Charleroi and Hainaut maintain with Poland a bond forged in the coal mines of the last century. The descendants of the Polish miners and steelworkers who rebuilt the Walloon industry today form a deeply rooted community. For all your administrative procedures, our agency provides a sworn Polish-French translation in Charleroi accepted by all the administrations of Hainaut.
The Polish community of Charleroi: a historical presence
From the 1920s and especially after the Second World War, Belgium massively recruited Polish workers to revive coal and steel production. The Charleroi basin, with its mines of Fontaine-l'Evêque, Anderlues, Marchienne-au-Pont and its steelworks of Monceau-sur-Sambre, welcomed thousands of Polish families fleeing the difficult conditions of the post-war period and the Soviet occupation.
These families settled durably in the mining estates of western Hainaut and in the working-class districts of Charleroi. Polish associations, Polish Catholic parishes and Saturday schools kept the Polish language and culture alive for decades. Some of these structures still exist today, a testimony of a Polish presence now a century old in the region.
To these historical families must be added the more recent migratory waves: the political refugees of the 1980s (era of Solidarnosc) and especially the economic workers who arrived after Poland joined the European Union in 2004. These newcomers settled in construction, the market gardening of Hainaut, logistics and services, reinforcing the Charleroi Polish community.
Administrative procedures and Polish civil status
The Polish residents of Charleroi and Hainaut must regularly have their Polish documents translated for procedures with the City of Charleroi, the CPAS, the Family Court of Charleroi, the SPF Intérieur or the Immigration Office.
The Polish birth record (akt urodzenia), the marriage record (akt malzenstwa) and the death record (akt zgonu) are the documents most frequently translated for the civil status procedures in Hainaut. They are required notably for the international marriages celebrated in Charleroi, the recognitions of children, the registrations in the population register and the family reunification procedures.
For Belgian naturalisation, the Polish criminal record (Krajowy Rejestr Karny) is an almost systematic part of the dossier. This document, issued by the Polish judicial authorities, must be translated and certified by a sworn translator to be accepted by the SPF Justice.
Posted workers and employment contracts
Hainaut welcomes each year thousands of Polish workers posted in the sectors of construction, industrial cleaning and agriculture. These workers and their employers often need translations of employment contracts, employment attestations, payslips and social security documents.
In the event of a workplace accident or a dispute before the Labour Court of Charleroi, the translation of Polish documents (medical reports, administrative decisions, correspondence with the Polish social security organisations) may be necessary. Our sworn translators specialised in social law and labour law produce precise translations adapted to the Belgian judicial context.
For the Polish agricultural workers of western Hainaut (market gardening of the region of Lessines and Ath), the translation of residence permits, work permits and various attestations is also a recurring need, notably at the start of the season.
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Polish-French translation in Charleroi: sworn translators
Sworn Polish-French translators for the administrations of Hainaut. Quote within 1h, delivery 24-48h.
The most frequently translated Polish documents in Charleroi
The translation needs of the Polish community of Hainaut cover a wide spectrum of official documents. Here are the documents most frequently handled by our sworn Polish-French translators:
- Akt urodzenia (Polish birth record): required for the registration with the civil status office of Charleroi, family reunification, naturalisation applications and paternity recognitions. Must be recent (less than 6 months) for most official procedures.
- Akt malzenstwa (Polish marriage record): indispensable for the mixed marriages in Charleroi, the recognition of a marriage celebrated in Poland and the family reunification procedures involving a spouse who remained in Poland.
- Akt zgonu (Polish death record): necessary for the international successions and the procedures with the notaries and courts of Hainaut involving heirs or property in Poland.
- Krajowy Rejestr Karny (Polish criminal record): mandatory document for the Belgian naturalisation dossiers and certain residence permit applications. Must be translated in the weeks following its issuance.
- Dyplom et wykaz ocen (diploma and transcript): for the recognition by the NARIC service of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation or by the Belgian professional bodies (physicians, nurses, architects, etc.).
- Umowa o prace (Polish employment contract): for the posted workers, the ONSS procedures and the disputes before the Labour Court of Charleroi.
Ordering your Polish-French translation from Charleroi
Our service is entirely online: residents of Charleroi, Châtelet, La Louvière, Binche, Mons or any municipality of Hainaut can order their translation without travelling.
- Scan or photograph your Polish document: sufficient quality to read all the characters, including the Polish diacritics (a, c, e, l, n, o, s, z, z). Each page must be legible.
- Submit your request online: indicate the language pair (Polish to French), the type of document and the recipient administration.
- Receive a firm quote in less than 1h: final price, VAT not applicable in accordance with article 44 §3 of the Belgian VAT Code.
- Payment by bank transfer: IBAN details transmitted with the quote. The translation begins upon receipt.
- Certified delivery: the sworn translator affixes their signature and their stamp. You receive the PDF by email or a paper copy by registered mail depending on the requirements of your administration.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Must my Polish birth record be apostilled before the translation?
Poland is a signatory to the Hague Convention and issues apostilles on its official documents. Depending on the recipient administration, an apostille may be required before or after the translation. In practice, for procedures with the Immigration Office (family reunification, naturalisation), an apostille is often requested. For the registrations in the population register of a municipality of Hainaut, the requirements vary. Contact us to check the exact procedure depending on your situation and your recipient administration.
Can you translate old Polish records from the 1920s-1950s?
Yes, we regularly handle old Polish records from this period. These documents may be written in old Polish, in German (for the regions that belonged to the German empire before 1918) or even in Russian (for the regions under Russian domination). Some contain handwritten notations difficult to decipher. Our experienced translators take on these documents with the care they require, with a slightly extended timeline for the most complex documents.
What are the timelines for a Polish-French translation in Charleroi?
For a standard civil status record of one to two pages, the usual timeline is 2 to 3 working days in normal mode and 24h in express mode. For the more voluminous documents (diplomas, complete naturalisation dossiers, notarial deeds), allow 3 to 5 working days in normal mode and 48h in express. These timelines run from the receipt of the payment by bank transfer.
Do you accept documents sent by email or do the originals have to be sent?
To carry out the translation, a scanned copy sent by email suffices in the vast majority of cases. You keep your originals. The sworn translation is produced on the basis of the copy, and the translator certifies having worked on a faithful copy. If your administration requires a paper copy of the translation with the original signature and stamp of the sworn translator, we send it to you by registered mail from our Belgian office.