Interpreters

General framework

In its daily activities the CGRS is often faced with asylum seekers who do not speak Dutch, French or English. In order to enable good communication and, especially, an interview with these people the CGRS uses the services of a translator and/or interpreter.

The Interpreting Service of the CGRS is in charge of the practical organisation of the interpreting and translation jobs. Only civil servants of the Belgian asylum authorities can request a translator and/or interpreter via this service, and only for in-person interpreting and written translations in the framework of the asylum procedure.

Task & deontology

Your task as a translator and/or interpreter with the CGRS is basically to transmit, completely, accurately and neutrally, the message expressed by the different parties, either orally during the interview, or in writing based on documents presented or submitted by the different parties. Aside from these strictly interpreting or translation-related tasks, you will not, as a translator and/or interpreter for the CGRS, be involved in any way in the processing of the asylum applications. Therefore, you will not have any influence whatsoever on the decisions taken with respect to asylum applications.

Employment status

Under Belgian legislation, you will have self-employed status for the interpreting and/or translation jobs you perform for the CGRS. In other words, you will not be CGRS personnel and you will not be bound by a formal employment relation (employment contract or agreement) with the CGRS or the FPS Interior.

By definition, the performance of interpreting and/or translation jobs for the CGRS is temporary and without any guarantee as to the amount of work – and hence income. The amount of work is unpredictable because it fluctuates from day to day, from week to week and from month to month according to the number of asylum applications made. Before starting a self-employed activity as a translator and/or interpreter for the CGRS, it is therefore advisable to check all relevant information first. If you wish, you can contact the interpreting service of the CGRS for this.

You can also click on the following links for more information on the self-employed status:

If you are currently receiving a benefit, be sure to also inquire with the responsible body (Public Social Welfare Centre, National Employment Office, health insurance fund, etc.) regarding the possibility to combine the benefit with your income from a self-employed activity.

Payment

The rates applied by the CGRS for interpretation and translation have been laid down by the Ministerial Decree of 9 May 2003 on the establishment of fees and travel expenses for interpreters and translators working for certain services of or related to the Federal Public Service Interior.

The interpretation rate, which is indexed annually, consists of two components: a fee and compensation for travel expenses.

As  of  1 February  2012the fee is 40.06 € fee for a summons and a minimum time of 75 minutes interpretation (after 75 minutes: an hourly fee of 32.42 € - calculated on a 15 minutes basis) and the compensation for travel expenses 0.45 € per km with a maximum distance of 100 km return.

The translation rate, which is also indexed annually, is calculated based on the number of translated pages, either hand-written or typed.  As of1 February 2012the fee is 15.64 € for a hand-written A4-sized page of 30 lines with a margin of 1 cm and 24.03 € for a typed A4-sized page of 30 lines of 75 characters (spaces included), translated page.

All interpretation and translation jobs are paid monthly in the month following the month in which the job was performed, based on a monthly overview of expenses and fees.

How to apply

If you are interested in working for the CGRS as a translator and/or interpreter you can fill in a curriculum vitae (DOC, 239.5 Kb) (DOC, 240 Kb) and submit it to the CGRS.

We will contact you within the month. You may then be invited for an interview and, in case this is positive, be included in the CGRS interpreter database. You will then receive all additional information regarding the content of your function and task, the method to be used and your rights and obligations, which are described in a deontological code.

In order to work for the CGRS as an interpreter/translator, you must be at least 21 years old, reside legally inBelgium, not be involved in an asylum procedure and be prepared to undergo a security screening [1]. If you have a translating/interpreting or other degree, whether or not recognised inBelgium, and/or you are a sworn translator, this is a plus, but not a precondition.

Contact

CGRS Interpreting Service
WTC II
Boulevard du Roi Albert II, 26 A
1000 BRUSSELS
Tel. 02 205 51 14
Fax: 02 205 51 15
E-mail: CGRS-CGVS.Interpretations@ibz.fgov.be