Kurdish Interpreter Services

Prism Linguistics supplies Kurdish interpreter services UK-wide, matching Sorani, Kurmanji or Southern Kurdish to the person who will speak. Our interpreters attend in person, dial in by telephone or join by video for asylum casework, tribunals, GP and hospital appointments, police stations and council offices. Name the variety if you know it; if not, we help work it out.

Get a Kurdish interpreter quote or call +44 (0) 20 3880 6688

• UK-wide Kurdish cover
• Face-to-face, telephone or video
• Fixed quote, usually within the hour (office hours)
• Published price ranges
• Since 2017

Settings we interpret in NHS and private healthcare · courts and tribunals · police · local authorities · solicitors · businesses · private appointments

How we work UK GDPR · client terms · published price ranges · purchase-order invoicing for NHS and public bodies

Most of Britain's Kurdish speakers do not live in London. Of the 66,443 residents of England and Wales who recorded Kurdish as their main language in the 2021 Census, 15,097 were in London, fewer than one in four. The North West counted 10,592, the West Midlands 10,026 and Yorkshire and the Humber 9,987. No London borough came top: Birmingham did, with 3,271, ahead of Leeds on 2,898 and Manchester on 2,425.

The asylum system goes a long way to explaining that map. People applying for asylum support are told by GOV.UK that they cannot choose where they live and are unlikely to be housed in London or the South East. In the year ending June 2026, Iranians made up 11 per cent of small boat arrivals, and Iran and Iraq were the second and third most common nationalities among people detected inside the UK after an illegal entry, say Home Office immigration statistics. Those tables count passports, not Kurds. Still, a Kurdish booking could just as easily be in Wolverhampton as in Westminster.

Kurdish interpreting services: face-to-face, telephone and video

Kurdish interpreting services place a trained interpreter between a Kurdish speaker and an English speaker so each understands the other as the conversation unfolds, in the room or remotely. The work is nearly always consecutive, as across our wider interpreting services: each speaker pauses after a sentence or two so the interpreter can pass it on.

What sets Kurdish apart is that the word on a booking form is not yet a full instruction. It names a group of varieties, and the two largest, Sorani and Kurmanji, sit far enough apart that an interpreter fluent in one can struggle with the other. Settle the variety first.

English to Kurdish interpreter (and Kurdish to English)

An English to Kurdish interpreter also covers Kurdish to English; one person handles both directions. Where the risk lies shifts with the appointment. At an asylum interview the claimant's Kurdish becomes an English record that may be read line by line at an appeal months later, so village names, dates and the order of events have to come through intact. At a hospital discharge it runs the other way: tablet times and the number to ring if a wound looks worse must land in Kurdish the patient will recall at home.

Relatives often offer to help, and a bilingual teenager in the family can look like the obvious answer. GOV.UK guidance on language interpretation in healthcare says a professional interpreter should always be offered instead of family or friends, and that children should not interpret.

Kurdish court interpreters and HMCTS work

A Kurdish court interpreter carries every question, answer and ruling across faithfully and without comment, in the variety the witness actually speaks. Who arranges the interpreter depends on the court. The GOV.UK page on interpreters at court or tribunal says a criminal defendant is given one, while defence witnesses go through the defence solicitor. Family courts provide an interpreter where forced marriage, domestic abuse or children are involved; civil courts, for possession of property or land and for committal. Some tribunals ask you to request one on the appeal form, and a relative may interpret only with the judge's prior permission.

Plenty of Kurdish legal work sits around the hearing: conferences with immigration solicitors, witness statements read back sentence by sentence, medico-legal appointments (see Kurdish legal interpreting). One route is easy to miss. The Home Office's caseworker guidance on asylum interviews allows immigration advisers to bring their own interpreter to the interview, provided the adviser makes sure that interpreter is suitably qualified and free of any conflict of interest. Prism Linguistics is a private language-services provider and does not present itself as a court-appointed supplier.

Kurdish interpreters for NHS, police, solicitors, councils and business

Each setting below has its own Kurdish-specific points (see also Kurdish healthcare interpreting).

Kurdish NHS interpreter: GP registration and primary care

Registering with a GP is usually the first NHS contact after arrival. NHS England guidance for commissioners says primary-care interpreting should be free at the point of delivery, so the practice books it and the patient pays nothing.

Kurdish medical interpreter: mental health and trauma services

Assessments and therapy for people who have lived through conflict, detention or a dangerous journey, where hesitation and silence must be passed on as faithfully as words.

Maternity and children's health

Antenatal booking, scans and labour, where a woman may ask for a female Kurdish interpreter.

Kurdish police interpreter

Under PACE Code C, a suspect who does not appear to speak or understand English must not be interviewed until an interpreter is arranged, and that interpreter is expected in the same room unless the live-link rules allow otherwise. Victims and witnesses need the same care; more on police interpreting.

