Getting Married in Turkey: Frequently Asked Questions

So you’re thinking about getting married in Turkey. If you’re a foreigner, you probably have quite a few questions about the process. I’m a Turkish citizen and my husband is an American. Thankfully, we found that the process was not made more difficult by his lack of citizenship.

I am a lawyer in Turkey, and below I present some research answers to a series of common questions that Yabangee fiancés or fiancés-to-be may be considering. As with anything that purports to provide information about the law, the following does not constitute legal advice. Seek a lawyer if you have specific concerns or issues. While there are basic requirements for marriage procedures, expect that your experience may very a little bit Laws change from time to time in Turkey, so don’t be surprised if so of the information becomes less accurate in the future.

getting married in Turkey 1

Does marriage to a Turkish citizen provide a residence permit, right to work, or anything else that would make living in Turkey much easier?

Unfortunately, marriage does not automatically provide nor result in any improved resident status in Turkey, so check that off the list of reasons for getting married. Generally speaking, being married to a Turkish citizen gives authorities reason to consider a foreigner’s petitions and applications with a bit more flexibility. Otherwise, your rights and status are not changed very much in the short-term.

The non-Turkish spouse and any non-Turkish children he or she may already have are able to apply for family residence permits after the marriage. The family resident permit is a bit advantageous compared with other residence permits in that it may be looked upon a bit more favorably by the powers-that-be during work permit approval procedures. The family residence permit can be issued for a maximum of three years each time, but authorities typically issue the first one for a period of a single year. Successfully attaining your family residence permit is contingent on certain criteria applicable to both foreign as well as Turkish spouse, financial resources being perhaps most noteworthy.

Marriage to a Turkish national does make eventually gaining Turkish citizenship much easier. Rather than waiting until after 5 years of continuous residence, foreigners can apply for Turkish citizenship after only 3 years of marriage.

With regard to work permits, marriage to a Turkish citizen makes you eligible for exemption from the standard work permit criteria. However, it’d be a challenge to find two or more persons who agree on exactly how marriage might make getting a work permit easier. It’s even tougher to know someone who has successfully received such an exemption. You still must apply for a work permit in almost all cases, but the labor ministry can choose to assess your application differently on the basis of your marriage to a Turkish citizen. If your marriage ends in divorce, the foreign divorcee may be eligible to receive a short-term resident permit, provided that they had previously stayed in Turkey more than three years with the family residence permit. If, however, the foreign spouse is able to establish that they ended the marriage because they were the victim of domestic violence, then the aforementioned three-year requirement is waived.

Which country’s laws determine one’s eligibility to marry?

Pursuant to the Turkish International Private and Procedural Law, the eligibility of each party to enter into marriage is determined by their respective national laws. For this reason, foreigners in Turkey are required to obtain an affidavit declaring that they are able to marry from their consulate.

What is the procedure to get married?

Parties have to apply together to the Marriage Registration Office (Evlendirme Memurluğu) in the municipality (İlçe) wherein either the bride or groom resides. Marriage officers are reasonably mobile for a fee, so it is possible to have the actual marriage ceremony performed almost anywhere. If, for whatever reason, you need the support of a Marriage Registration Office in another municipality (one in which neither bridge nor groom live) in order to perform the actually ceremony, you can request that support with the permission of your original Marriage Registration Office.

Applications must be presented jointly, unless one of you has the special power of attorney; special in that it is explicitly for the marriage application process. Municipalities sometimes vary in what they require, but below are the common things you will need with your marriage application:

  • A health report issued by a recognized public or private heath institution. Your local family health clinic can take care of these. A word of warning for those who don’t like needles: the health report includes blood testing;
  • Several portrait photos;
  • A copy or notarized copy of your passport (it differs according to municipality) for foreigner partners, copy of national identity card for your Turkish partners;
  • Affidavit of eligibility issued by the foreigner’s own consulate and approved by the office of the local governor (Valilik) or district governorship (Kaymakamlık). If the affidavit is brought from the foreigner’s country, it will need an Apostille. This document must state your name, surname, father and mother’s names, date of birth and any impediments to marriage. Some municipalities may require a notarized Turkish translation of the document);
  • Copy of birth certificate. We were not asked to supply this and it might depend on whether your parents’ names are documented in your affidavit of eligibility. However, some municipalities may still ask for it even if your parents’ names are documented.
  • Some offices will also require a petition document (Evlendirme Beyannamesi) which serves to explicitly state your desires to wed.

