APPLYING FOR TURKISH NATIONALITY:

According to Turkish Nationality Act (numbered 403), a foreigner should meet the following requirements in order to apply for Turkish nationality.

*He/She should be at the age of consent according to his/her national law (if he/she is not a citizen of any country, Turkish law is taken into consideration which requires 18 years old as the age of consent).
*He/She should reside in Turkey for the last five years and should have the intention of settling in Turkey (This condition may not be applicable to those who are married to a Turkish national or those who are with Turkish origin).
*He/She should be in good health.
*He/She should speak Turkish.
*He/She should have enough financial resources to support himself/herself and his/her family in Turkey.

If you meet the conditions above, you can apply to obtain Turkish nationality. Application can be made through this Consulate General or the local Governor's office in Turkey with the following documents.   

*A document revealing the present nationality of the applicant, i.e. passport or birth certificate.
*If married to a Turkish national, the official documents confirming the identities and family ties of the spouse and the under aged children.
*Certification of applicant's ability to speak Turkish (a certificate will be issued by this Consulate General upon a successful interview of the applicant).
*A medical certificate confirming the applicant's good health and being free from any infectious diseases that may endanger the public health (this certificate can be obtained from the local GP or family doctor).
*4 photographs
*Certification and translation fees.
*Administration fee.

Completed dossiers are transferred to the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Turkey, which in turn will consider and process the applications on their merits. The applicants will be informed of the outcome by this Consulate General in due course.

DIVORCE PROCEDURE FOR A MARRIAGE REGISTERED IN TURKEY:

If a marriage between a Turkish and a British national was solemnized in the UK and then registered in Turkey or if a marriage between a Turkish and a British national was solemnized and registered in Turkey, regardless of divorce degree that may be a obtained in the UK, a suit of divorce should be filed in Turkey as well. To this end the following steps should be taken by the foreign national:

* A solicitor in the UK will give Power of Attorney to an appointed solicitor in Turkey.
* Upon receipt of this Power of Attorney the appointed solicitor in Turkey will commence with divorce proceedings. by the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. 

OBTAINING A CERTIFIED COPY OF MARRIAGE / DEATH CERTIFICATE:

If you wish to obtain a certified copy of your Turkish Marriage Certificate, or death certificate of a deceased relative in Turkey, you are required to contact the relevant British Diplomatic Mission in Turkey. 

FILMING IN TURKEY:

If you wish to prepare documentary films related to scientific research and observation, make commercial and promotional films or conduct conduct archeological excavations within Turkey you must obtain prior permission from Turkish authorities. You will thereafter be issued with the appropriate visa. Please contact the Turkish Culture and Tourism Office in London for commercial and promotional films and the Turkish Embassy in London for all other permissions. Filming make by tourists for personal use does not require prior permission.

MARRIAGE BETWEEN TURKISH AND FOREIGN NATIONALS IN THE UK:

Procedure and documents for registration of a marriage between a Turkish and foreign national in the UK are as follows:

First, you need to get in touch with the local registration office in the UK.

Turkish citizen needs to obtain a certificate of no impediment from his/her local registration office in Turkey through this Consulate General. To this end, s/he needs to apply to this Consulate General with his/her ID card (nüfus cüzdanı).

Following the marriage ceremony and having the marriage registered at the local registration office in the UK, Turkish national has to inform this Consulate General of his/her marriage within one month just after the marriage.

For the registration of marriage at this Consulate General, following documents have to be produced:

• Marriage certificate and a photocopy
• Full birth certificate of the foreign national and a photocopy
• ID card of Turkish spouse (nüfus cüzdanı) and a photocopy
• Postal fee (£ 7)
• Please note that in the event that you fail to register your marriage with Turkish Consulate within a month following the ceremony before the British authorities, you will be liable to pay for a fine of £ 8.
• A copy of foreign national's passport, his/her father's and mother's name and his/her religion must also be communicated to the Consulate in writing.

Please note that foreign women marrying Turkish men in the UK may apply for Turkish citizenship after 3 years of marriage, if she intends to live in Turkey. The Republic of Turkey accepts dual nationality as long as bride's country does not object it.

MARRIAGE BETWEEN TURKISH AND FOREIGN NATIONALS IN TURKEY:

Required Documents:

• Certificate of no impediment from the local registrar of marriages in the UK
• Birth certificate and passport
• A divorce or death certificate of previous spouse if married before

Procedure:

• Application to the relevant consulate in Turkey to initiate the formalities.
• The certificate of no impediment and certificate of identity and nationality obtained from the relevant registry office in the UK and approved by the relevant consulate in Turkey. (certificate of no-impediment is valid for 6 months)
• Application in person to the local marriage office together with the Turkish national to give notice of marriage, submit the certificates, complete necessary forms and fix a date for the marriage ceremony
• Other formalities to be pursued by Turkish fiancée concurrently
• Marriage ceremony
• Notice to the relevant consulate to have the marriage registered in the country of foreign national.

Notes: Normal marriage age under Turkish law is 18. However, under special circumstances men and women below that age can get married with the permission of their parents, legal guardians or the relevant court.