Councils and asylum support

Housing interviews, social care, school places and age assessments of teenagers who arrived alone. Short housing calls suit the phone; assessments go better in person.

Business

Meetings with partners from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq; confirm beforehand which variety the other side speaks (see business interpreting).

Face-to-face, telephone or video: which one fits?

Pick the mode by what rides on the conversation and where the right variety can be found. A rent query works well with a Kurdish telephone interpreter. Long statements, therapy and anything that depends on trust go better face to face. When the nearest Sorani or Kurmanji speaker lives in another region, video interpreting is the usual middle path. For remote asylum interviews, the Home Office's own guidance prefers video to audio so that the interpreter can be seen.

Kurdish interpreting modes at a glance

Mode	Best for	Typical notice
Kurdish telephone interpreter	Housing calls, GP triage, asylum support queries, confirming a hearing date.	Usually the same day for Sorani or Kurmanji, subject to availability
Kurdish video interpreter	Remote hearings, therapy, solicitor conferences where no local interpreter speaks the variety.	Same or next working day, subject to availability
Kurdish face-to-face interpreter	Asylum statements, tribunal hearings, psychiatric assessments, child protection meetings.	A few working days; longer for Southern Kurdish or a remote venue

Lead times for Kurdish bookings

Kurdish is not a rare language in Britain, so Sorani and Kurmanji interpreters can generally be found at short notice for telephone and video work. In-person cover is patchier. The census does not split Kurdish by variety, so a town's figure cannot tell you whether its speakers are mostly Sorani or Kurmanji, and the closest interpreter may speak the wrong one. Southern Kurdish, Feyli included, draws on a smaller pool: give as much notice as you can.

Qualified, professional Kurdish interpreters: what to look for

Being bilingual is not the same as interpreting an asylum account accurately. Fair questions for any Kurdish interpreter or agency:

DPSI (Diploma in Public Service Interpreting)

A Level 6 diploma awarded by CIOL Qualifications and regulated by Ofqual, offered only in some languages and options. Ask which specialism and language the interpreter passed it in; a pass in one Kurdish variety says little about another.

Registration with the NRPSI

The National Register of Public Service Interpreters lists people who meet its entry criteria on qualifications and experience. Ask whether the interpreter is registered, for which language, and at what status.

Enhanced DBS

Custody suites, hospital wards and work with children or vulnerable adults often call for an Enhanced check; the DBS eligibility guidance explains which roles qualify.

Asylum and tribunal experience

Ask how many asylum interviews or appeals they have covered, and in which variety.

Independence from the client

The Home Office interpreter code bars interpreters who know, or are related to, the claimant or anyone connected with the claim, a sensible test for any sensitive appointment.

For our part, every Kurdish interpreter we assign is professionally qualified and background-checked. Hearings are covered by court-experienced interpreters, with Enhanced DBS clearance wherever the setting demands it.

Kurdish dialects and varieties: why it matters at booking

Kurdish has three main varieties. Sorani, or Central Kurdish, is the variety of most of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Erbil and Sulaymaniyah among them, and of Iran's Kurdistan province. Kurmanji, or Northern Kurdish, is spoken by most Kurds from Turkey and Syria, in parts of Iran, and around Duhok in Iraq, where the local form is known as Badini. Southern Kurdish, which takes in Feyli, belongs to Kermanshah and Ilam in western Iran and to the Khanaqin area of eastern Iraq.

Sorani and Kurmanji are close enough for small talk and far enough apart to derail an interview. Kurmanji keeps grammatical gender, which Sorani has lost, and everyday vocabulary differs a good deal. Our pages on Sorani interpreter services and Kurmanji interpreter services go into each in more depth.

The other frequent mistake is booking the language on the passport: Arabic for an Iraqi Kurd, Persian for a Kurd from Iran, Turkish for a Kurd from Turkey. Some people manage well in those languages. Others don't, and an account given in a second language loses detail. Ask which language the person wants to speak, not which state issued their papers.

How to book or hire a Kurdish interpreter

Tell us the brief

Give us the date, time and venue or video link, the kind of appointment and its likely length, the Kurdish variety (or the part of Iraq, Iran, Syria or Turkey the person comes from) and any preference for a woman or a man.

We match and price

We look for a Kurdish interpreter in that variety who suits the setting and reply with a fixed price, normally within the hour during UK office hours; for in-person jobs the quote says who will attend.

Confirm and the interpreter attends

Once you accept, we brief the interpreter on the setting and any special terms before they arrive or dial in; individuals settle by card, while public bodies and law firms receive an invoice.

