Tigrinya interpreting and translation

Tigrinya interpreters for asylum, age assessment and care

We ask whether your client is from Eritrea or Ethiopia and match the interpreter's background, which helps with vocabulary, place names and cultural references. Confidentiality is a frequent concern in close-knit diaspora communities, so our interpreters are carefully vetted, work under confidentiality agreements and keep strict impartiality. Remote interpreting can bring in an interpreter from outside the client's local area when they prefer it.

Our Tigrinya interpreters are prepared for asylum interviews and appeals, children's services and age assessments, police stations, courts and solicitors' offices, GP surgeries, hospitals and mental health services, housing, benefits and resettlement meetings, and schools and colleges. Same-gender interpreters are often preferred for medical, maternity and personal matters, and we arrange this. Sessions can be held in person, by telephone whenever they are needed, day or night, or by video in our SILA Linguists® app or your own platform. Conferences and community events can be covered consecutively or simultaneously.

Tigrinya translation in Ge'ez script

Tigrinya is written in the Ge'ez script and uses some characters that Amharic does not, so our translators work with correct Unicode Ethiopic fonts and our layout checks cover print and screen. Ethiopian documents may use the Ethiopian calendar, and dates on certificates are converted carefully. Personal names have no single standard romanisation, so we follow the spelling in the client's passport or Home Office papers and keep it identical throughout.

Certified Tigrinya translations of birth and marriage certificates, school records, court documents and identity papers carry a signed declaration of accuracy, accepted by UK authorities such as the Home Office, courts and universities, and by employers. Eritrean and Ethiopian papers for the United States, Canada or Australia are certified to their rules, from a US certificate of accuracy to NAATI-certified translation. We also translate health, education and housing information into Tigrinya.

Tigrinya transcription and LADO

Interview recordings, phone calls and video evidence in Tigrinya are transcribed with timestamps and a parallel English text. Our language analysis for the determination of origin (LADO) helps decision-makers distinguish Eritrean from Ethiopian backgrounds.

Sectors we support in Tigrinya

Our vetted, trained and qualified Tigrinya linguists can support immigration lawyers, asylum interviews and tribunals, children's services, healthcare, police and courts, housing and resettlement teams, schools and charities. One coordinator oversees every case, with confidentiality agreements and UK GDPR compliance throughout. Tigrinya interpreters can join US immigration courts, Canadian refugee hearings and Australian courts and hospitals, matched to Eritrean or Tigrayan speech.