Getting Married in Turkey as a Foreigner: Documents and Procedure

Last updated: 2 November 2026 · Legal review: Av. Gökhan Vural, İzmir Bar Association (Reg. No. 15813)

Getting married in Turkey as a foreigner is legal and usually quick: you marry at a municipal marriage office with a certificate of no impediment, a Turkish health report and two witnesses, and you do not need a residence permit. What takes time is the paperwork from your home country, not the Turkish side.

This guide is written by a Turkish lawyer who handles marriage files, family residence permits and citizenship applications for international couples. It covers who can marry, the documents, the procedure, the legal effects and the points where files get stuck.

Can Foreigners Get Married in Turkey?

Yes. Foreigners can marry in Turkey, either to a Turkish citizen or to another foreigner, as long as the marriage is a civil marriage performed by an authorised marriage officer.

“Marriage officer” is wider than many people expect. Alongside the municipal marriage offices (evlendirme dairesi), provincial and district muftis are also authorised to conduct legally valid civil marriages. A mufti-performed marriage is a full official marriage, not a religious-only one. What has no legal effect is a purely religious ceremony held outside the official system. It creates no rights and may lawfully take place only after the official marriage.

• No residence permit required, but lawful stay matters. You do not need a residence permit or a minimum stay, and marrying during an ordinary tourist stay is legally possible. In practice, problems start when one partner has no lawful basis to be in Turkey, for example after a visa or permit has expired.
• Two foreigners can marry before Turkish authorities. Two Germans, a Briton and a Ukrainian, or any other combination can marry at a Turkish marriage office, provided their civil status documents are apostilled (or certified through their own consulate where the apostille route is unavailable) and translated. A marriage concluded at a foreign consulate in Turkey under that country’s law, for example between Iranian citizens at the Iranian consulate, is accepted by Turkish authorities, which do not examine the form used. For couples of different nationalities, the municipal marriage office is the usual route.
• Capacity follows your own law, form follows Turkish law. Under Article 13 of the Turkish Code on Private International Law, whether each spouse is old enough, single and free to marry is decided by their own country’s law. The ceremony itself follows Turkish law. That is why the certificate of no impediment is the heart of the file.

A word of caution from practice: a marriage concluded immediately on arrival, with no visible history between the couple, is the pattern authorities associate with sham marriages. It will not stop the wedding, but it invites closer scrutiny later in residence permit and citizenship files. Couples with a genuine relationship should be ready to document it.

Marriage Age in Turkey and Other Legal Requirements

The general marriage age in Turkey is 18. Under Article 124 of the Turkish Civil Code, a person who has completed 17 may marry with the consent of their legal representative, and a court may exceptionally allow the marriage of someone who has completed 16.

• Monogamy is absolute. Turkish law allows one spouse at a time. Conducting a marriage in Turkey while already married is a criminal offence under Article 230 of the Turkish Criminal Code. A foreigner who is already validly married to more than one spouse under their own law is not prosecuted for that existing status, but will not be allowed to conclude a further marriage in Turkey.
• Previous marriages must be closed on paper. Anyone previously married must show the final divorce decree or the spouse’s death certificate.
• No marriage by proxy. Turkish law does not allow marriage through a representative. Both spouses must attend the application and the ceremony in person.

What Documents Do You Need to Get Married in Turkey?

The exact list varies slightly between municipalities, but a foreign spouse should expect to provide:

• Certificate of no impediment (evlenme ehliyet belgesi): proof that you are legally free to marry. There are two routes: an official single-status or marriage-eligibility certificate issued in your home country and apostilled there (or legalised, for countries outside the Apostille Convention), or a single-status document issued by your country’s consulate in Turkey. Either way it needs a certified Turkish translation. Check the validity period: many are accepted for six months at most.
• Passport, with a notarised Turkish translation.
• Birth certificate, apostilled and translated, where the marriage office asks for it.
• Health report from a Turkish public health facility, including the standard blood tests. This is the “blood test” couples ask about, and it is required for everyone marrying in Turkey.
• Biometric photographs, typically four to six per person.
• For anyone previously married: the final divorce decree or the spouse’s death certificate, apostilled and translated.

Foreign-language documents follow a fixed chain: apostille in the country of origin, then a sworn Turkish translation, then notary certification in Turkey. The translation must come from a sworn translator in Turkey whose signature the notary can certify.

Document notes by nationality

How you obtain the certificate of no impediment depends on your nationality, and this is where most delays start.

