Services

Marriage of foreign nationals

The additional documents required if one or both of the parties are foreign nationals.

Time
If the documents are complete, the ceremony date is given when you apply; the marriage file is valid for 6 months
Fee
The fees are the same as for a marriage application.

Who can apply

Couples where one or both of the parties are foreign nationals. These applications are made to the municipal marriage registry or to the civil registry office (nüfus müdürlüğü).

Required documents

  • Certificate of legal capacity to marry (evlenme ehliyet belgesi): issued by the competent authorities of the person’s own state and duly authenticated
  • Passport and its notarised Turkish translation
  • Birth certificate (if the certificate of legal capacity to marry does not contain birth details)
  • Health report
  • 6 passport-size photographs each (taken within the last six months)

How it works

  1. Once the documents are complete, the couple apply together to the Registry Directorate (Yazı İşleri).
  2. The marriage file is prepared and a date is given for the ceremony.

Good to know

  • For citizens of countries that issue multilingual certificates — such as Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal and Switzerland — the multilingual certificate of legal capacity to marry and extract from the birth register are accepted.
  • For citizens of other countries: if the certificate was obtained from the consulate in Türkiye, it is authenticated by the governor’s office or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; if it was obtained from the authorities in the person’s own country, an apostille and a notarised Turkish translation are required.
  • Documents issued by honorary consulates are not accepted.
  • For stateless persons, refugees and persons whose nationality is undetermined, the certificate is obtained from the General Directorate of Civil Registration and Citizenship Affairs if they have a civil registry record, and from the police authorities if they do not.
  • For the address, a declaration is sufficient.

Legal basis

  • 4721 sayılı Türk Medeni Kanunu
  • 5490 sayılı Nüfus Hizmetleri Kanunu md. 22
  • Evlendirme Yönetmeliği md. 12, 20