Only civil marriages are registered in Turkey legally. You can have a religious ceremony if you want but it will have no legal power in Turkey.
The Turkish legislation allows to perform marriage between two foreigners as well as between a Turk and a foreigner. A Turk and a foreigner and two foreigners need to marry in the competent Turkish authorities. Two foreigners of the same nationality can marry either in the Turkish register offices, or in the Embassy or Consulate offices of their own country.
Content:
- Marriage requirements:
- Documents for a marriage in Turkey
- How the registration works: five steps
- What marriage gives a foreigner
- Changes in marriage procedure for british nationals
- Where difficulties usually arise
- Popular questions
MARRIAGE REQUIREMENTS:
- people of the same sex can’t get married in Turkey;
- close relatives can’t get married;
- you can’t marry if you are already married;
- the minimum marriage age is 18 years (at 17 you may marry with the consent of a parent or guardian, and at 16 only by a court decision in exceptional circumstances; under 16 marriage is not possible under any conditions);
- divorced women can remarry only after 300 days from the date of the divorce. A court lifts this period if the woman provides a medical certificate confirming she is not pregnant, or if the former spouses marry each other again;
- marriage is not allowed where a mental disorder stands in the way of family life. That assessment is made by a psychiatrist, not by a registrar. References to epilepsy and "hysteria" come from older sources and have nothing to do with the current Civil Code.
Documents for a marriage in Turkey
To marry in Turkey you will need to provide the following documents:
- birth certificate and passport translated into Turkish and notarized in Turkey or in the Turkish embassy;
- certificate of no impediment — it is issued by your own country’s consulate in Turkey, then translated into Turkish and notarized;
- petition of the marriage filed by the groom and the bride at the Municipality in Turkish;
- six passport size photos of the groom and the bride;
- health certificate taken from a State medical institution, Sağlık Ocağı or Develet Hastanesi. Certificates issued by private hospitals and clinics are not accepted. In a number of provinces a blood test for thalassemia is added to it as a compulsory pre-marital screening;
- accommodation document. Foreign couples not residing in Turkey need to provide a letter from the hotel where they are staying in which duration of staying and departure date are mentioned.
Documents issued outside Turkey have to be legalized: for countries of the Hague Convention an apostille is enough, after which a sworn translation and notarization are done in Turkey itself.
How the registration works: five steps
The procedure is the same in every municipality; only the waiting times and the fee differ.
Step 1. Collect the documents. The certificate of no impediment from the consulate and the translations take the longest. The medical certificate has a limited validity, so it is obtained last.
Step 2. File the application with the marriage registration office (evlendirme dairesi) of the municipality where the ceremony will take place. The couple attends in person and the application is completed in Turkish.
Step 3. Wait for the documents to be checked and for the appointed date. In large cities the nearest free slots are often booked weeks ahead, especially at weekends.
Step 4. Hold the ceremony. Registration takes place before two adult witnesses, and if one of the couple does not speak Turkish a sworn interpreter is required.
Step 5. Collect the marriage certificate. To use the document abroad, ask for the international multilingual form — it is accepted without further translation in the countries that signed the relevant convention.
What marriage gives a foreigner
This is the practical question people most often come to such articles for.
- A residence permit. The spouse of a Turkish citizen applies for a family permit, issued for up to 3 years and renewable. The procedure is set out in our article on the ikamet in Turkey;
- Citizenship. An application can be filed after 3 years of uninterrupted marriage to a Turkish citizen, provided the couple lives as a family. There is no residence requirement: those three years may be spent inside or outside Turkey;
- Citizenship is not granted automatically. The application is reviewed by the authorities, and a sham marriage brings a refusal along with an entry ban of up to 5 years;
- Marriage does not change property rights. A foreign spouse buys a home on the general terms, and the threshold for a residence permit through a purchase is $200,000 by appraisal.
CHANGES IN MARRIAGE PROCEDURE FOR BRITISH NATIONALS
Since the 1st of March 2014 the marriage procedure for Britons has been changed. Now British nationals do not have to get a certificate of no impediment in the UK or in Turkey. Instead of this certificate, they need to complete a new Affidavit of Marital status form. If the intending spouses are both British, they need to provide two forms.
If you are a UK resident, you need to file an Affidavit form in both English and Turkish. After it is signed, it should be notarized and posted to the Legalisation Office of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), where it will be legalized. And after that you will submit this Affirmation in the local marriage office where you are going to marry.
If you are residing in Turkey, then you need to complete an Affidavit form and then book an appointment at the British Embassy in Ankara or consulates where the affidavits will be signed and witnessed in person. After that, the MFA in Ankara or the Governor in Istanbul, Izmir, or Antalya will legalize them. This document is valid for 180 days.
Where difficulties usually arise
Refusals at the ceremony itself are rare; couples stumble at the preparation stage.
The first issue is the validity of documents. The certificate of no impediment and the medical report are valid for a limited time, and couples often obtain them too early, so they expire before the ceremony.
The second is translation. Only a sworn translation notarized in Turkey is accepted. A translation certified back home will not do.
The third is names. The spelling of the first and last name in the passport, in the translated birth certificate and in the consular certificate has to match letter for letter. A single discrepancy sends the couple back to redo the paperwork.
The fourth is recognition at home. A Turkish certificate works abroad once it carries an apostille or is issued in the international multilingual form, so it is worth requesting that version straight away.
"Couples most often arrive with a perfectly assembled file and an expired medical certificate. It should be the last thing you obtain, once you already know the date of the ceremony," says a relocation expert.
Popular questions
Can tourists get married in Turkey?
Yes. A residence permit is not required for the marriage itself, but a couple without one will need proof of accommodation, such as a letter from the hotel stating the dates of the stay.
How long does the procedure take?
Collecting and legalizing the documents usually takes one to two weeks, and after that it depends on the municipality: in large cities the nearest available dates can be booked weeks ahead.
Does marriage to a Turkish citizen grant citizenship immediately?
No. The application is filed after 3 years of uninterrupted marriage and the decision rests with the authorities. Straight after the wedding the foreign spouse can apply for a family residence permit.
Is a Turkish marriage recognized abroad?
Yes, if the certificate carries an apostille or is issued in the international multilingual form.
Is an interpreter needed at the ceremony?
Yes, if one of the spouses does not speak Turkish. The interpreter must be sworn, and the witnesses must be adults.