Turkish Residence Permit: Foreign Documents

A foreign national applying for a Turkish residence permit, especially a family residence permit, has to prove relationships with documents from abroad. The Law on Foreigners and International Protection sets the frame; the provincial directorates of migration management publish the practical document lists.

What the law requires

Someone applying for a family residence permit must submit information and documents showing that they are a spouse, a minor child or a dependent child within the meaning of the law. Where there is reasonable doubt, the governorship investigates whether the marriage was concluded solely to obtain a residence permit. For children, the implementing regulation requires the consent of a parent outside Türkiye who shares custody.

Student residence permits follow their own route: after the student's pre-registration, the application is made by the student or the school under procedures set by the migration authority. The law also lists cases, student permits among them, in which applications may exceptionally be made to the governorship.

What provincial offices ask for

The document lists of individual provincial directorates show how foreign certificates are handled in practice. The Antalya directorate asks, for applicants under 18, for a birth certificate with an apostille and a notarised Turkish translation, and the same for the parental consent declaration. The Tekirdağ directorate asks, on a first application by a spouse joining a residence-permit holder, for the original of the notarised translation of the marriage certificate.

These lists are provincial; check the list of the directorate where you will apply.

We prepare notarised Turkish translations in Ankara through translators sworn before a Turkish notary. The migration directorate decides on the application.