Foreigners can marry in Türkiye without a residence permit, before a municipal marriage office, or at their consulate if both spouses share the same nationality. Each foreign spouse needs a passport, a certificate of no impediment from their own state, often a birth certificate, a health report and recent photos, with an apostille and a notarised Turkish translation. Capacity follows each spouse's national law (Article 13, Law No. 5718). The Civil Code, Law No. 4721, sets a minimum age of 17 (Article 124) and a 300 day waiting period for women (Article 132). There is no public notice period.
A typical file on our desk looks like this: a British groom and a Turkish bride, or two Iranian nationals living in Istanbul, want to marry in Türkiye within the next two months, and each of them holds documents from a different country in a different language. Turkish law makes this possible without a residence permit and without any period of public notice, but the marriage office will only accept a file in which every foreign document says the right things, carries the right certification and has a Turkish translation. Since the 2017 amendment to the Marriage Regulation, the Ministry of Interior may also authorise provincial and district mufti offices to perform civil marriages, yet where one spouse is a foreigner only the municipal marriage offices and the population directors are competent. This article explains who can marry, where, with which documents, under which law, and how the marriage is then used abroad, under the Turkish Civil Code, Law No. 4721, the Law on International Private and Procedural Law, Law No. 5718, and the Marriage Regulation as currently in force.
When a foreigner marries in Türkiye, two different legal systems can be involved, and Article 13 of Law No. 5718 divides the work between them. Understanding this split explains almost every document the marriage office asks for.
Under Article 13(1) of Law No. 5718, the capacity to marry and the conditions of marriage are governed by the national law of each party at the time of the marriage. A French bride must therefore satisfy French law, and a Turkish groom must satisfy Turkish law. This is the reason the office asks the foreign spouse for a certificate issued by his or her own state confirming that there is no impediment: the Turkish officer cannot examine foreign marriage law alone and relies on that certificate. The limit is Turkish public policy. Article 5 of Law No. 5718 allows a foreign rule that is manifestly contrary to Turkish public policy to be set aside, so a Turkish office will not, for example, marry a person who is already married, even if his national law permits more than one spouse.
Article 13(2) of Law No. 5718 provides that the form of marriage is governed by the law of the country where it is celebrated. A marriage concluded in Türkiye before a Turkish marriage officer is therefore valid in form if it follows Turkish procedure, whatever the spouses' nationality. Article 13(3) adds that the general effects of the marriage are governed by the common national law of the spouses; if they have different nationalities, by the law of their common habitual residence; and failing that, by Turkish law.
Under Article 134 of Law No. 4721, the couple apply together to the marriage office of the place where one of them lives. The marriage officer is the mayor or the officer the mayor assigns, and in villages the headman. In practice foreigners deal with the evlendirme dairesi, the marriage department of the district or metropolitan municipality, which takes the application and holds the ceremony. Article 7 and Article 12 of the Marriage Regulation, the Evlendirme Yönetmeliği, add that where one spouse is a foreigner only the municipal marriage offices and the population directors may perform the marriage; a village headman or a mufti office cannot. For a foreigner, the address stated in the application form is accepted, and no further proof of address is requested (Article 20 of the Regulation).
Article 12 of the Regulation allows two foreigners of the same nationality to marry before their own embassy or consulate in Türkiye if their national law authorises it, or before the Turkish authorities if they prefer. This option does not exist for a mixed couple: a Turkish citizen marrying a foreigner, or two foreigners of different nationalities, must marry before a Turkish marriage officer. Not every state lets its consulates perform marriages, so a couple considering this route should ask the consulate first. Honorary consuls have no power to marry, and the Regulation states that documents issued by honorary consulates are not accepted for a marriage file.
For the Turkish spouse, and as public policy limits for the foreign spouse, the Civil Code sets the following conditions.
A person aged 18 who is not under guardianship marries without anyone's consent (Article 14 of the Regulation). Under Article 124 of Law No. 4721, a man or woman may not marry before completing the age of 17, and Article 126 requires the consent of the legal representative for a minor. A judge may, in extraordinary circumstances and for a very important reason, permit a person who has completed 16 to marry, after hearing the parents or guardian where possible. Article 125 adds that a person lacking the capacity of discernment cannot marry.
