Foreign Foundations in Türkiye: Permission

A foreign foundation that wants to work in Türkiye may assume that the Directorate General of Foundations handles its file. It does not: the Directorate General's own page on branches and representative offices of foreign foundations says that the procedures concerning foreign foundations are carried out by the Directorate General for Relations with Civil Society of the Ministry of the Interior.

Reciprocity and permission

The Associations Law applies, together with its penalty provisions, to branches and representative offices in Türkiye of associations, foundations and other non-profit organisations headquartered abroad, and to their permissions to operate or cooperate in Türkiye. Under the Associations Regulation, foreign foundations may operate or cooperate in Türkiye, open a representative office or branch, found or join umbrella bodies, or cooperate with established foundations where international cooperation is considered useful, on condition of reciprocity, after the opinion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and, where needed, other institutions, and with the Ministry's permission. In their activities in Türkiye these foundations are subject to the rules that apply to associations.

The application

Foreign foundations apply to the Ministry with the application form for foreign legal entities wishing to operate in Türkiye and its annexes. An application to cooperate may also be made on the foreign foundation's behalf by the foundation in Türkiye it will cooperate with. The Ministry examines the form and annexes and has any gaps completed; documents from earlier applications that are still valid are not requested again.

The texts we quote do not list a foreign foundation's own documents or set apostille or translation rules for them; ask the Directorate General for Relations with Civil Society which documents and certification it expects. We translate foreign foundation deeds, statutes and board decisions into Turkish in Ankara through translators sworn before a Turkish notary. The Ministry of the Interior decides on permission.