The Marriage Registration Office will check and verify all of these documents and work with you to set the date and time for your ceremony. Ceremony scheduling may be more or less exact as to the start time, depending on the wedding schedule on the date in question. Some dates are booked well in advance, so you should considering calling Marriage Registry Office early on to find out when you need to apply in order to schedule a particular date for your ceremony (especially for summer).

If you’re a foreigner and you’re marrying another foreigner in Turkey, you may marry before either of your diplomatic representative offices in Turkey or before Turkish authorities provided that your respective national laws grant authorization.

Do you have to declare to any official institution about marriage?

If you perform a marriage ceremony before Turkish authorities in Turkey, you have to then notify the Nufus Mudurlugu (Civil Registry) within ten days following the date of marriage. Normally, this notification is performed by the Evlendirme Dairesi (Marriage Office) official who presided over the marriage ceremony, but you’d be wise to double check afterward that it has been done.

Similarly, the foreigner will need to update their marriage status with the Göç İdaresi (Director General of Migration Management) soon after the date of marriage, typically 20 working days. You don’t need an appointment and failure to notify the Göç İdaresi in time may result in a fine.

If the marriage is performed outside of Turkey, you must notify the local Turkish consulate within 30 days of the date of marriage. Relevant documents will need to be translated into Turkish.

Are polygamy and same sex marriage possible?

Monogamous, heterosexual marriage is the only legally recognized type in Turkey. Polygamy does sometimes occur, but is illegal. If you find yourself in that situation, the state will recognize only the first and annul any subsequent marriages. In that situation, if there are children as a result of an illegal marriage, it is assumed that children were born in the marriage and divorce provisions are applied rather than annulment for the sake of the children.

What type of marriage ceremony is obligatory? Do you have to perform a religious ceremony?

Religious marriage ceremonies are not compulsory in Turkey, and in fact only the government marriage is recognized. Marriage ceremonies in Turkey can be performed with a minimum of two witnesses in public before the authorized officer (evlendirme memuru). The bride and groom must declare their consents verbally. As the ceremony will of course be in Turkish, some municipalities may require a translator to be present if the foreigner doesn’t understand the marriage script read during the ceremony. After the ‘evet’s and signatures, the officer bestows upon the freshly minted couple their marriage certificate.

If you want to have a religious marriage ceremony here in Turkey, you will need to have your government-issued marriage certificate already in hand. However in reality, the official marriage certificate is seldom asked at religious ceremonies and many couples have their religious ceremony before the government ceremony.

getting married in turkey 3

A woman by any other surname…

One initially unavoidable result of marriage in Turkey is the wife’s change of surname. A woman is compelled to take her husband’s surname after marriage unless she submits a written application to the marriage officer or Civil Registry stating that she wants to use her previous surname together with her husband’s surname. However, in this case, her previous surname must come before her husband’s surname. If the woman has already had two surnames, she can choose just one of them to precede her husband’s. There is an avenue available to women who really want to retain the use of their pre-marriage surname alone, but that avenue takes the form of a court action. Few women have taken that route, although those that have have succeeded on the grounds that restricting a person’s ability to retain their surname is a violation of their individual freedoms.

After divorce, a woman is expected to return to using just her previous surname. However, if she profits by using her husband’s surname, and it is accepted that her continued use of it does not inflict damage upon her ex-husband, she can petition the divorce judge to permit her to continue carrying her ex-husband’s surname.

If we have children, will my children have Turkish citizenship at birth?

Pursuant to Turkish Citizenship Law, Turkish citizenship is acquired by birth or after birth. Turkish citizenship by birth shall be automatically acquired on the basis of descent or place of birth. Turkish citizenship is rarely granted on the basis of place of birth except to abandoned or stateless children born in Turkey.

Citizenship is usually acquired by descent and is effective from the moment of birth. However, the process may be complicated by the foreignness of one of the parents.