• British citizens: if you live in the UK, complete the UK government’s affirmation or affidavit of marital status for Turkey, swear it before a UK notary or commissioner for oaths, and have it apostilled before you travel. If you are already in Turkey, you make the affirmation at a British embassy or consulate in Turkey instead.
• US citizens: the Marriage Eligibility Affidavit is signed at the U.S. Embassy in Ankara or the Consulate General in Istanbul or Adana (the Istanbul consulate lists a USD 50 notarial fee). It must then be certified by the legal office of the sub-governor before the marriage office accepts it.
• Iranian citizens: the single-status certificate is obtained from the Iranian consulate in Turkey. A common mistake is to bring a document issued in Iran, have it translated into Turkish and try to have it certified in Turkey. That does not work: a document issued in Iran has to be certified by the Iranian authorities that issued it, so the consular route is usually the practical one.
• Arab nationals: the usual route is a single-status certificate from your own country’s consulate in Turkey.

How to Get Married in Turkey, Step by Step

1. Gather your documents. Allow a few weeks if your home country is slow to issue the certificate of no impediment.
2. Take the health examination at a Turkish state health facility.
3. Apply together to the marriage office of the district where you will marry. Both parties attend. If one of you does not speak Turkish, a sworn interpreter attends the application and the ceremony.
4. Receive your ceremony date. There is no statutory waiting period; timing depends on the office’s calendar. Once the file is complete, the process can be finished within days.
5. The civil ceremony takes place before the marriage officer with two witnesses. Witnesses can be any adults with legal capacity; they do not have to be Turkish citizens.
6. Collect the international family booklet, which the spouses receive immediately after the ceremony.

Costs consist of the municipal marriage fee, sworn translation and notary certification. Each municipality sets its own marriage fee, and some charge foreigners considerably more: in Ankara Yenimahalle’s 2026 tariff, for example, an office ceremony costs 4,702 TL for Turkish citizens and 19,202 TL for foreign nationals. Turkey’s Human Rights and Equality Institution (TİHEK) has fined one municipality for discrimination after it charged foreigners ten times the local fee. Under the 2026 notary fee tariff, certifying a translation costs 667.67 TL per page. Check the current tariff of the municipality where you will marry before you apply.

Marriage Law in Turkey: Waiting Periods and Foreign Divorces

The 300-day waiting period for divorced women

Under Article 132 of the Turkish Civil Code, a woman whose marriage has ended may not remarry within 300 days of the divorce or death. The period is not an absolute barrier: a court lifts it on application, based on a medical report confirming the woman is not pregnant, or if the former spouses remarry each other. It must be lifted before the marriage office will proceed.

Ignoring the rule has consequences. A child born within 300 days of the end of the previous marriage is legally presumed to be the former husband’s child and registered that way, and correcting the record later requires court proceedings.

Marrying after a divorce abroad

A divorce granted abroad is proved with the final, apostilled and translated divorce decree. The marriage office can accept it directly when there is no record of the earlier marriage in Turkey.

It is different if the earlier marriage was registered in the Turkish civil registry and the divorce abroad was never reported. Then the divorce has to be notified through the consulate or recognised by a Turkish court in a recognition case (tanıma davası), so that the registry reflects the divorce and its effects, such as custody and the division of matrimonial property. Until that is done, the registry still shows the person as married. If you or your former spouse live in İzmir, our divorce lawyer in İzmir page explains the recognition case and the civil-registry route.

Recognition of marriages concluded abroad

A marriage validly concluded abroad before the local authorities is, as a rule, recognised in Turkey provided it does not violate fundamental principles of Turkish law. Where one spouse is a Turkish citizen, the marriage is reported to the Turkish consulate and entered in the Turkish civil registry.

Your Turkish Marriage Certificate: Using It Abroad

After the ceremony you receive the international family booklet. To use the marriage in another country, you can ask for a multilingual marriage certificate (Formula B), because Turkey is a party to the convention on multilingual civil status extracts. The birth equivalent is covered in our Formula A birth certificate guide. Countries outside that system usually accept an apostilled Turkish marriage certificate with a translation, after which you register the marriage with your own country’s authorities.

Is Gay Marriage Legal in Turkey?

No. Same-sex marriage is not available under Turkish law, and same-sex marriages concluded abroad are not registered in Turkey.

Turkish law does, however, recognise a legal change of sex. Under Article 40 of the Turkish Civil Code, a person can apply to court for permission to change sex; the applicant must be over 18 and unmarried, and the change must be confirmed by an official medical board report. Once the court approves it and the civil registry is corrected, the person’s registered sex is the new one, and they can marry a person of the opposite registered sex like anyone else. Marriage in Turkey therefore remains a union between two people of different registered sexes, but that registration can change.

