Translation for Belgian CPAS/OCMW Welfare Centres and Their Clients

The CPAS/OCMW is Belgium's municipal social safety net. For thousands of newcomers, recognised refugees and people living in poverty, the CPAS is the first institution they turn to. But the procedures constantly involve foreign documents that must be translated. TranslateBE is the trusted translation partner for Belgian CPAS welfare centres and their clients.

CPAS welfare centres and translation: a daily necessity

Every Belgian municipality has a CPAS/OCMW. Every day, social workers process dossiers for social assistance, professional integration and housing for beneficiaries whose documents are written in Arabic, Pashto, Tigrinya, Romanian or Ukrainian. Translation is not optional — it is a prerequisite for accessing rights. The most common situations include:

• Beneficiaries with foreign documents (civil status records, diplomas, employment contracts) required to compile the dossier
• Social workers who need to understand documents received in foreign languages in order to process a dossier
• Correspondence with the DVZ / Office des Étrangers (OE) for regularisation procedures for beneficiaries without a stable residence permit
• Integration and socio-professional insertion dossiers (integration pathways, FOREM, Actiris, VDAB)
• Communication with the ONEM/RVA, health insurance funds and social housing services for non-French/Dutch-speaking beneficiaries

Most commonly translated documents for Belgian CPAS centres

• Foreign civil status documents (birth, marriage, divorce certificates) for population register registration and dossier compilation
• Foreign diplomas and school certificates for qualifications assessment and professional integration
• Foreign employment contracts to assess entitlement to social assistance and unemployment benefits
• Medical and psychiatric records for vulnerable beneficiaries requiring medico-social support
• Foreign court decisions (guardianship, child custody, divorce pronounced abroad)
• Foreign criminal record extracts required for certain integration programmes or employment pathways
• Foreign property documents for assessing financial resources in the context of social assistance
• Letters and correspondence in foreign languages received by beneficiaries and requiring immediate interpretation

Most requested languages by CPAS welfare centres

• Arabic ↔ French/Dutch — Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Syria, Iraq
• Pashto and Dari ↔ French/Dutch — Afghan diaspora (top asylum country since 2021)
• Tigrinya ↔ French/Dutch — Eritrean diaspora, 2nd largest refugee community in Belgium
• French ↔ Dutch — bilingual Belgian documents, dossiers from both communities
• Romanian ↔ French/Dutch — EU nationals experiencing severe poverty
• Russian and Ukrainian ↔ French/Dutch — temporarily protected Ukrainian displaced persons since 2022
• Turkish ↔ French/Dutch — Turkish residents and recently arrived Turkish nationals
• Lingala, Swahili ↔ French — Congolese diaspora and Central African communities

TranslateBE: translation partner for CPAS social services

TranslateBE provides a 100% online translation service — no travel required — designed to fit the working rhythms of CPAS welfare centres. Social workers send documents by email and receive a quote within one hour. Sworn translations are carried out by translators registered with the National Register of Judicial Experts (RNEJ) — accepted by the DVZ/OE, ONEM/RVA and Belgian courts. Standard turnaround: 48–72 hours; express option: 24 hours for urgent dossiers. Absolute confidentiality of social data, fully GDPR compliant.