Book a Kurdish interpreter

Find a Kurdish interpreter near me: cities and towns across the UK

We arrange a Kurdish interpreter near you in any part of the UK, and the census shows the need reaching well past the capital. Outside London, Birmingham, Leeds and Manchester were followed by Liverpool (2,084), then Leicester, Wolverhampton, Sheffield, Sandwell, Kirklees, Derby, Coventry and Nottingham, each above 1,250. Inside London, Enfield (2,133) and Westminster (1,625) led; in Wales, Cardiff (855). Scotland and Northern Ireland ran their own censuses, but Home Office figures for the end of June 2026 put Glasgow City and Belfast among the five local authorities with the most people on asylum support (all nationalities counted), and we take Kurdish bookings in both.

How much does a Kurdish interpreter cost in the UK?

Kurdish interpreter fees turn on the mode, the length of the job, the notice, any travel and the setting. In our 2026 interpreting price guide, attendance runs from £40 to £75 an hour plus travel (minimum two hours, or three for court); telephone work is £1.10 to £2.50 a minute; a 30-minute video session costs £60 to £120. Kurdish as a whole is not rare here, but Southern Kurdish, short-notice attendance and a venue far from the nearest matched interpreter all push the figure towards the top. For an exact figure, send the details through our quote form.

Check who should be paying first. NHS primary care interpreting is meant to cost the patient nothing, and under PACE a suspect's interpreter is provided at public expense. Solicitors' conferences, private medical appointments and an adviser's own interpreter at a Home Office interview are normally booked and paid for privately.

Confidentiality and GDPR for Kurdish interpreting

Our Kurdish interpreters keep everything said at an appointment private, and we process personal details under UK GDPR. Some asylum clients worry that an interpreter from their own community might know them or their family. Name anyone they would not want and we will not send that person, or we can use an interpreter from elsewhere in the UK by video.

Need a Kurdish translator instead?

Interpreting deals with speech. For written material, perhaps a Home Office letter to be put into Sorani or a Kurmanji record to be put into English, see Kurdish translation services, Kurdish document translation or our Kurdish language services overview.

Kurdish interpreting FAQs

How much does a Kurdish interpreter cost in the UK?

Price depends on mode, length, notice, travel and setting. Our 2026 guide is £40 to £75 an hour plus travel in person, with a two-hour minimum, £1.10 to £2.50 a minute by telephone and £60 to £120 for a 30-minute video session. Send the details for a fixed price, normally within the hour during UK office hours.

How quickly can you book a Kurdish interpreter?

Sorani and Kurmanji interpreters can usually join by telephone or video on the same day, subject to availability. In person, allow a few working days, more for Southern Kurdish or a venue away from the big cities.

Are your Kurdish interpreters qualified for court and tribunal work?

Yes. Hearings and asylum appeals go to court-experienced Kurdish interpreters, professionally qualified and background-checked, in the witness's own variety. You may ask about a DPSI or NRPSI registration. Prism Linguistics is a private provider and not a court-appointed supplier.

Do you provide Kurdish interpreters for NHS appointments?

Yes, for GP practices, hospital clinics, maternity units and mental health teams, on invoice. A patient should ask the NHS service to book the interpreter, since interpreting in primary care is meant to be free at the point of delivery.

Can I book a Kurdish interpreter by telephone or video?

Yes. Telephone works for short practical calls, and video for longer or sensitive appointments where seeing the interpreter helps. Working remotely also lets us find the right Kurdish variety when nobody nearby speaks it.

Can I request a female Kurdish interpreter?

Yes. Mention it when you book and we look first for a female interpreter in the right variety. The Home Office itself asks asylum claimants at screening whether they would prefer a male or female interviewer and interpreter.

Do you cover Kurdish interpreting across the whole UK?

Yes. We arrange Kurdish interpreters in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, on site wherever a matched interpreter can travel and remotely from anywhere.

Which Kurdish interpreter do I need: Sorani, Kurmanji or Southern Kurdish?

It depends on where the person grew up. Most Kurds from the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and from Iran's Kurdistan province speak Sorani; most from Turkey, Syria and the Duhok area speak Kurmanji; Feyli and other Southern Kurdish speakers come mainly from western Iran and eastern Iraq. If you are unsure, ask the person before booking.

About the Kurdish language

Kurdish is an Iranian language spoken across a region divided between Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Iraq's 2005 constitution names Arabic and Kurdish as the country's two official languages and requires federal and official bodies in the Kurdistan Region to use both. Sorani is written in an Arabic-based alphabet, while Kurmanji writers in Turkey and Syria mostly use Latin letters. Zazaki and Gorani (also called Hawrami), spoken by many people who identify as Kurds, are often classed by linguists as separate languages, so check before assuming a Kurdish interpreter will cover them.