MARRIAGE BETWEEN TWO FOREIGN NATIONALS IN TURKEY:

Required Documents:

• Certificate of no impediment from the local registrar of marriages in the UK (certificate of no-impediment is valid for 6 months)
• Birth certificate and passport
• A divorce or death certificate of previous spouse if married before

Procedure:

• Application to the relevant consulate in Turkey to initiate the formalities.
• The certificate of no impediment and certificate of identity and nationality obtained from the relevant consulate to be authenticated by the local Governor office in Turkey
• Application in person to the local marriage office to give notice of marriage, submit the certificates, complete necessary forms and fix a date for the marriage ceremony
• Solemnization of marriage (if the marrying parties do not speak Turkish, they are advised to arrange for an interpreter to be present during the ceremony)
• Notice to the relevant consulate to have the marriage registered in their country.

Notes: Foreign nationals in Turkey can also get married in their respective consulates if it is possible under their national law. However, if one of the parties is a Turkish citizen, marriage can only be solemnized by the Turkish authorities.

POLICE CLEARANCE REPORT

Foreign nationals who worked/lived for certain period of time in Turkey can obtain “police clearance report” from the relevant authority in Turkey through this Consulate General by sending the following documents & information by post to this Consulate General:

British employers who intend to employ Turkish nationals in the UK can also apply to this Consulate General to obtain police clearance report for their prospective employees. They need to provide Turkish ID card, instead of passport, in addition to the preceeding ones.

PURCHASING REAL ESTATE FOR PRIVATE USE IN TURKEY:

Rules: Citizens and commercial corporate entities of the countries with which reciprocity agreements have been signed and companies established in line with Foreign Direct Investment Law No. 4875 in Turkey may purchase a real estate in Turkey on their own names provided that the property is not located in military and security zones.

The acquired property may be resold or rented out and the proceeds of the sale or the rental income may be transferred out of Turkey freely.

Procedure: The sale procedure for foreigners is the same as Turkish citizens except a search for the abovementioned military and security zones restriction. Once a sale agreed with the owner, an application has to be made to the local Land Registry Office. The Land Registry Office then carries out a search for the abovementioned restriction through correspondence with the military authorities in the area. As soon as the search is completed, the Land Registry Office then transfers the title and issues the new deed.

Taxes: Both purchaser and seller are liable for a 1.5 per cent property transfer tax, based on the declared price of the property. There is also a municipal property tax, again, based on the declared value of the property, at the rate of 0.1 per cent for residential properties and 0.3 per cent for land annually. One fourth of the tax value (minimum YTL 2,500) of newly built residential properties is exempt from the municipal real estate tax for the first five years.

For further enquiries kindly apply to the Turkish Embassy, Office of the First Economic Counsellor, 43 Belgrave Square , London , SW1X 8PA ,

Tel: 020 7235 2743; Fax: 020 7235 1020; e-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

Web: http://www.turkisheconomy.org.uk

TO TAKE A PET INTO TURKEY TEMPORARILY:

In order to take a pet into Turkey for a temporary period, the following documents should be legalised .

• Veterinary certificate (and vaccination document) which should be issued not more than fifteen days before traveling to Turkey should be legalised by the British Foreign Office.
• Export certificate issued by the British Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries or by the British Foreign Office.

TRANSFER OF A DECEASED TURKISH NATIONAL TO TURKEY:

If you like to transfer a deceased Turkish national to Turkey, please contact immediately with a company providing funeral services and then contact this Consulate General with the following documents (in order to find a company of funeral services, you can contact the the Turkish-British Chamber of Commerce and Industry (TBCCI, 2nd Floor, Bury House, 33 Bury Street, St James's, London, SW1Y 6UA, Tel:020 7321 0999):

• ID Card (nufus cuzdani) and passport of the Turkish national.
• Coroner Report
• Death certificate to be obtained from local registration office.
• Embalming certificate.
• Non-Infection Certificate

TURKEY'S CUSTOMS REGULATION:

Information on Turkish Customs Regulation is available at the the official website of Turkish Customs Administration on http://www.gumruk.gov.tr You can also call the following telephone numbers: Tel: 0090 312 3117971, Fax: 0090 312 3245979  e-mail: This email address is being protected from spam bots, you need Javascript enabled to view it

MOBILE PHONES NEED TO BE REGISTERED FOR USE WITH SIM CARDS BOUGHT IN TURKEY

Turkish and foreign visitors are entitled to bring one mobile phone into Turkey within one calendar year for use during their stay in Turkey. A personal mobile phone brought in to Turkey in this manner is exempt from tax and duty.

It is necessary to register the mobile phones in order to use them with SIM card bought from a Turkish network operator. (In order to use such a mobile phone with a SIM card bought in Turkey from a Turkish network operator, the mobile phone number assigned to the SIM card needs to be correlated with the IMEI number of the mobile phone. The handset can only be registered with one line. Phones not registered in this way will be blocked and unable to receive or make calls. There is no charge levied for this registration.)

No customs documents are required for the registration of mobile phones.

Mobile phones to be brought into Turkey are to be registered with the Telecommunication Institution or with the mobile phone shops of Turkish Network Operators (Avea, Turkcell or Telsim).

Documents required for the registration of mobile phones are:

No more than one mobile phone per person can be registered in one calendar year.

VISIT OF A TURKISH NATIONAL TO THE UK:

Please note that before traveling to the UK, Turkish citizens are required to obtain visa through the British Consulate General in Istanbul/Turkey. For any inquiry regarding the visit of a Turkish national to the UK, you are kindly requested to contact with the British Consulates or British Embassy in Turkey. 

For the addresses of British Consulates in Turkey, please click here.