A marriage concluded despite an existing marriage, permanent lack of discernment, a disqualifying mental illness or prohibited kinship is void by absolute nullity under Article 145, and the public prosecutor brings that action of his own motion (Article 146). The consequences of nullity are covered in our article on annulment of marriage in Türkiye.
Under Article 132, a woman whose marriage has ended may not remarry until 300 days have passed from the end of the marriage. The period ends if she gives birth. The court must lift it where it is established that she is not pregnant from the previous marriage, or where the former spouses wish to remarry each other. In practice the application goes to the family court with a medical report confirming that the woman is not pregnant, and the court decision must be obtained before the marriage office will set a date. For a foreign woman, whose capacity is governed by her national law under Article 13(1) of Law No. 5718, marriage offices do not all take the same approach to the Turkish waiting period, so a woman divorced within the last 300 days should raise the point with the office before booking a ceremony.
Article 136 of Law No. 4721 and Article 20 of the Regulation set the core of the marriage file: the application form signed by both parties, identity documents, the civil status record or certificate of no impediment, a health report, photographs, and, for a minor, the consent document. Municipalities add their own practical requirements, which is why the lists published by different municipalities are not identical.
| Document | What the Foreign Spouse Should Provide |
|---|---|
| Passport | Valid passport, usually with a notarised Turkish translation of the identity page. Many offices refuse an application where the visa or residence permit has expired, so lawful stay at the date of application matters. |
| Certificate of no impediment | Issued by the central authority of the home state or its embassy or consulate in Türkiye, showing name, surname, parents' names, date of birth and whether there is any impediment to marriage, duly certified (Article 20 of the Regulation). |
| Birth certificate | Not listed separately in the Regulation, but many municipalities ask for it, especially where the certificate of no impediment does not show the parents' names. |
| Proof that a previous marriage ended | Divorce judgment or death certificate where applicable (Article 136 of Law No. 4721). |
| Health report | A marriage health report from an official or private health institution (Article 20 of the Regulation). Many offices expect a report issued in Türkiye, typically by a family doctor. |
| Photographs | Recent colour passport photographs taken within the last six months, facing forward, in civilian clothing. The number required varies by municipality. |
| Interpreter | Required where the foreign spouse does not speak Turkish (Article 27 of the Regulation); many offices insist on a sworn translator. |
The Regulation calls this document the evlenme ehliyet belgesi, a certificate showing capacity to marry under the person's national law and that nothing prevents the marriage. Foreigners often know it as a celibacy certificate, a single status certificate or a certificate of no impediment. Article 12 of the Regulation expects the parties to obtain it themselves from their own state, and only where that is impossible may the officer request it through the General Directorate of Population and Citizenship Affairs. Its content is what matters: a document that only says "not registered as married in this district" may be rejected if it does not show the parents' names and the absence of any impediment. Stateless persons, refugees and persons under international or temporary protection without a residence permit receive their certificate from the provincial directorate of migration management under Article 13 of the Regulation.
Neither the Civil Code nor the Regulation fixes a validity period for the certificate of no impediment, but municipalities commonly refuse certificates and health reports older than six months. The names, dates and places of birth on the passport, the certificate and the birth certificate must match exactly. Under Article 21 of the Regulation the officer checks whether any difference between the certificate and the identity document could cause confusion about the person, and a transliteration difference in a name is one of the most common reasons a file is returned.
A foreign document is accepted in Türkiye only if it is duly certified. Which certification is needed depends on the issuing state.
Translations are usually made by a sworn translator in Türkiye and certified by a notary. A translation made abroad may be accepted if it is itself apostilled, but practice varies by municipality, so it is safer to translate in Türkiye.
The application may be made in writing or orally (Article 135). It may also be filed through a representative holding a special power of attorney that names the principal, the representative and the person to be married (Article 17 of the Regulation), which helps a spouse who is still abroad. The officer examines the file, has any deficiency corrected and, if a spouse lacks capacity or a legal impediment exists, rejects the application in writing (Article 137). Either spouse may challenge a rejection before the court, which decides on the papers with final effect (Article 138).
