Canadian Estate Documents for an Inheritance in Türkiye

Canadian documents used in an inheritance case in Turkey have the status of official documents there once the competent Canadian authority or the relevant Turkish consulate has certified them. Turkish law also preserves the certification rules of treaties Türkiye has joined, and for Canada the Apostille Convention entered into force on 11 January 2024.

Where the Canadian document is authenticated

The Canadian authority depends on the province and on the type of document. Global Affairs Canada (Authentication Services Section) handles Government of Canada documents and documents issued or notarized in Manitoba, New Brunswick, Newfoundland and Labrador, Northwest Territories, Nova Scotia, Nunavut, Prince Edward Island and Yukon. A document notarized in one of these provinces or territories goes to Global Affairs Canada no matter where it was originally issued. Documents of Alberta, British Columbia, Ontario, Quebec and Saskatchewan go to that province's competent authority. Requests to Global Affairs Canada are made through its online triage portal, launched on 30 October 2025, but the physical documents must still be sent by mail. No electronic apostille is described.

A Canadian court order or judgment bearing the original seal, signature and printed name of a judge, registrar or clerk needs no notarization. Other court documents must be notarized. A birth certificate must be issued by a provincial or territorial vital statistics office and needs no notarization. Vital statistics documents must be originals from that office; notarized copies are refused. A document not on the Global Affairs Canada list must, as a general rule, be notarized first. Whether a specific estate document, such as a will or a death certificate, needs notarization is not settled by the quoted texts; confirm this with Global Affairs Canada or the competent authority of the issuing province.

What happens in Türkiye

The certificate of inheritance (mirasçılık belgesi) is issued by the Civil Court of Peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) or by a notary. A notary cannot issue it where the matter requires adjudication, where the civil registry records are insufficient, or where foreigners request it. A Canadian heir who is a foreign national therefore applies to the Civil Court of Peace.

A Canadian court decision counts as conclusive evidence or as a final judgment in Türkiye only after a Turkish court has determined that it meets the conditions for enforcement. The recognition of decisions in non-contentious matters follows the same rule. This determination belongs to the Civil Court of First Instance (asliye mahkemesi). The party relying on a document in a foreign language also submits its translation to the court. The apostille comes from the Canadian authority, not from our office, and the Turkish court that receives each document decides whether it is accepted.