Marriage laws in Turkey

  1. The Turkish Civil Code of 1926 provides for the prohibition of polygamy, this text includes all cases of marriage within the Turkish Republic, and this law includes Turkish citizens and foreigners residing in Turkey. This paper is called (Evlenme Ehliyet Belgesi).
  2. Civil law permits marriage between Muslims from non-Muslims.
  3. Based on marriage laws in Turkey, civil marriage is recognized, and religious marriage is not recognized through the religious establishment as in the Arab countries, but there is no objection to confirming marriage later in the religious institution after the completion of its confirmation in the civil courts.
  4. If you are a foreigner and want to marry Turks, you must bring a document proving your country's consent to complete the procedures for marriage with Turks, because some countries forbid marriage to Turks.
  5. The applicant for marriage must be free of mental illness and have the ability to make fair judgments in marriage.
  6. Turkish law prohibits consanguineous marriage, and this law is for Turks and foreigners of the same nationality.
  7. The legal age for marriage in Turkey is 18 and therefore, those who are about to marry are required to complete their 18 years of age, and this includes Turks and resident foreigners. A clause has been introduced stipulating the approval of marriage for persons between the ages of sixteen and eighteen in the event that they obtain a document proving the consent of the guardian or in the presence of a parent.
  8. A divorced woman must wait 300 days from the date of the end of the previous marriage in order to be able to process the new marriage.

Marriage procedures in Turkey

Municipal representatives are authorized to complete the marriage contract in Turkey and it is common for the representative to participate in the wedding ceremony or for the marriage contract to take place at the municipality’s headquarters.

The papers required for both the husband and the wife in the event of a desire to marry in Turkey:

  • • The marriage contract is performed in Turkey according to the Turkish civil law, and in the event that a foreigner wishes to complete it according to the law of his country, it is completed at the embassy of his country.
  • • In order to confirm the marriage in Turkey, the one who is to get married must bring the birth certificate and the marital status certificate from the embassy or consulate and attest it from the attestation office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Notre).

Notes for this item:

  1. The Palestinian embassy requires a celibacy document from Palestine certified by the Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Ramallah.
  2. Persons who obtained a marriage license "celibacy certificate" and birth certificate from the local authorities in their countries are not subject to any approval if they have been transferred to APOSTILLE and translated into Turkish "notarized by Notre".
  3. The documents of European Union citizens who obtain a marriage certificate "certificate issued in multiple languages" and birth certificate from the competent authorities in their countries are not subject to further approvals.
  4. The celibacy certificate and birth certificate are not subject to attestation for those who have obtained it from their own countries, provided it is translated into the Turkish language, and then certified by the Turkish embassy in the country from which it is issued.
  • • People holding a temporary protection card in Turkey can obtain a marriage license from the Immigration Department at the place of residence.
  • • You must make sure that the data in the Immigration Department are correct, such as name and address. In addition, a document proving the place of residence must be obtained from the representative in the neighborhood in which the foreigner resides.
  • • The marriage contract is not conducted without a registered address at the maqam.
  • • The passport must be translated and certified by a notary.
  • • The foreign resident must obtain a marriage report from the Family Health Center.
  • • To obtain the health report, you must attach four personal photos with a white background.
  • • If the foreigner is not proficient in the Turkish language, he must bring a sworn translator at the time of the marriage contract.
  • • All papers are submitted to the municipality’s representative to obtain a date for the completion of the marriage. The municipality’s representative receives the couple's family book signed and stamped.

Note: The validity date of the marital status paper is only three months.

Divorce in Turkey

a foreigner can obtain a divorce in Turkey until the marriage is outside Turkey, and with regard to persons with a temporary protection card who wish to divorce, the Turkish civil law were the law that is applied.

Divorce procedures and guardianship argument

In the event that the foreigner wants to obtain a divorce in Turkey, he submits the divorce petition to the family court and during the divorce application, the foreigner can obtain a child custody case and a lawyer specializing in these matters is appointed to follow up the case. The Bar Association free of charge in the event that it is proven unable to pay the costs.