... in response to Advice On Getting Spanish Documents Tran..., posted by Zorrowins on Nov 12, 2004[This message has been edited by doombug]
My wife (a Peruvian) had a certified translator translate her birth certificate and our marriage certificate. It was a house call; the lady works from home, I think her home/office is in San Borja or Surco.
The process is extensive: we had to first take the documents to the state bank to pay the authentication fees (one for each document, 20 soles each), then take this proof of payment to "El Registro Nacional de Identificacion y Estado Civil" (RENIEC), then afterwards to the Ministerio de Relaciones Enteriores del Peru. Both places are located in downtown Lima, and both are required should you need her documents to be authenticated. RENIEC was about an hour wait, and required a return visit the following day to pick up the document before proceeding on to the Ministry.
After the initial authentication process was through, we then took the documents to be translated. Afterwards, we repeated the above steps AGAIN to authenticate the translated version of the source documents (original birth certificate, marriage certificate).
By the way, if you got married in Peru, you should be sure to request a version of the marriage certificate authorized for foreigners (like us). The municipality offers two types: one for citizens of Peru, and another to be used by foreigners who will be using it outside of the country (for BCIS, for instance).
I can provide you the name, address, and local telephone number of the lady we used to translate our documents. The results turned out much more professionally done than I had anticipated. And she was quick (within a day or two).
Peace out.
Re-editing this. I forgot to mention, the translation appears to meet the standards set by BCIS. The wording states: "The undersigned, Sworn Public Translator, certifies that the present translation is exact and faithful to the original text in Spanish language enclosed. This translation does not necessarily recognize the authenticity of the translated document." Then, it mentions it being signed in "Lima, Peru," on such and such date, followed by her endorsing stamp and signature.