A child born of a Turkish mother and a non-Turkish father, regardless of whether the parents are married or not, is a Turkish citizen at birth. However, a child born of a Turkish father and a non-Turkish mother, will not have Turkish citizenship at birth unless the parents are married. If the child is born out of wedlock, the Turkish father must either establish parentage or legally adopt the child in order for the child to become a Turkish citizen.

What if you just have gotten divorced and want to marry again?

As stated earlier, eligibility for marriage is determined by each party’s respective national law. In case Turkish law governs a woman’s eligibility, she will have to wait 300 days after a divorce before getting married again unless she proves she is not pregnant from her previous marriage or she wants to remarry her ex-husband. However, if she gives birth during the waiting period, she will not need to wait further.

If we divorce, what happens to our property and assets?

With few exceptions, any property acquired during the marriage by either spouse is considered as Matrimonial Property and thus subject to sharing agreements during a divorce. Under Article 15 of the Turkish International Private and Procedural Law, which governs matrimonial property, spouses may clearly designate either the internal law of their habitual residence or the national law at the time of marriage to govern their matrimonial property. Where no such choice has been made, the common national law of the spouses at the time of marriage, or in the absence of common law, the internal law of their habitual residence at the time of marriage shall govern or in the absence thereof, the Turkish law shall govern.

Under Turkish laws, there are four types of matrimonial property regime agreements. These are (i) participation in acquisitions, (ii) separation of property, (iii) separation of property with distribution, and (iv) community of property. Parties can choose one of regimes by notarized agreement before or after the marriage or by written declaration at the time of the marriage application.  If the couple does not choose a regime, “participation of acquisitions” will be enforced in divorces for marriages dated after January 1, 2002.

The “participation of acquisitions” regime states that properties acquired during the marriage shall be shared after divorce, except for certain properties such as (i) personal belongings used by just one spouse, (ii) assets belonging to just one spouse at the beginning of the marriage, acquired without consideration, or acquired free-of-charge, (iii) compensation for pain and suffering, and (iv) substitute values of pre-existing personal properties.

An important point needs to be made here. Turkish laws which limit the rights of foreigners to own immovable property are given importance. Immovable property includes land and homes, and thus would affect ownership of such properties in a divorce. Presently, there are restrictions on the size and location of immovable property, as well as the total area of a district which can be owned by foreigners.

If we divorce, what happens to our house? Will I have to move out?

The matrimonial house is where spouses and their children live together and is considered the family’s life center. As a rule, the matrimonial house is sole and under protection among marriage period. Both spouses have some rights on the matrimonial house because of its importance as part of their common lives. If there is a dispute as to who is to move out of the home and stay, the divorce judge will decide. The judge will even decide who will have right to use the furniture. With this decision, the period of stay in the home is determined and notified to the land registry for annotation

At any time during the marriage including the period of time before a divorce is final, it is possible for a spouse to protect the matrimonial house from the actions of the other spouse. Under Article 194 of Turkish Civil Code, without the other spouse’s explicit consent, the lease contract of the matrimonial house cannot be terminated, the matrimonial house cannot be transferred, and rights on the matrimonial house cannot be restricted. Additionally, the spouse who does not legally own the matrimonial house can request an annotation to the land registry restricting actions made on the home, such as sale or mortgage. A spouse who legally owns and intends to undertake an action on the matrimonial house, such as a sale, but who has not been able to gain the consent of the other spouse can, with just cause, ask for a judge’s interference.

It is significant to determine which country law will be applied for marriage-related issues. In case another country’s laws are applicable to relevant issues, the information given above may differ. Therefore, determining the applicable law for each issue should be the first priority.

Any other questions you’d like us to look into? Please let us know in the comments. 

Melek Barngrover is a Turkish lawyer and travel enthusiast. A former chemist, she lives with her American husband and two cats in Istanbul.