Unlike some European systems, Turkish law has no banns or public posting period. Article 21 of the Regulation states expressly that no announcement of the decision to marry is required. Instead, interested persons may file a written objection until the end of working hours on the day before the ceremony, and the public prosecutor may object on a ground of absolute nullity (Articles 24 and 25 of the Regulation). Once the officer is satisfied, he sets the date and time or, on request, issues a marriage permit, the evlenme izin belgesi, which allows the couple to marry before any marriage officer within six months (Article 139). After six months the officer may no longer perform the marriage on those documents (Article 140).
The ceremony is held publicly at the marriage office, or at another place the officer approves, before the officer and two adult witnesses with capacity of discernment (Article 141). The witnesses must know the person they witness for (Article 28 of the Regulation). Both spouses must be present in person: Article 27 of the Regulation states that marriage by proxy is not possible. The officer asks each spouse whether they wish to marry the other, and the marriage is concluded at the moment both answer yes (Article 142). Immediately afterwards the couple receive the aile cüzdanı, the family register booklet (Article 143). Fees for ceremonies and hall bookings are set by each municipality and differ between municipalities, so check the current tariff with the chosen office.
| Point | Turkish Citizen and Foreigner / Two Foreigners |
|---|---|
| Competent authority | Mixed couple: municipal marriage office or population director only. Two foreigners of the same nationality: also their own consulate if their law permits it. |
| Proof of capacity | The Turkish spouse's civil status record is obtained by the office through the identity sharing system. Each foreign spouse brings a certificate of no impediment. |
| Law on capacity | Turkish law for the Turkish spouse, the national law for each foreigner (Article 13(1) of Law No. 5718). |
| Registration | The office notifies the population directorate within ten days (Article 32 of the Regulation). For citizens of CIEC states, a notice is sent to the birthplace civil registry under the 1958 Istanbul Convention (Article 34 of the Regulation). |
| General effects | Common national law; for different nationalities, the law of the common habitual residence, otherwise Turkish law (Article 13(3) of Law No. 5718). |
| Residence and citizenship | Marriage to a Turkish citizen opens separate residence and citizenship routes; marriage between two foreigners does not. |
A Turkish citizen who divorced abroad faces an additional step: Article 15 of the Regulation does not allow a remarriage until the end of the previous marriage is registered in the Turkish family register, which usually means the foreign divorce must first be recognised in Türkiye, as explained in our article on recognition and enforcement of a foreign divorce. The residence permit and citizenship consequences of marrying a Turkish citizen are a separate subject, covered in residence permit and citizenship by marriage in Türkiye.
Türkiye recognises only the civil marriage. Article 143 of Law No. 4721 provides that a religious ceremony may not be performed unless the family register booklet is shown, and that the validity of the marriage does not depend on a religious ceremony. A couple who marry only before an imam, a priest or a rabbi in Türkiye are not married in law: they have no marital property regime, no statutory inheritance rights as spouses and no family residence route. The criminal sanctions that formerly applied to a religious ceremony held without a civil marriage, in Article 230(5) and (6) of Law No. 5237, were annulled by the Constitutional Court on 27 May 2015, but that decision did not give religious marriages any legal effect. The correct order is always the civil marriage first, then any religious ceremony the couple wish.
Where Turkish law governs the spouses' property, Article 202 of Law No. 4721 makes participation in acquired property, edinilmiş mallara katılma, the default regime: each spouse keeps personal property, but property acquired during the marriage is in principle shared in value when the regime ends. The spouses may instead adopt separation of property (Article 242), separation of property with sharing, or community of property (Article 256). Under Article 203 the agreement can be made before or after the marriage, and under Article 205 it must be drawn up or certified by a notary, although the couple may also state their chosen regime in writing when applying to marry.
