Prism Linguistics provides professional Dari interpreters and certified Dari translation across Canada. Dari is the Afghan variety of Persian, and recent Afghan arrivals through resettlement have built communities across the country, with the largest in the Greater Toronto Area and Greater Vancouver. The work centres on Immigration and Refugee Board hearings, IRCC resettlement files and medical appointments, on site in the main centres or by telephone and video nationwide.
Last reviewed September 6, 2026 by the Prism Linguistics editorial team
The single match that matters most in Afghan work is Dari against Pashto. Both are official languages of Afghanistan, they are not mutually intelligible, and a claimant who speaks one may follow the other only in part, so confirming the language before a hearing avoids a wasted session. We also keep Afghan Dari distinct from Iranian Farsi, because idiom, forms of address and calendar terms differ enough to matter in testimony.
Our Dari interpreters attend Immigration and Refugee Board protection hearings, IRCC interviews, settlement and housing appointments, and hospital and mental-health visits where continuity of the same interpreter helps build trust. Interpreters attend in person in the larger centres and join by telephone or video for appointments elsewhere in Canada, and a gender preference can be noted in advance for sensitive hearings.
Common settings include legal and court interpreting, medical and hospital interpreting, IRCC and Immigration and Refugee Board (IRB) interviews, and police and enforcement work. See all on-site interpreting options or start a free quote.
Certified Dari translation is best handled by a translator familiar with Afghan usage rather than Iranian, because the two share the Perso-Arabic script and much vocabulary but differ in spelling conventions, official terminology and dates. Afghan documents run on the Hijri Shamsi calendar, so we convert dates carefully and show both the original and the English so a caseworker or lawyer can compare them. We deliver the translation with a signed certificate of accuracy, or a sworn affidavit before a commissioner of oaths where a civil record does not exist.
The documents we see most are the Afghan tazkira identity booklet, nikah marriage records, school and university certificates, and letters from Afghan authorities. Many people reached Canada through resettlement and hold incomplete or handwritten paperwork, so we render what exists exactly and note where a detail is estimated, handling all files under PIPEDA. Prism is a private agency, not a court-appointed body, and acceptance ultimately depends on the receiving institution.
For documents rather than spoken interpreting, see certified Dari translation, our full Dari translation services, or general document translation. Every translation moves through our TEP workflow — translation, editing and proofreading by separate linguists — with free revisions.
An interpreter attends in person for hearings, medical appointments and meetings. On-site interpreting
Same-day, often within minutes, for calls, intake and urgent situations. Phone interpreting
Telehealth, remote hearings and sign language, anywhere in Canada. Video interpreting
Simultaneous interpreting for events and multilingual meetings. Conference interpreting
Legal consultations, settlement services and private appointments. Private interpreting
ASL and LSQ interpreting for accessible appointments and events. Sign language
We arrange Dari interpreters in cities across every province and territory — on site in the major centres and by telephone or video everywhere else:
Need documents translated locally? We provide certified Dari translation in the same cities:
Or browse every city we cover.
Dari is Afghanistan's second official language and the lingua franca of Afghan business and government. It's a variant of Persian - closely related to Farsi spoken in Iran - but with distinctive Afghan vocabulary and pronunciation. Roughly 12-15 million people speak it as a first language, mostly in Afghanistan and northwestern Pakistan. In Canada, Dari translation work has surged since 2021 as the country resettled tens of thousands of Afghans: IRCC refugee and permanent-residence paperwork, IRB hearing documents, Afghan school records being evaluated by Canadian universities, and the medical and education intake documents that come with the recently resettled communities in Toronto and elsewhere. Dari shares its Perso-Arabic script with Farsi.
They are closely related Persian varieties that share a script, but Afghan Dari differs from Iranian Farsi in vocabulary, dates and formal terms, so we assign an interpreter or translator matched to Afghan usage.
Dari and Pashto are separate languages that are not mutually intelligible. Tell us which one the person speaks and we place the correct interpreter, because guessing risks an adjourned hearing.
Yes. The tazkira is translated, and where a standard civil record does not exist a sworn affidavit can accompany it. Acceptance ultimately depends on the receiving institution.
We convert Hijri Shamsi dates to the Gregorian calendar and keep the original and English versions paired so a lawyer or IRCC officer can check them against each other.
Tell us the language, the setting and the date through our quote form or by phone. We return a written quote with the exact price and turnaround, usually within 60 minutes during business hours, before you commit.
Tell us the setting, the city and the date, and we will confirm a qualified Dari interpreter and a firm price.