34 COMMENTS

  1. Dear Mrs Barngrover, I have a dual citizenship of both British/Turkish and I have a civil partnership marriage since 2009. My partner is British and has some investments in Turkey. He said that he wants to find a way to put me in his will so that he can leave those Turkish investments to me in case of his death or etc. However as Turkish laws don’t recognise civil partnership marriage, what is the legal way to arrange this on his will? He said if anything happens now , his brother will get Turkey investments and he doesnt want that and wants me land everything to me as his legal spouse. Do we have to include my name on the deed or what is the legal binding that you can advice? Regards

    • Hi Dogukan,
      To answer your question please share your e-mail with the Yabangee Editor. I will write you an e-mail response.
      Best regards,
      Melek

  2. Hello Melek,
    Am not Turkish and my bf American
    So how we can check all the requirements?
    And we planning to get marry in Feb but yet now we didn’t start anything as they ban the visa from Americans but still I want to start with my papers.
    Can I have more details requirements about foreigner marriage in Turkey so We won’t surprised.
    We plan to get marry in Fetyea
    Can you please advise
    This is my email
    aulaaer@yahoo.com

    Thanks

    • Hi Aula,

      While this isn’t Melek, we just wanted to quickly point out that they seem to be allowing visas now for Americans on a limited basis so you should be able to get most of the paperwork in order. Best of luck & congrats!

  3. Hello, thank you for this great article, it has been invaluable to me! Just two quick questions: at the Göç İdaresi, after the wedding, what form do I need to ask for and what documents apart from the marriage book do I need? Also, if I can’t go within 20 days, how much is the fine?

  4. Hi
    Im British and am currently divorcing my British husband. I want to re marry, in Turkey with my Turkish boyfriend. Do I need to wait until ive been divorced for 300 days?

  5. Hey!
    I have the German citizenship and I want to go together with my Turkish fiancée after I finished my Dental Medicine study to Turkey. Is there any possibility that I am able to work as dentist in Turkey?

  6. Have a Blessed Day! My Turkish National boyfriend want me to invite and we get marry in Turkey,what kind of visa do I need to get?Fiance visa or Tourist visa?or My boyfriend can get my visa in Turkey? Thank you so much!

    • While you’re waiting to get married, you should apply for and receive your residence permit if you’re currently in Turkey. If you’re planning to arrive, you’ll need to apply through the normal visa process of your country of citizenship.

  7. Hello Melek,

    İm passing for a contentious divorce and i might need a lawyer urgently. Can you give me advise?

    İm Colombian and i have aile resident permit.

  8. What is the cost to process the required documents for marriage? My American fiance and I plan to marry when we visit her Turkish relatives.

  9. I just have a question if me and girfriend visting turkey and we want to get married during the trip is it possible to get a marriage cirtifacate since shes from lebanon and i am from usa
    Please replay

    • It’s possible but complicated as you’d each need to get permission from your respective countries. This is unfortunately a bit out of our area of expertise, but we wish you luck.

  10. Hello Melek
    I got married to a Turkish in my country and my husband is now back in Turkey. He wants me to come please what type of visa should I apply for. Tnx

  11. Hello

    I am a US citizen and married an iranian man in Turkey in April 2018. Turkish Authorities provided me with an International Family Record Booklet (certification showing we were married), however I was told to contact my consulate in the US about additional requirements. Can you please provide the steps necessary (if any) to ensure our marriage is legal in the US.

    Thank you.

  12. Hi ,
    I’m a Persian and 2 months ago I got married to my German fiancé in Istanbul . We received our red book and after about ten days we got a form which i guess is formula b from nufus office. Now I want to join my husband in Germany and I need to know if the red marriage book and formula b paper, is accepted by German embassy ? Or do I need other documents ?

    • Hi Raha
      I’m an Iranian guy who wants to marry a Portuguese,
      I’ve read that I don’t need to translate my id card and birth certificate and celibacy certificate and translate it in Turkey,
      would you please tell me how is this worked out for you and also how long did it take for you to get married? i mean long did the process tale for you to marry?
      Best Regards
      Yasin

  13. Hello

    I’m a Cypriot/Greek and my Turkish fiance and I got engagement in Malatya for 3 months ago. What is the cost to process the required documents for civil marriage in Turkey? How is information I will bring proof any paper things about civil marriage in Turkey? If let me know

    Regards

  14. Hello Melek and thank you for taking the time to write this. Regarding this part:

    Similarly, the foreigner will need to update their marriage status with the Göç İdaresi (Director General of Migration Management) soon after the date of marriage, typically 20 working days. You don’t need an appointment and failure to notify the Göç İdaresi in time may result in a fine.

