UK Shareholders and Property Purchases by Turkish Companies
Which documents a Turkish company with UK shareholders submits to the Governorship and Land Registry to buy property, and how UK documents are apostilled.
A Turkish company with foreign capital that wants to acquire property applies to the Provincial Planning and Coordination Directorate of the Governorship (Valilik İl Plânlama ve Koordinasyon Müdürlüğü) in the province where the property lies. The Land Registry Directorate (Tapu Müdürlüğü) has its own document requirements for the transaction recorded in the land register.
What the Governorship and the Land Registry ask for
The rules are in the regulation on property acquisition by companies under Article 36 of Land Registry Law No. 2644. Article 4 requires an authorisation document (yetki belgesi) showing that the company may dispose of real property and naming its representative. If the company's shares are not traded on the stock exchange, it also submits a document from the trade registry office where its head office is registered. That document lists the foreign partners' names or titles, nationalities and shareholding ratios.
Where a subsidiary (iştirak) applies, it adds documents listing the partners at each level until the foreign investor or investors are reached. For a UK shareholder above a Turkish holding company, that chain ends with the UK investor. The regulation states that no documents beyond those listed are requested from the company. If originals are presented, the Governorship certifies copies and returns the originals to the applicant.
When the request is made in the company's name, the Land Registry Directorate requires an authority document and a signature circular (imza sirküleri) from the bodies named in law. They must state that the company may carry out the transaction and name its representatives. The authority document must contain the representative's Turkish identity number (Türkiye Cumhuriyeti kimlik numarası). If an agent acts, a power of attorney drawn up under the Turkish Notary Law and covering the transaction is required. If one or more parties do not speak Turkish, a sworn translator (yeminli tercüman) is present.
Documents from the UK shareholder
The official Turkish texts reviewed contain no apostille or translation requirement for the foreign partner's documents. The Land Registry Regulation (Tapu Sicili Tüzüğü) gives the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (Tapu ve Kadastro Genel Müdürlüğü) the power to set the documents used by companies founded abroad. The quoted texts do not settle the format for UK papers. Confirm it with that General Directorate before preparing them.
If an apostille is needed, the Legalisation Office of the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office lists company certificates issued by Companies House as legalisable public registry documents. A power of attorney or a contract can be legalised once certified by a UK notary or solicitor. A certified copy of a UK document for legalisation must be made by a notary based in the UK. Applications for a paper apostille or an e-Apostille are made online. An e-Apostille requires a PDF electronically signed by a UK notary or solicitor. The receiving Turkish office decides whether the documents are accepted.