Red Tape Translation

I’m not sure what we would have done without the help of Kathleen and Red Tape Translation.
This past month, my boyfriend and I rented an apartment in Berlin for the first time, and we enlisted the services of Red Tape Translation to help translate our 15-​page, densely-​written rental contract. And we needed the job done in 2.5 days. Kathleen responded to our request quickly, and we were lucky that they were able to fit us in on such short notice. Her team was incredible. We received the translated contract ahead of schedule, and the price was very reasonable for the job.
They did such phenomenal work that we enlisted their help again for a lease signing appointment the following week. We had a number of questions for our property manager who only spoke German. Kathleen came with us on short notice and made us feel at ease throughout the entire process. I’m pretty sure our property manager had never received so many questions from a potential tenant, but Kathleen was patient in going through each one and making sure both parties were understood.
During that appointment, we learned that we had to attend an «apartment handover protocol» the following day in order to get keys to the apartment. This procedure involved walking through the apartment with the property manager and pointing out defects to prevent getting docked on our security deposit. On the spot, we hired Kathleen again to come with and help facilitate communication. She was also an extra pair of eyes in pointing out defects.
Not only were the translation services top-​notch (both document translation and in-​person appointment help), but there was the added benefit of Kathleen’s own experience. Her knowledge of the German system and the various processes required to do just about anything in Berlin, especially as an expat, was so helpful. And she’s just a lovely person to chat with.
I can’t express enough how grateful we are for Kathleen’s help. We’d hire Red Tape Translation again in the heartbeat and highly recommend their services to anyone.

«For English speakers facing German bureaucracy,» Red Tape translation has been a lifesaver in dealing with the Standesamt.

Red Tape helped me with getting a residence permit and all of the confusing bureaucracy behind it. Their staff is terrific and well versed in all of the inns and outs of the system in Berlin. Highly recommended!

Last year I used Red Tape Translation to square away all my documents for a Job Seekers permit. I had let my existing permit almost completely run out, but Kathleen was able to have everything ready for me in a single day, during which, she was very proactive in communicating with me regarding any issues and corrections needed.
I was able to breeze right through the Ausländerbehörde with her documents in hand.
I cannot recommend Kathleen enough, and she’ll be the first person I go to next time I’m blocked on the German bureaucracy!

Meticulous, thoughtful, personal and very reasonably-​priced translation services. Kathleen was very communicative when I first inquried about her services, and followed up diligently. They charge by the hour, (first hour is mandatory) and after the first hour, in blocks of 15 mins.
I met with one of her translator (Lucas) and he was punctual for our appointment at the Auslanderborhode. Took charge respectfully when we were at the Foreigner’s Office and helped summarize the paperwork we got from our interview.
Red Tape is a very effective and useful service to use while getting around bureaucracy in Berlin. What would I do without it!

Kathleen assisted us with an appointment we had at an amt in Berlin and was great! I had to call her last minute and she was so wonderful, coming to meet us early the next morning, assisting us with a very complicated issue, and asking all the questions we had on our behalf. Her knowledge of the German unemployment system was so helpful and we would have been lost without her!

Where would be without Kathleen?! She has been a lifesaver helping us to translate all of our German documents, including saving us loads of money by helping me break my fitness contract in our move.
We have utilized many hours of her services and she is so detailed oriented and efficient, that I never have to worry about anything falling through the cracks. I’m really detailed-​oriented myself and as such, I have high expectations in this regard and Kathleen not only meets, but exceeds my expectations! She’s excellent with follow thru too and will help you meet your deadlines by being super fast and very responsive.
She’s also very reasonably priced and gets alot of work done in a short amount of time, saving her customers money.
My only wish is that she also spoke Dutch so that she could help us in Holland.

I used services of Red Tape Translation to help me with my EU Blue Card appointment at Ausländerbehörde. Kathleen’s presence at the appointment made everything go smoothly. She was excellent with her translations and also asked some particular questions on my behalf. I highly recommend her and services of Red Tape Translation to anyone who needs help with German beurocratic work.

I hired Kathleen to come to the Ausländerbehörde to translate for my work visa interview. Everything went just fine, in large part thanks to Kathleen’s guidance and translating. She is a fantastic translator, and also professional and responsive. She is absolutely worth it and I highly recommend her.

With Kathleen’s stellar assistance I walked out of the Ausländerbehörde with a smile on my face and a nice shiny new visa! She’s friendly, professional and knows the processes and procedures inside out. I would highly recommend her services to anyone who doesn’t feel confident in their ability to negotiate in German.

A nice teacher at my language school, Expath, told me about Kathleen at Red Tape Translation, who set up in business to accompany newcomers to Berlin to appointments at the various different government offices they must visit to when they arrive. However, in my case, I got her to help me with a call to an electrician.
I paid for an hour, and we chatted on Skype for a bit. She explained that since the task was likely to take less than an hour, I could bank the remaining time. I told her what we needed doing, and that this company was highly recommended, but wasn’t in Berlin, so may be difficult to reach. While I was on Skype, she dialled the number on her home phone, explained the work needed and booked an appointment, confirming details with me as we went along. I typed some of my answers into the chat window to save time.
So for less than 7.50 € — less than the price of a couple of drinks in my favourite club — she’d managed to do what I would have found incredibly difficult. Especially as my friend had said the company was sometimes difficult to make appointments with. I’d say that’s money well spent.
Now all I needed to do was communicate with them when they arrive — cue a lot of pointing!
She’s also been extremely helpful in talking to my hausmeister and the company who supplied my cooker, which was faulty on delivery and needed a repair.
She’s now set up a conference facility on her land line phone, which allows you to hear the conversation.
Highly recommended.
A fuller version of this review appears on my blog at