    Is this still a mandatory step to take if I get married during a 90-day tourist visa, without having applied for a residency permit with the Göç İdaresi? Is there anything preventing me from getting married in Turkey at all, without having applied for a residency permit beforehand?

  15. Hi I m Muslim woman from Pakistan wants to marry my Turkish friend who is already married. What you suggest? Should we marry in Pakistan or in Turkey? I have plan to live with him in Turkey after marriage although I know our marriage will not registered in Turkey it will be religious marriage. So how I can live with him permanently. Thanks

  16. Hello dear Melek
    I have a question about a medical exam!
    as my girlfriend and I are both from different nationality and have to do the medical exam in Turkey!
    I want to know how long does it take to get the result and can we get the appointment of marriage right after the medical exam! I want to know how long does this process takes to get married?
    best regards
    Yasin

  17. Hello thank you for all that really good info!! I am USA citizen and planning to marry in February! My only question is do you know where I need to go to translate my certificate of non marriage in turkish? It is in English and is already Apostille! But here Turkey consulate is really far! And also my boyfriend is from Algeria is able to translate them in Turkey as well thank you! Blessings!

  18. Hello, I’m a US citizen and planning on getting married in Turkey. The marriage affidavit that needs to be notarized in US embassy or consulate office, does it need to be done over in Turkey or I can get it notarized in Los Angeles. Also what document is needed from my Iranian citizen fiance to show as his proof that he is eligible to marry? Also can the marriage take place in any city like Izmir or it has to be in the city where the consulate is located? Best regards

  19. “I’m a Libyan woman married officially in Tripoli to a Turkish guy since Dec 2012 and staying in Turkey ever since. We have a 5 year old boy, unfortunately my husband just lately started to threaten me with divorce. He works for a Turkish construction company where he gets called to work in countries like Russia, Aderbijan, Iraq, Afghanistan and other places for long consective months, and have girlfriends in many countries he worked in, he once brought a Russian woman with her son from him to sleep in my bed while I was away with my son. After his last 8 months trip last month he stayed with his mother upstairs I tried to make him come downstairs to stay with me and his boy but he refused and told me that I was divorced , and that if I want to stay in Turkey and get a Turkish citizenship I have to sign a document waiving all my rights after divorce and forget any other compensation, and I can stay in his mother’s flat and get 200 dollars as a cost of living with my son. He stopped renewing my residence permit since last August 018, and also didn’t apply for my citizenship as he promised , and now by the time I found out I was told that l have to pay 1000 dollars fine and that i can not get any permit before leaving Turkey. Now he said that he had no relation with me and stopped supporting us. I’m in a great trouble trying to survive with my son and cannot pay the fine which is getting bigger everyday I expect.
    I am lost not knowing what to do, how can l sign to waive our rights, and if i do sign how can i trust him that he will keep his promise? Is there any other way that i can get my work permit to survive with my 5 year son and pay the fine without having to sign the document? And can I take my boy who has a Turkish passport with me if I have to leave Turkey before I am able to get the permit or else where can i leave him secured.?????
    Please guide me through….
    Best Regards”

  20. I am a American citizen and moving to Turkey with my husband who is Turkish. We submitted our marriage documentation to the Turkish Consulate and they in turn submitted our information to Turkey so that our marriage is recognized in Turkey and Turkey accepted that. So, I am wondering that since Turkey did recognize our marriage and moving there will I be able to get the same health insurance as my husband will receive through the Turkish government which will cost about $20 or $30.00 American dollars a month. I am a senior citizen and have Social Security Medicare here in the United States but it is very expensiveness. What benefits am I entitled to if any in Turkey ? Thank you for your time and assistance.

  21. Hi,

    I am from the UK and my husband is Turkish, we married in turkey on 12/09/2019, but did not go anywhere after to register marriage such as Göç İdaresi (Director General of Migration Management) or Nufus Mudurlugu, and the 10/30 days have passed, and I am back in the UK, please advise? I did not know we had to do that, very stressed.

  22. How long does an Eligibility affidavit take? I will be in Turkey for 6 days in Feb. I plan to marry a Syran refugee who has legal status. I am unsure if 6 days is enough time to get married. There seems to be a lot to do. I am American.

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