Translating Turkish Documents for Use Abroad

Common reasons and the documents involved

• Visa applications

  Population register extracts, bank statements, employment letters, payslips and title deeds for consulates and visa centres.

• Study abroad and recognition

  Diplomas, transcripts, course descriptions and language certificates for universities and recognition bodies.

• Work and professional registration

  Diplomas, professional certificates, criminal record certificates and reference letters for employers and licensing bodies.

• Marriage and family abroad

  Full civil registry extracts, birth certificates, multilingual extracts and divorce decrees for registry offices abroad.

• Company and trade

  Trade registry gazettes, signature circulars, activity certificates and powers of attorney for foreign partners, banks and registries.

• Courts and inheritance

  Court decisions, inheritance certificates and powers of attorney for proceedings and estates abroad.

Apostille or legalization: it depends on the destination

Countries that are party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention accept a Turkish document with an apostille. In Turkey it is issued by governorships and district governorships for administrative and notarized documents, and by the justice commissions of the courts for court documents. Countries outside the Convention require legalization through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the destination country's consulate instead. Whether the apostille goes on the original, on the notarized translation or on both is decided by the receiving institution, so we confirm it with you before we start.

The order of steps

1. 1

   Obtain the Turkish document

   From e-Devlet, the civil registry, your university or the court. Many e-Devlet documents carry a barcode the receiving side can use to verify them.

2. 2

   Sworn translation

   We translate the document into the destination language and certify the translation as sworn translators.

3. 3

   Notarization

   A Turkish notary certifies the translation.

4. 4

   Apostille or legalization

   The apostille is added by the governorship or district governorship, or the document is legalized for a country outside the Hague Convention.

Multilingual extracts can save a translation

For births, marriages and deaths, Turkish civil registries issue multilingual extracts (Formül A, B and C) under the 1976 Vienna Convention on multilingual extracts from civil status records. Some countries accept them without a translation. Ask the receiving office first: it may save you the cost of translating.