Translation Services and Interpreters for Krefeld – Certified, On Site

Key facts at a glance

• ✓Certified translations by translators authorised by the court, generally accepted by authorities throughout Germany
• ✓Interpreters on site in Krefeld, plus by video and telephone – often on the same day
• ✓No need to visit our office: upload a photo or scan and receive the translation by post and as a PDF in advance
• ✓If you would like to come in person: regional train RB 33 from Krefeld to Mülheim (Ruhr)-Styrum without changing
• ✓A no-obligation quote with a fixed price and delivery date before any costs arise

How does a translation agency in Mülheim work for clients in Krefeld?

RAGUNATHAN translates for Krefeld mainly online and by post: you send your documents as a photo, scan or PDF, and the original certified translation is delivered to your home. Our office is in the Mülheim district of Styrum. Krefeld is not part of the Ruhr area; it lies on the left bank of the Lower Rhine and borders Duisburg to the east. Styrum is on the other side of Duisburg, right on the city boundary.

• Online: upload your documents via the form above, email them to info@ragunathan.de or send them via WhatsApp to +49 176 31323611.
• By train: the RB 33 regional train runs without changing from Krefeld Hauptbahnhof (central station) via Krefeld-Uerdingen and Duisburg Hauptbahnhof to Mülheim (Ruhr)-Styrum station.
• By car: for example, take the A57 to the Moers interchange (Kreuz Moers) and continue on the A40 towards Essen as far as the Mülheim-Styrum junction.
• No appointment needed: Limburgstraße 7, 45476 Mülheim an der Ruhr, Monday to Friday from 8:30 am to 4:30 pm. All the ways to reach us can be found under Contact and directions.

Which authorities in Krefeld require a certified translation?

Authorities and courts in Krefeld generally require foreign-language documents as a certified translation into German – above all for marriage, residence, naturalisation, employment and court proceedings.

• Krefeld registry office (Standesamt Krefeld): for giving notice of marriage or registering a marriage concluded abroad (Nachbeurkundung), we translate birth and marriage certificates, divorce decrees and, depending on the country of origin, certificates of single status. Find out more: Birth certificate translation and Marriage certificate translation.
• Immigration office and naturalisation: in Krefeld, both the immigration office (Ausländerbehörde) and naturalisation (Einbürgerung) belong to the city's Department of Migration and Integration (Fachbereich Migration und Integration). For residence permits, family reunification or naturalisation, you will need, depending on your case, translated civil status certificates, school or university certificates or documents from your country of origin.
• Krefeld Local Court and Regional Court (Amtsgericht and Landgericht Krefeld): for family, inheritance and civil proceedings, we translate judgments, rulings, contracts and powers of attorney. Both courts belong to the district of the Higher Regional Court of Düsseldorf (Oberlandesgericht Düsseldorf).
• Job centre (Jobcenter), employment agency and employers: employment contracts, official notices, employment references and pension documents.
• Driving licence authority (Fahrerlaubnisbehörde): if you want to exchange a foreign driving licence, you will usually need a translation – details under Driving licence translation.

Who may produce certified translations – and do I also need an apostille?

A certified translation is a translation whose completeness and accuracy are confirmed by a court-authorised translator with a certification statement, stamp and signature. Under Section 33 of the North Rhine-Westphalia Justice Act (Justizgesetz NRW), translators in NRW are authorised (ermächtigt) and interpreters are generally sworn (allgemein beeidigt). Anyone looking for a sworn translator or a sworn interpreter in Krefeld therefore means exactly these professionals.

The certification of a translation is in principle valid throughout Germany. An apostille is something different: it confirms the authenticity of a public document so that it is recognised in another country. Whether you need an apostille is decided by the office where you submit the document.

Do you need an interpreter in Krefeld on site, or is a video appointment enough?

An on-site interpreter in Krefeld is particularly worthwhile when several people are sitting at one table, documents are discussed together or a conversation is very personal. RAGUNATHAN sends interpreters to appointments throughout the city. For shorter conversations, video or telephone interpreting is often sufficient, frequently on the same day.

• On site: at the notary's office, at the registry office – for example for a wedding ceremony if one partner does not speak sufficient German –, in hospitals and doctors' surgeries, at counselling services and the youth welfare office (Jugendamt) or at business meetings.
• By video: via Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Jitsi or, on request, our own secure video platform.
• By telephone: for short queries, arranging appointments and urgent conversations.