For foreigners the first question is which law applies at all. Article 15 of Law No. 5718 lets the spouses expressly choose the law of their habitual residence or one of their national laws at the time of marriage. Without a choice, the common national law applies, then the law of the common habitual residence, and finally Turkish law. Immovable property is liquidated under the law of the country where it is located, so a flat in Istanbul is always subject to Turkish rules on liquidation. Couples with assets in several countries should decide this before the ceremony; our page on prenuptial and postnuptial agreements in Türkiye explains the drafting.
The family booklet is proof of marriage in Türkiye, but foreign authorities usually want an extract of the civil registry entry. Article 34 of the Regulation entitles foreign spouses who marry before a Turkish authority to a multilingual marriage certificate on request. The international multilingual extract, known in Türkiye as Formül B, a standard form issued under the Convention on the Issue of Multilingual Extracts from Civil Status Records signed in Vienna on 8 September 1976, is available from the population directorates. Türkiye has applied that convention since 30 June 1985, and under its Article 8 the extract is accepted in other contracting states, including Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Switzerland, without legalisation. For states outside that convention, the extract needs an apostille from the governorship or district governorship and a translation into the language of the destination country. After that, the marriage should be registered with the home country's civil registry or consulate; until it is, the spouses may appear as single in their own country's records.
Yes, no residence permit is required, but the foreign spouse must be lawfully present on a valid visa, visa exemption or permit when applying, and many offices refuse applications from people whose stay has expired.
It is the evlenme ehliyet belgesi issued by the foreigner's own state, showing identity, parents' names, date of birth and that nothing prevents the marriage under that state's law.
From the central civil status authority of your country or from its embassy or consulate in Türkiye, never from an honorary consulate.
Yes if your country is a Hague Convention party, unless it issues a CIEC multilingual document; documents from your consulate in Türkiye are certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or the Istanbul Governorship instead.
Yes, foreign language documents need a Turkish translation certified by a notary, usually made by a sworn translator in Türkiye.
Eighteen without consent, 17 with the legal representative's consent, and 16 only with a judge's permission in extraordinary circumstances (Article 124 of Law No. 4721).
There is no public notice; Article 21 of the Regulation says no announcement is required, and a date is given once the file is complete.
Under Article 132 she must wait 300 days unless she gives birth or the family court lifts the period on proof she is not pregnant or because she is remarrying her former spouse.
Yes if they share the same nationality and their law allows consular marriages; a mixed couple must marry before a Turkish marriage officer.
No. The application can be filed through a representative with a special power of attorney, but both spouses must attend the ceremony in person.
No. Only the civil marriage has legal effect, and Article 143 of Law No. 4721 requires the family booklet to be shown before any religious ceremony.
Two adult witnesses are always required, and an interpreter must attend if a foreign spouse does not speak Turkish.
It depends on Article 15 of Law No. 5718: your chosen law, then your common national law, then your common habitual residence, then Turkish law, whose default is participation in acquired property.
Ask the population directorate for the multilingual Formül B extract, which CIEC states accept without legalisation; elsewhere add an apostille and a translation, then register the marriage at home.
Ceremony and hall fees are set by each municipality and change annually, and translation, notary and health report costs come on top, so check the chosen office's current tariff.
A foreigner can marry in Türkiye without a residence permit before a municipal marriage office, or at a consulate where both spouses share the same nationality. Capacity is governed by each spouse's national law and proved by a certified and translated certificate of no impediment, while the form follows Turkish law under Article 13 of Law No. 5718. The Civil Code sets the age limits in Article 124, the impediments in Articles 129 to 133 and the waiting period in Article 132, and there is no public notice period. Only the civil marriage counts, the default property regime is participation in acquired property unless another regime or law is chosen, and Formül B or an apostille carries the marriage abroad.
Most delays come from a certificate that lacks the parents' names, a missing apostille, a name spelled differently in two documents, or a recent divorce that has not been registered or recognised. We check foreign documents against the requirements of the chosen municipality before the application, arrange translations and the property regime agreement, handle the court application where the waiting period must be lifted, and obtain the extracts you need for registration at home through our family law service. To plan your marriage in Türkiye, contact our legal team.
.png)
