We supply Swedish interpreters and translators anywhere in the UK, for law firms, NHS trusts, insurers, schools and Scandinavian businesses. Interpreting is face-to-face, telephone or video; translation between Swedish and English can be certified for official use. Bookings are taken 24/7, and a quote costs nothing.
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Swedish interpreting services
Swedish from Sweden and Swedish from Finland are one language with two standards, and the Finland variety sounds noticeably different, flatter in melody and with some vocabulary borrowed from Finnish usage. Within Sweden, the southern accent of Skåne is the one outsiders find hardest. A trained interpreter handles all of them, though for a long hearing it helps us to know the speaker's home region.
Swedish uses pitch to tell some words apart, so a word can shift meaning with the tune, which is one reason a Norwegian speaker is not a safe stand-in. Swedes address almost everyone as "du", doctors and officials included, and the interpreter keeps the English suitably polite without making it stiff. Most appointments are interpreted consecutively, in short turns.
Face-to-face interpreting
The interpreter comes to you: a hospital ward, a courtroom, a council office, a home visit or a business meeting. It is the best choice when people need to read expressions as well as words, or when the conversation is long or sensitive.
Telephone interpreting
The quickest option to set up. It works well for short calls, triage, appointment reminders and quick checks with a client.
Video interpreting
A Swedish interpreter joins by video for remote hearings, consultations and meetings, which helps when there is no interpreter near you.
We also provide medical interpreting and conference interpreting.
Certified Swedish translation
Sweden does not issue birth or marriage certificates in the British sense. The usual evidence is a personbevis, an extract from the population register kept by Skatteverket, the Swedish Tax Agency, and it is what a Swede normally produces for a UK visa, marriage or university application. After a death, the estate inventory known as a bouppteckning is what a UK probate practitioner will need in English.
Each translator translates into their native language, so Swedish into English is done by a native English speaker. Swedish records give the personnummer, the date of birth followed by four more digits, and write dates year first (2024-03-05 is 5 March). Passports turn å, ä and ö into AA, AE and OE in the machine-readable line, so we match names to the spelling on the passport page and flag any mismatch.
- Certified translation of birth, marriage and death certificates, passports, driving licences, degree certificates and bank statements, for the Home Office, courts, universities and employers.
- Legal translation: witness statements, court bundles, contracts and immigration papers.
- Document translation of medical reports, letters, leaflets and patient information.
- Urgent translation when a deadline is close.
- Transcription of Swedish audio and video recordings, with an English translation if you need one.
English to Swedish translation
Write for Sweden unless you know the readers are Finland Swedes; they read the Sweden standard without difficulty. Address the reader as "du". The formal "ni" now sounds dated or cold in most leaflets and letters. Swedish public bodies are bound by law to write plainly, so Swedish readers expect short sentences and direct instructions, and a close copy of formal British wording can read as evasive. We translate for that expectation.
Swedish court and police interpreters
Swedish crops up in UK criminal cases, in commercial disputes between Swedish and British companies, in family cases where a child has a parent in each country, and in estates that straddle both. Legal concepts do not always travel: a Swedish "sambo", a cohabiting partner with statutory rights at home, has no neat English equivalent. For this work we look for Swedish interpreters with legal experience and, where interpreters holding them exist for Swedish, the Diploma in Public Service Interpreting (Law) or registration with the National Register of Public Service Interpreters (NRPSI).
How to book a Swedish interpreter
- Tell us about the assignment: the date, time and address, or that you need telephone or video; how long it should last; and what it is for, such as a hospital appointment, a hearing or a business meeting.
- Tell us about the speaker: their country or region and, if you know it, their dialect. Mention any preference for a male or female interpreter.
- Get your quote. We email you a quote, with no obligation to book.
Call 0800 2425 125, email info@uklinguisticservices.co.uk or request a quote online.
About the Swedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken mainly in Sweden, and the coast and Åland Islands of Finland. It is the official language of Sweden, an official language of Finland and an official language of the European Union.
Swedish is written in the Latin alphabet, with å, ä and ö.
At the 2021 Census, 12,503 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Swedish as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the London borough of Richmond upon Thames (519 people), the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (472) and the City of Westminster (471). Source: Office for National Statistics.
| Name in Swedish | svenska |
|---|---|
| Language family | North Germanic language |
| Where it is spoken | Sweden, and the coast and Åland Islands of Finland |
| Writing system | Latin alphabet, with å, ä and ö |
| Language code | sv |
| Main language in England and Wales (Census 2021) | 12,503 people |
Related languages
Swedish interpreters near you
We send Swedish interpreters to appointments across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, and telephone and video interpreting work wherever you are. Choose a town for its local page.
Swedish interpreter and translator FAQs
How quickly can I book a Swedish interpreter?
We take bookings 24 hours a day, every day of the year. Telephone and video interpreting are usually the quickest to arrange. For a face-to-face appointment, give us as much notice as you can: same-day cover is often possible, but it depends on where you are and how many Swedish interpreters work nearby.
How much does a Swedish interpreter cost?
The price depends on the type of interpreting (face-to-face, telephone or video), how long the appointment lasts, where it is and how much notice you give. We quote before anything is booked, and quotes are free: call 0800 2425 125 or use our online quote form.
Can you certify Swedish translations for a UK visa or immigration application?
Yes. We translate and certify documents such as birth and marriage certificates, passports and police certificates for visa, settlement and citizenship applications. UK Visas and Immigration asks for each translation to confirm that it is accurate and to show the date and the translator's full name, signature and contact details, so tell us when you order that the document is for an immigration application.
Do you provide Swedish interpreters for courts, tribunals and police interviews?
Yes. Tell us the setting when you book, for example a Crown Court trial, an immigration tribunal hearing or a police interview under caution, so we can match a Swedish interpreter with the right legal experience and qualifications.
How many people speak Swedish in the UK?
At the 2021 Census, 12,503 usual residents of England and Wales aged three or over gave Swedish as their main language. The local authorities with the most were the London borough of Richmond upon Thames (519 people), the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (472) and the City of Westminster (471). The census asked for each person's main language, so people who speak Swedish at home but gave English as their main language are not in that figure. Scotland and Northern Ireland count languages in their own censuses.
