Turkish law has no separate exit permit for children. A minor's passport needs the consent of the custody holders under Article 17 of the Passport Law, Law No. 5682: both parents while married, the custodial parent after divorce, and both again if custody is joint. When the child travels without a parent, carry that parent's notarised consent (muvafakatname), translated and apostilled for the destination. Only a family court can ban a child's exit, and the wrongful removal of a child under 16 can lead to a Hague Convention return case.
A typical call to our office comes from passport control at an Istanbul airport: one parent and the child are about to fly, the other parent is not travelling, and someone wants a document nobody prepared. Turkish law has no single "exit permit" for children. Instead, several rules meet at the border: who holds custody under the Turkish Civil Code, Law No. 4721, what the Passport Law, Law No. 5682, requires for a minor's passport, what the destination and airline want, and when a family court can stop a child leaving. Below we apply them to married, separated and divorced parents, including foreign and mixed nationality families.
No statute requires the other parent's permission for a child to cross the border. Under Article 2 of Law No. 5682, anyone leaving Türkiye shows a valid passport to the police at the exit gate, and Article 23 of the Constitution allows a citizen's freedom to leave to be restricted only by a judge's decision based on a criminal investigation or prosecution; family courts nonetheless restrict a child's travel as a protective measure, as section 7 explains. Consent matters at three points: when the passport is issued, when the child travels without a custody holder, and when a court has barred the child's exit.
Under Article 335 of Law No. 4721 a minor is under the parental custody, velayet, of the mother and father, and under Article 336 married parents exercise it jointly. After separation the judge may give custody to one parent, and once a divorce case is filed, Article 169 requires interim measures for the children's care and protection, which can cover travel.
On divorce, Article 336(3) gives custody to the parent with whom the child is placed, and Article 182 regulates the other parent's personal relations. The Civil Code has no joint custody provision, but the Second Civil Chamber of the Court of Cassation held in 2017 (E.2016/15771, K.2017/1737) that joint custody after divorce is not contrary to public order, relying on Article 5 of Protocol No. 7 to the European Convention on Human Rights. Courts have since granted it mainly where both parents ask for it, typically in an agreed divorce, and practice is not uniform. Where it exists, passport and travel decisions need both parents. Our article on child custody in Türkiye for foreign parents explains how custody is decided.
Under Article 337, if the parents are not married to each other, custody belongs to the mother. The father obtains it only by a court decision, where the mother is a minor, restricted or deceased, or has lost custody.
Article 17(C) of the Passport Law requires minors who obtain a passport to travel alone to present an officially certified document containing their legal representatives' consent, and Article 17(A) lets the Ministry of Interior set the documents. In practice consent is taken for every minor's passport.
The passport guidance published by Turkish consulates sets out the procedure clearly:
Since 2019, Article 17(E) has allowed foreign custody decisions to be accepted in passport applications at Turkish missions in the country that issued them. Inside Türkiye, a foreign divorce and custody judgment must first be recognised by a Turkish court; see our article on recognition of a foreign divorce in Türkiye.
A consent letter, muvafakatname, a declaration by which a parent authorises the child's travel, is drawn up or certified by a Turkish notary. Turkish law prescribes no fixed form, so its value depends on its content. A letter that will survive a border check states:
A parent abroad can sign at a Turkish consulate or before a local notary with an apostille. A Turkish consent for use abroad is usually translated, notarised and apostilled at the governorship or district governorship; see our guide to apostille and e-apostille in Türkiye. Turkish law sets no expiry date for the letter, but consulates and airlines often prefer a recent document limited to the trip; see our note on the validity period of consent letters.
No published regulation lists what the border police must see when a minor leaves. In practice they check the child's passport, any recorded court ban and the relationship to the accompanying adult; under Article 22 of Law No. 5682, persons whose travel abroad a court has prohibited are stopped and their passports withdrawn. Where the child travels with one parent, relatives or alone, officers commonly ask for the absent parent's notarised consent or the custody judgment, and airlines apply their own minor rules. Some destination states ask for a consent letter on entry. Carry originals and translations of the birth record, custody judgment and consent.
A custodial parent can usually take the child abroad on holiday without the other parent's consent, unless a court order says otherwise; the practical obstacles are the passport and destination rules. A parent without custody who wants to travel abroad during visitation needs the custodial parent's written consent or a court order, unless the personal relations arrangement expressly allows it. Article 182 puts the child's health, education and morals first, so trips during school terms are hard to justify.
Where the other parent refuses consent for a passport or a trip without good reason, the parent concerned can apply to the family court, aile mahkemesi, for an order permitting the passport application or the travel. The court decides on the child's best interests, and its order takes the place of the missing consent. Such applications take weeks or months, so file well before booking.
A permanent move differs from a holiday. Under Article 183 the judge can take new measures where a parent moves elsewhere, and Article 182 warns that custody may change if personal relations are not respected. Agree a new arrangement in writing, ideally court approved, or obtain a decision first; otherwise expect a custody claim and, where the other parent holds rights of custody, a Hague return application.
A parent who fears the child will be taken abroad can ask the family court for an interim measure barring the child's exit: under Article 169 of Law No. 4721 in a divorce case, otherwise under Article 346 where the child's interest is endangered, or as an interim injunction under Article 389 of the Code of Civil Procedure, Law No. 6100. Under Article 14(4) of the Code on Private International and Procedural Law, Law No. 5718, interim measures are governed by Turkish law even between foreign spouses. Once recorded, the ban is enforced at the border under Article 22 of Law No. 5682.
