary and tone. Law is one of my specialist fields, and I have extensive experience both at a local level in London law firms and at an international level in the Economic and Social Committee and in the European Commission, in Brussels.

I am preparing a document now in English which will need a Portuguese translation - is there anything I should bear in mind at this stage?

The Institute of Translating and Interpreting have produced a very helpful guide for people who need to buy a translation. You can download it here by clicking on the link below. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to read the guide, which can be downloaded from the Adobe website if you do not already have it on your computer.

Translation - getting it right - A guide to buying translations
Translation: getting it right
A guide to buying translations

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