Serbian translator in Ghent - Sworn service in Flanders

Sworn Serbian translation in Ghent is needed by the significant ex-Yugoslav community settled in Flanders, as well as by newer Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian nationals navigating Flemish integration and administrative procedures. Ghent - Gent - is East Flanders' capital city and one of Belgium's most diverse university cities, home to communities from across the world including a well-established ex-Yugoslav population. TranslateBE provides certified Serbian-to-Dutch (and Serbian-to-French) translations accepted by all Flemish authorities.

The Serbian and ex-Yugoslav community in Ghent

Ghent's ex-Yugoslav community established itself through multiple waves: the first arrived in the 1960s and 1970s as part of Belgium's organised labour recruitment from Yugoslavia, finding work in Ghent's manufacturing industries and port facilities. Later waves arrived in the 1990s as war refugees from Bosnia, Serbia and Croatia. More recently, Ghent's universities and technology sector have attracted a new generation of Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian students and young professionals.

This community regularly needs certified translations for Flemish authorities. The most common cases in the Ghent area include:

• Ghent municipality procedures: Serbian, Bosnian and Croatian nationals registering their residence, declaring family events, or updating civil status at Ghent municipality need certified Dutch translations of their home-country documents
• Flemish integration procedures (inburgering): newcomers required to follow the Flemish integration pathway (inburgeringstraject) must provide translated identity and civil status documents to the relevant agency
• NARIC Vlaanderen: Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian university degrees submitted for equivalency assessment in Flanders must be accompanied by certified Dutch translations
• Criminal record extracts: required by Flemish employers in regulated sectors (healthcare, childcare, education) and by professional licensing bodies
• Family reunification at OE/DVZ: sponsored family members from Serbia must submit a complete dossier of civil documents in certified Dutch (or French) translation

NARIC Vlaanderen and Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian diplomas in Flanders

NARIC Vlaanderen assesses foreign qualifications against the Belgian and European Qualifications Framework. Degrees from Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian universities are regularly submitted to NARIC by ex-Yugoslav nationals seeking to work in regulated professions in Flanders - healthcare, engineering, law, education, architecture - or to pursue further academic studies.

For Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian degrees, the typical NARIC Vlaanderen submission involves:

• The original diploma and diploma supplement: with apostille (Serbia, Bosnia, Montenegro) or under EU document circulation rules (Croatia)
• Certified Dutch translation of the diploma and supplement: by a sworn translator registered with a Belgian Court of Appeal
• Certified Dutch translation of academic transcripts: NARIC often requests individual course-level grades to assess the depth and scope of the qualification
• Proof of accreditation of the issuing institution: NARIC may request evidence that the university was accredited at the time of study

TranslateBE's translators are familiar with the academic terminology of Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian universities - the University of Belgrade, University of Novi Sad, University of Sarajevo, University of Zagreb - and can produce NARIC-compliant Dutch-language translations of all academic documents.

Flemish integration and Serbian document translation

Flanders' mandatory integration programme (inburgeringstraject) requires newcomers from non-EU countries - including Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Montenegro - to follow a structured pathway covering Dutch language courses, civic orientation and, where applicable, professional integration. The process begins with registration at the local integration agency (Agentschap Inburgering en NT2), which requires identity and civil status documents.

For Serbian nationals starting their integration journey in Ghent, this means providing certified Dutch translations of passports, birth certificates, marriage documents and, in some cases, criminal record extracts. TranslateBE can handle this full suite of documents efficiently, with a single quote covering all documents in a dossier and express service available for urgent timelines.