Article 24 of the Law on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction, Law No. 5717, expressly allows the court, on request or of its own motion, to stop the child's exit temporarily, stop the issue or renewal of a passport, freeze school and registry changes, and hold passports or identity documents until the return or access proceedings end.
Distrust alone is not enough. The measure restricts the child's freedom of movement under Article 23 of the Constitution, so judges want concrete evidence: tickets bought without notice, a job or school place abroad, statements of intent, or an earlier retention abroad. A ban can be lifted when circumstances change. To find out whether a ban is recorded, see our guide on checking travel ban status in Türkiye, and on the difference between the two restrictions, entry ban versus exit ban.
The Hague Convention of 25 October 1980 on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction has been in force for Türkiye since 1 August 2000. A removal is wrongful if it breaches rights of custody, which include the right to determine the child's residence, under the law of the child's habitual residence (Articles 3 and 5), and the Convention stops at age 16 (Article 4). Within one year the child is returned forthwith; later, unless settled (Article 12). Return may be refused for grave risk of harm or a mature child's objection (Article 13), and decisions are expected within six weeks (Article 11).
The Turkish central authority is the Ministry of Justice, acting through chief public prosecutors, who file the return case at the family court where the child lives (Articles 3 to 7 of Law No. 5717). Cases have priority, continue during the judicial recess and carry no court fees, though own lawyer's costs are not covered (Articles 9, 16 and 27). Our article on Hague child abduction cases in Türkiye follows a file from application to enforcement.
Article 234 of the Turkish Penal Code, Law No. 5237, punishes a mother or father whose custody has been removed, or a blood relative up to the third degree, who abducts or detains a child under 16 from the parent, guardian or carer, with imprisonment from three months to one year, doubled if force or threats are used or the child is under 12. A parent who still holds custody falls outside it, so most disputes stay civil, but hiding a child during enforcement of a return order is sanctioned under Article 25 of Law No. 5717.
Under Article 14(3) of Law No. 5718, custody on divorce follows the spouses' common national law, then their common habitual residence, then Turkish law. The table shows the usual practice.
| Situation | What Is Usually Needed |
|---|---|
| Married parents, child travels with both | Valid passports; no consent letter |
| Married parents, child travels with one | Notarised consent of the other parent, translated and apostilled for the destination |
| Divorced, sole custody, travel with custodial parent | Custody judgment recorded in the registry; check whether the destination asks for the other parent |
| Divorced, travel with the other parent | Custodial parent's notarised consent or a court order |
| Joint custody after divorce | Consent of both parents for passport and travel |
| Unmarried parents | Mother's consent under Article 337, unless custody was given to the father |
| Child alone or with relatives | Consent of all custody holders and the airline's minor procedure |
| Court exit ban recorded | No exit until the court lifts the ban |
A dual national child of a married Turkish mother and British father needs both parents' consent for the Turkish passport, the father's in notarised form. If the father flies alone with the child, the police may ask for the mother's notarised consent. A consent from each parent covering the year's planned trips avoids most problems.
Two foreign nationals divorcing before an Istanbul court face custody under their common national law if they share one, otherwise under Turkish law as the law of their common habitual residence; interim measures, including an exit ban, always follow Turkish law. If one parent plans to return home with the child, the other should seek interim measures before the move.
A parent holding a foreign sole custody judgment who now lives in Türkiye should have it recognised before relying on it at a Turkish passport office or court; the Turkish mission in the country of the judgment can accept it for passport purposes under Article 17(E) of Law No. 5682. Contested cases are handled by our family law team.
No statute requires it at the border, but the child's passport needs the custody holders' consent, and a child travelling without a parent commonly needs that parent's notarised consent.
Yes, unless a court has banned the child's exit; carry the custody judgment and check the destination's rules.
Both parents decide together, so the passport and trips abroad need both consents or a court order.
Before a Turkish notary, at a Turkish consulate, or before a foreign notary with an apostille.
Turkish law sets no fixed period; the letter covers what it states, and consulates and airlines often want a recent one.
The governorship or district governorship.
Only through a court order, typically an interim measure of the family court, which is enforced at the border.
Under Article 234 of the Penal Code it is for a parent whose custody was removed or a close relative; otherwise the remedies are mainly civil, including a Hague return case.
Children under 16 wrongfully removed or retained in breach of custody rights between contracting states.
The Ministry of Justice as central authority, through the chief public prosecutor, before the family court where the child lives.
Not safely without the other parent's written agreement or a court decision, because the move can lead to a custody change claim or a Hague application.
Article 14 of Law No. 5718: common national law, then common habitual residence, then Turkish law; interim measures follow Turkish law.
Taking a child abroad from Türkiye turns on custody, not on a single permit. Married parents hold custody jointly, a divorced parent with sole custody decides alone unless joint custody was ordered, and an unmarried mother holds custody by law. The passport needs the custody holders' consent under Article 17 of Law No. 5682, a parent not travelling should give a clear notarised consent, and only a family court can ban a child's exit. A child under 16 taken without consent can be returned under the Hague Convention and Law No. 5717.
If you are planning a trip or a move with your child, facing a refusal of consent, or worried that your child may be taken abroad, act before the departure date rather than at the airport. To review your custody documents and options, contact our legal team.
