Cheap Spanish translations...is there such a thing?

You will have most likely arrived to this page because you are applying for a Spanish visa, or need some documents translating and would like to make the process as affordable as possible. And that is normal. It is a lengthy process, with lots of hoops to jump through and can be exhausting at times.

When you request a quote, you will notice that the difference in prices could be as much as 30%-40%. Some translators charge as little as £20 per document. This can be confusing as all the translators on the official list, in principle, are authorised to carry out the same kind of translation.

Each Spanish sworn translator living in the UK is free to set their own tariffs. Currently, there are just under sixty Spanish sworn translators carrying out Spanish visa translations in the country. That is not many as we are appointed in Spain and some choose to live and work back home.

Those tariffs are set according to their location in the UK (think London vs Bradford cost of living prices) their experience or how much they have invested in their business and continuous professional development; whether they have been admitted to a UK professional body such as ITI (Institute of Translation and Intepretating) or CioL (Chartered Institute of Linguists); whether they are duly insured and paying tax (you will be surprised to find that a small number choose to operate underground); whether they comply with GDPR or have a complaint process in place and how much time they are willing to spend answering your queries and assisting, especially in the case of non lucrative Spanish visas, which can be a minefield at times (we are not required to offer any help beyond completing your translations, however and in my opinion, after dealing with hundreds of Spanish  non lucrative and student visa application translations, a customer is not just a number and deserves true “after sales” care). 

Therefore, if the price seems too good to be true, ask yourself and ask the translator what their experience is, how they return the documents to you, method of payment, whether they are insured and paying tax in this country and guarantee yourself a good end result. Nobody likes a tax dodger!