Working for the CGRS

The CGRS uses interpreters and translators on a daily basis to facilitate communication between protection officers and applicants for international protection. The CGRS can call upon a pool of around 200 self-employed translator-interpreters for a total of 90 different languages and dialects.

As an interpreter or translator, you are punctual and discreet and you have a thorough command of your mother tongue (and possibly some other source languages). You are also proficient in French, Dutch or English. 

As an interpreter, you provide orally a complete, faithful and neutral translation of the applicant’s story and the protection officer’s questions during the personal interview, translating alternately form your mother tongue (or any other language you are proficient in) into French, Dutch or English and vice versa.

As a translator, you provide a complete, faithful and neutral written translation of a text in your mother tongue into French, Dutch or English.

You will not be involved in any other way in the assessment of requests for international protection.

In order to interpret/translate for the CGRS, the following requirements have to be met:

• you are preferably over 21 and at least 18 years old;
• you are legally residing in Belgium or another EU member state;
• you are not engaged in an asylum procedure;
• you have (had) no activities likely to harm the neutrality and independence of the CGRS;
• you carry out interpretation and/or translation work as a self-employed person, i.e. you have a professional card (if applicable), are registered at the Kruispuntbank van ondernemingen (KBO) or the Banque carrefour des entreprises (BCE), are a member of a  social security fund for the self-employed and a health insurance fund and you have a VAT number, or you are prepared to take all the necessary steps to this end;
• you agree to comply with the Code of Behaviour for interpreters who carry out tasks for the CGRS;
• you agree to undergo a security check by the National Security Authority in accordance with the laws of 11 December 1998 on security authorisations and their implementing decrees (basic police and judicial information will be checked as well as whether you are known by the Belgian intelligence and security services);
• you have had a successful selection interview with the Interpreter’s Service of the CGRS.

A (language) degree (at least level B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)) from a higher education institution and registration as an officially certified interpreter-translator in one of the three Belgian regions are not requirements as such but are considered a plus.

Technical

• You are proficient in your mother tongue (and possibly some other source languages) and one of the target languages (French, Dutch or English), at least at level B2 in the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR)
• You are familiar with (or are willing to study) the specific terminology and procedures for the assessment of applications for international protection
• You possess a general knowledge of the political, religious, economic, social, military and cultural situation in the countries of origin of which you speak the language.

Generic

• You are
  • easily reachable (by phone and/or e-mail)
  • well organized
  • punctual
  • stress resistant
  • adept at listening
  • flexible
• You possess
  • good communication skills
  • a good memory
  • stamina and adaptability
• You work accurately and with eye for detail
• You are customer-focused
• You are aware of your own values, ways of behaving and preconceptions
• You are willing to develop yourself.

Social status

As a translator-interpreter for the CGRS, you work on a self-employed basis (as your main or secondary occupation). You are registered at the Kruispuntbank van ondernemingen (KBO) or the Banque carrefour des entreprises (BCE), are a member of a social security fund for the self-employed and a health insurance fund and you have a VAT number (whether or not with an exemption for small businesses).

To interpret and to translate for the CGRS does not necessarily imply that you will have a sufficient work volume or a stable income. As a translator-interpreter, you are paid per task by the CGRS. Your work volume is not predictable as it depends on the number of applicants for international protection being interviewed at the CGRS.

In this brochure, you will find answers to the most frequently asked questions about the social status of translator-interpreters working for the Belgian Immigration Office, the CGRS and the Council for Alien Law Litigation.

Remuneration

The fees for interpretation and translation work for the CGRS are set by Ministerial Decree and are indexed annually:

• interpretation fee: 43.02 € per hour
• translation fee: 31.91 € per page of 30 lines of 75 signs each
• refund of transportation expenses: 0.61 € per km, with a maximum of 100 km to and fro.

All fees are gross amounts (excluding VAT).

The CGRS pays translator-interpreters in the month following that in which the interpretation or translation work was carried out.

If you are interested in translating and/or interpreting for the CGRS and would like to join the pool of interpreters the CGRS calls upon, please fill in the attached intake form and send it to cgra-cgvs.interpretations@ibz.fgov.be or to CGRS Interpreters’ Service, Rue Ernest Blerot 39, 1070 Brussels.

On the basis of this form, the CGRS will decide whether your application will be considered further.

If your application is retained and your mother tongue (or any other source language you are proficient in) is a language for which the CGRS  seeks interpreters in the short run, you will immediately be invited for a selection interview.

If your application is retained by the CGRS but your mother tongue (or any other source language you are proficient in) is not a language for which the CGRS seeks interpreters in the short run, your application will be kept in reserve and added to a list of potential translator-interpreters. If the need arises, you will be invited later on for a selection interview. This will also be brought to your notice.

Even if your application is not retained, you will be informed by the CGRS.

In carrying out its legal missions, the CGRS attaches great importance to your privacy and the protection of your personal data.

The personal details you provide in the intake form will only be treated for internal management purposes, i.e. recruiting translator-interpreters and keeping a list of interpreters in order to manage all interpretation and translation tasks assigned by the CGRS so as to be able to assess applications for international protection. The CGRS will never share your personal details with third parties without your prior and express consent.

Your personal data from the intake form will not be kept longer than necessary for the purposes for which they are processed. As a rule, they are processed for as long as necessary for the needs of the interpreters’ service. As soon as the CGRS no longer needs your personal data, they will be deleted.

• If the CGRS decides to call upon your services as translator and/or interpreter and to add you to its pool of interpreters, the intake form completed by you will be part of your personal file at the CGRS.
• If the CGRS decides not to consider your application further, whether or not after a selection interview, your intake form will be destroyed. The fact that you applied will be kept during 3 years.
• If the CGRS decides to keep your application in reserve with a view of a possible collaboration at a later stage, your personal details will be kept for five years on a list of potential translator-interpreters.

You have the right to access your personal data, to correct or complete them or to have them deleted.  If you wish to exercise your rights regarding your personal data, please contact the Data Protection Officer (DPO) at the CGRS through this link: https://ibz.be/nl/hoe-kunt-u-uw-rechten-uitoefenen (not available in English).

If you think the CGRS does not process your personal data according to the General Date Protection Regulation, you can lodge a complaint with the Data Protection Authority, rue de la Presse n° 35, 1000 Brussels (https://www.dataprotectionauthority.be).