Immigration Tribunal Translation: Foreign-Language Evidence in First-tier and Upper Tribunal Appeals

In 2002 the Immigration Appeal Tribunal decided an asylum appeal involving an arrest warrant and a police First Information Report from Pakistan. Its starred decision, Tanveer Ahmed, still frames how judges treat documents from abroad. The question is not whether a document is forged but "whether the document is one upon which reliance should properly be placed", and "It is for the individual claimant to show that a document is reliable".

A judge can only rely on what they can read, and in an appeal the English translation is what the judge reads, quotes and weighs.

This guide covers the tribunal rules, interpreters versus translations, the appeal bundle, witness statements from people who do not read English, and why translated evidence is given little weight. For courts generally, see HMCTS translation requirements.

What do the tribunal rules say about documents not in English?

Both tiers have the same one-line rule. Rule 12(5) of the First-tier Tribunal (Immigration and Asylum Chamber) Rules 2014 provides that any notice of appeal "must be completed in English" and that "if a document provided to the Tribunal is not written in English, it must be accompanied by an English translation." Rule 13(6) of the Tribunal Procedure (Upper Tribunal) Rules 2008, in force since 15 February 2010, applies the same rule, almost word for word, to the Upper Tribunal. In proceedings in Wales or connected with Wales, documents and translations may be in Welsh.

The rules say "an English translation", not "certified", and name no approved translators. The practice directions add the detail:

• First-tier Tribunal. The Practice Direction of 1 November 2024 "replaces all previous Practice Directions relating to the Tribunal". It sets strict rules for bundles, witness statements, experts and country evidence, and it warns that the tribunal "will not overlook breaches", but it prescribes no translation format.
• Upper Tribunal. The 2010 joint Practice Directions (amended in 2014 and 2018) still apply there. Paragraph 8.2(b) describes best practice: "a typed translation of the document signed by the translator, and certifying that the translation is accurate, must be inserted in the bundle next to the copy of the original document, together with details of the identity and qualifications of the translator".

Meet the Upper Tribunal standard in both tiers: it answers the reliability question before it is asked, and if the case goes up, the same translations travel with it. Our guide to certification statements covers the wording.

Does the tribunal translate documents or provide an interpreter?

It provides an interpreter for the hearing; your documents are your responsibility. Form IAFT-3 says: "If you or any witnesses need an interpreter, step-free access or a hearing loop, it will be provided." Ask early, and give the language and the dialect.

The interpreter handles spoken evidence in the hearing room, not the bundle. GOV.UK's guidance for appellants without a lawyer is direct: "You must bring all the originals of the documents that you intend to rely on with you to the tribunal. Only documents in English will be looked at so if any are not in English you must arrange for translations."

How do you build translated evidence into the appeal bundle?

Commission translations as soon as you know what the Home Office has filed. The sequence:

1. Notice of appeal. Send it with "any documents in support of the appellant's case which have not been supplied to the respondent" (rule 19(5)(c)).
2. The Home Office bundle. Within 28 days the respondent must file its documents, including "any documents provided to the respondent in support of the original application" (rule 24(1)(f)). Translations you filed with the application are usually already before the tribunal, and the Practice Direction says parties "should not reproduce any evidence which has already been provided". If an earlier translation was incomplete, file a full one and explain why.
3. Your skeleton argument and bundle. A represented appellant files an appeal skeleton argument of no more than 12 pages, plus any evidence not in the Home Office bundle, within 28 days of the respondent's bundle or 42 days of the notice of appeal, whichever is later (rule 24A). Appellants without a lawyer receive directions to explain their case instead.
4. The Home Office review. Due within 14 days of your bundle.
5. Late evidence. Anything filed after the review needs "a written explanation of why it was not provided earlier". Evidence provided later than 5 working days before the hearing is admitted only if the judge decides, as a preliminary matter, to allow it.

Bundles from representatives and the Home Office must be "digital, indexed, bookmarked and paginated", on A4, with typed text readable by optical character recognition. Put each translation directly after its original, give both an index entry, and make sure the translation is searchable text, not a photo of a printout.

Can a witness statement be in a language other than English?

Yes. The 2024 Practice Direction says a witness statement "must, if practicable, be in the intended witness's own words" and "need not be in a language that the witness understands". That leaves two compliant routes:

• Written in English, read back. If the witness does not understand English, the statement must carry signed and dated attestations from the witness and the interpreter that it was read back in a language they understand.
• Written in the witness's language. Then rule 12(5)(b) applies: file an English translation with the original.

Either way, the statement must say how it was prepared, "for example, face-to-face, over the telephone, and/or through an interpreter", and include a statement by the witness "in their own language" that they believe the facts in it are true. The wording the Practice Direction prescribes:

How do judges weigh documents from abroad?

As one piece of evidence among many. Tanveer Ahmed says a document "should not be viewed in isolation"; the decision maker looks at "the evidence as a whole or in the round". There is "no obligation on the Home Office to make detailed enquiries about documents", and a decision not to make them creates no presumption in your favour.

For translations, that means:

• Translate everything on the page: reference numbers, the issuing office, signatures, every stamp and handwritten note, and the reverse side.
• Do not repair the document. A misspelt name or an impossible date is translated as written, with a translator's note. Corrected silently, it becomes a hidden inconsistency.
• Keep names and dates consistent with the Home Office file. Non-Gregorian dates appear as written, with the converted date in a note.
• Translate messages as threads, with every date, time and sender, not selected lines. See text message translation.

Country evidence has its own rules. A reported country guidance decision is authoritative, so background material is needed only where no guidance applies or a party argues for departing from it, and it goes into a country information schedule of no more than 12 pages, with hyperlinks. A local news report or court record in another language is still "a document" needing a translation.

Expert reports are limited to 20 pages without permission, are addressed to the tribunal and carry a prescribed statement of truth. If the expert discusses a document in your bundle, make sure they worked from the same translation the judge will read.

Can you add new translated evidence in the Upper Tribunal?

Only with notice. The Upper Tribunal decides whether the First-tier Tribunal made an error of law, so new evidence is the exception. Under rule 15(2A), a party who wants evidence considered that was not before the First-tier Tribunal must send a notice "indicating the nature of the evidence" and "explaining why it was not submitted", and the tribunal "must have regard to whether there has been unreasonable delay". The same translation rule applies to anything new.

Why translated evidence is excluded or given little weight

• No translation at all. The document is simply not read.
• A summary or a partial translation, leaving out the stamp or annotation that mattered.
• A translation by the appellant or a relative, which the Home Office can attack as self-serving.
• Two different translations of the same document, one in the Home Office file and one in the bundle.
• An English witness statement with no interpreter attestation.
• Evidence filed inside the last 5 working days without a good explanation.
• The wrong dialect requested for the interpreter.

Checklist: translated evidence for an immigration appeal

Questions people ask