For hearings at Krefeld Local Court or Regional Court, the court itself generally calls in an interpreter. Depending on the appointment, we interpret consecutively (section by section), simultaneously or as whispered interpreting. You can request your appointment via the interpreter booking request or by phone.

Specialist texts and business meetings for companies in Krefeld

Krefeld is an industrial location, home among others to the Chempark Krefeld-Uerdingen chemical park and the Siemens Mobility rail vehicle plant. For companies, suppliers and service providers, we translate contracts, safety data sheets, operating procedures and technical documentation. For negotiations, audits or plant visits, we interpret on site or by video.

Which languages do people in Krefeld need most often?

For the large language communities in Krefeld – including Turkish, Polish, Arabic and Romanian – RAGUNATHAN produces certified translations and provides interpreters. According to the State of North Rhine-Westphalia's integration profile for 2019, people with Turkish, Polish, Syrian and Romanian citizenship make up the largest groups of the non-German population. Among naturalisations in 2023, most new citizens came from Syria, Iraq and Poland, followed by Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan, according to the city.

• Arabic and Kurdish: civil status documents, family register extracts and certificates from Syria and Iraq – often for naturalisation and family reunification.
• Polish: civil status certificates, employment references and pension documents. In Polish, a sworn translator is called a tłumacz przysięgły.
• Turkish: register extracts, certificates and judgments – more on our page Certified Turkish–German translation.
• Farsi, Dari and Pashto: documents from Iran and Afghanistan.

We also translate Romanian, Bulgarian, Greek, Italian and Ukrainian. There is a dedicated page for Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian and Montenegrin: Translation agency for Montenegrin, Serbian, Croatian and Bosnian. For rare languages such as Tigrinya or Somali, see Interpreters for rare languages.

Which certificates do students and skilled workers in Krefeld need translated?

If you apply to Hochschule Niederrhein (Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences) with a foreign certificate, you need a sworn translation into German or English if the original is not in German or English. According to the university, this applies both to applications via the uni-assist portal and to direct applications. Hochschule Niederrhein has campuses in Krefeld and Mönchengladbach.

Certificates also matter for work: in North Rhine-Westphalia, the certificate recognition office of the Düsseldorf District Government (Zeugnisanerkennungsstelle der Bezirksregierung Düsseldorf) recognises the equivalence of a foreign school-leaving qualification with the German higher education entrance qualification (Hochschulreife), for example for vocational training or a job. For certificates not issued in German or English, it requires a German translation by a publicly authorised or sworn translator. Conversely, we translate German qualifications for applications abroad. Find out more: Diploma and certificate translation.

How does a translation for Krefeld work – and what does it cost?

At RAGUNATHAN, you only pay once you have accepted the quote – before that, you see the fixed price and delivery date in black and white.

1. 01
   Upload

   send a photo, scan or PDF via the form above, by email or WhatsApp – with all pages, including the backs with stamps.

2. 02
   Receive a quote

   a fixed price and a binding delivery date, free of charge and with no obligation.

3. 03
   Translation

   an authorised translator for your language translates the document in full and certifies it.

4. 04
   Delivery to Krefeld

   as a PDF by email in advance, the original with stamp and signature by post – or collect it in Mülheim-Styrum.

The price of a translation depends on length, language pair, subject area, certification and delivery time. For interpreting, the factors are the duration of the assignment, the language, the type of interpreting and the location: on site in Krefeld, travel is added; by video or telephone, there is none. Here, too, you receive a no-obligation quote in advance. Express orders are possible – please call us for these.

Upload your document and get a fixed price

Why RAGUNATHAN?

• Translation and interpreting from one source

  Certified translations and interpreters for Krefeld – one point of contact for both.

• Since 1986

  Experience with official documents, certificates and appointments at authorities, courts and hospitals.

• 170 languages and dialects

  Over 1,000 language professionals, including authorised translators and generally sworn interpreters.

• Proven quality

  ISO 9001:2015, certified by TÜV SÜD. Owner Ayadurai Ragunathan is a member of the BDÜ – the German Federal Association of Interpreters and Translators.

Do you have a question about your document or appointment? Call us on +49 208 99 04 77 (Mon–Fri 8:30 am – 4:30 pm) or email info@ragunathan.de.