Property After Marriage: Should You Sign a Prenup?

Unless the couple agrees otherwise, marriage brings the statutory regime of participation in acquired property. Assets acquired by either spouse during the marriage are shared on divorce or death, while pre-marital assets, inheritances and personal gifts stay with each spouse.

Couples who want a different arrangement can sign a marital property agreement under Articles 202–205 of the Turkish Civil Code, most often choosing separation of property. It can be made before a notary, or, for couples marrying in Turkey, by a written declaration to the marriage office at the time of the application (Article 205). The choice is limited to the regimes in the Code: separation of property, shared separation of property, or community of property.

International couples have one more option. Under Article 15 of the Code on Private International Law, spouses may choose the law that governs their matrimonial property: the national law of either spouse, or the law of their habitual residence at the time of marriage. Coordinating this choice with your succession plan matters, because the two interact directly; see our guide to inheritance law in Turkey for foreigners.

Does Getting Married in Turkey Give You Residence or Citizenship?

Not automatically. Marriage to a Turkish citizen opens two doors, but the foreign spouse still has to apply.

Family residence permit. The foreign spouse of a Turkish citizen can apply for a family residence permit, granted for up to three years at a time, which also counts towards long-term residence. The sponsoring spouse must show adequate income, accommodation and health insurance.

Citizenship. Turkey does not grant citizenship on marriage. Under Article 16 of the Turkish Citizenship Law (Law No. 5901), the foreign spouse may apply after at least three years of marriage, provided the couple lives together as a genuine family, neither engages in activity incompatible with the marriage, and there is no threat to national security or public order. Our guide to Turkish citizenship by marriage covers the interview, home visits and timelines.

The marriage must still be intact when the decision is made: a divorce during the process ends the application. If the Turkish spouse dies after the application is filed, the family-unity condition no longer applies.

Where Marriage Files Get Stuck in Practice

From our own files, these are the problems that delay or stop a marriage application most often:

• A previous marriage in a country that allows polygamy. Turkish law permits only one spouse, so any earlier marriage that is still valid under the home country’s law blocks the new one.
• A foreign divorce that was never recognised in Turkey. If the earlier marriage is on the Turkish registry, a divorce granted abroad has no effect here until it is recognised, and the recognition case adds time.
• No lawful stay in Turkey. A partner whose visa or permit has expired will run into difficulties at the marriage office.
• Documents certified in the wrong country. A document issued abroad, Iran being the most common example, must be certified where it was issued. Translating it and trying to certify it in Turkey leads to rejection.
• Names that do not match. Where the home country uses a different alphabet, the Latin spelling of names and surnames often differs between the passport, the birth certificate and the single-status document. The office expects them to match, so check every spelling before translation.
• An expired certificate of no impediment. Many offices accept it for six months at most, so obtain it close to the application date.
• A divorced bride inside the 300-day period who has not obtained the court decision lifting it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What do foreigners need to get married in Turkey?

An apostilled and translated certificate of no impediment, a passport with a notarised translation, a birth certificate where required, a health report from a Turkish public health facility, biometric photos and, if previously married, the final divorce decree or death certificate. The couple applies in person to the marriage office.

How long do you have to be in Turkey before getting married?

There is no minimum stay or residence requirement, so tourists can marry. Once the file is complete, the ceremony can usually be scheduled within days, depending on the office’s calendar.

Can two foreigners get married in Turkey?

Yes. Two foreign nationals of the same or different nationalities can marry at a Turkish marriage office without any connection to Turkey.

Do you need witnesses and a blood test to get married in Turkey?

Yes. The ceremony requires two adult witnesses, and every couple needs a pre-marriage health report from a Turkish public health facility, which includes standard blood tests.

Is a religious wedding enough in Turkey?

No. A purely religious ceremony outside the official system has no legal effect: no inheritance rights, no property regime and no residence or citizenship route. A marriage performed by an authorised officer, including a provincial or district mufti, is a fully valid official marriage.

Can I stay in Turkey if I marry a Turkish citizen?

Marriage is not a visa, but it lets the foreign spouse apply for a family residence permit valid for up to three years at a time, which also builds towards long-term residence and, after three years of marriage, citizenship.

E-Law Turkey advises international couples on marriage files, prenuptial agreements, recognition of foreign marriages and divorces, family residence permits and citizenship applications. If your case needs a family lawyer in Turkey, contact us before you collect documents.

This guide reflects Turkish law as of 2026 and is general information, not legal advice for your own case.