Turkish Citizenship: Foreign Documents and Apostille

Applications to acquire Turkish citizenship are made in person or through a special power of attorney: in Türkiye to the governorship of the province of residence, and abroad to a Turkish mission. Postal applications are not accepted.

Documents from abroad

The implementing regulation lists what a file contains. For acquisition by the general route, it asks for a document showing the person's identity, such as a birth certificate or a civil registry extract, and, for a married applicant, documents proving the family link with spouse and children. It also asks for a civil status document: a marriage certificate if married, proof of divorce if divorced, or the spouse's death certificate if widowed. If there is a final court judgment against the applicant for any offence, a certified copy of that judgment is added.

For citizenship by marriage, the file again contains a birth certificate or similar identity document. Where the application is made abroad, a criminal record is requested if the law of the applicant's state allows it.

The translation rule

The regulation sets a simple standard for documents from foreign authorities submitted with a citizenship application, such as diplomas and passports: a Turkish translation certified by a notary is sufficient. Civil status documents may need more, depending on the receiving office; our page on registering events abroad explains the apostille rule in the civil registry regulation.

We prepare the notarised Turkish translations in Ankara through sworn translators. The governorship or mission decides whether the file is complete.