Getting Married in Turkey: 2026 Papers, Fees and Steps
The papers a foreign partner needs for a civil wedding in Turkey, the 2026 fees, the health report and what to register at home.
Table of Contents
A foreigner marries in Turkey the way Turkish couples do: one civil ceremony at a municipal marriage office (evlendirme dairesi), two witnesses, and a family booklet handed over at the end. What takes time is the file. Your own country has to certify that nothing stops you marrying, and that paper needs the right stamps and a Turkish translation; you also need a family doctor’s health report and a translated passport. This guide builds that file for your nationality, prices the wedding at five municipalities’ 2026 tariffs, and shows what to register at home afterwards. Everything here was read on 16 October 2026.
Getting married in Turkey, in short · checked 16.10.2026
One civil wedding, one file: most of the work is the papers from home.
- Where – a municipal marriage office or a district registry office (nüfus müdürlüğü). When one partner is foreign, the müftülük offices can’t hold the wedding.
- The key paper – a certificate from your own country that you are free to marry, apostilled or certified, then translated, unless it comes on a multilingual form.
- Health – a report from a family doctor in Turkey, valid 180 days; the groom is screened for thalassaemia carrier status first.
- Legal stay – offices take the file only while your visa, visa-free stay or permit is still valid.
- Cost – municipalities charge foreigners more: 16,000 TL extra in Şişli, 30,000 TL in Kadıköy and Çankaya on their 2026 tariffs.
- Not a permit – marriage gives no residence permit and no citizenship by itself: a family residence permit is applied for, and citizenship only after three years.
Marriage file · Evlendirme Yönetmeliği, six municipalities and each country’s pages, read 16 October 2026
Your marriage file, paper by paper
Partner 1
Partner 2
Partner 1 United Kingdom 0 of 7 ready
- Affirmation or affidavit of marital statusLiving in the UK: fill in GOV.UK’s Turkey template but don’t sign it; swear it before a UK notary or commissioner of oaths (they charge a fee), then get the apostille before you travel.ApostilleTranslation + notary
- Birth certificateOnly if your certificate doesn’t show your parents’ names and your place and date of birth.ApostilleTranslation + notary
- PassportThe original, with a Turkish translation by a sworn translator, certified by a notary.Translation + notary
- Proof you are in Turkey legallyA valid visa or visa-free stay, a residence permit or a work permit. Offices don’t take the file once your stay has run out.no stamp
- Health reportFrom a family doctor (aile hekimi) in Turkey, with your photo on it, stamped and signed; valid 180 days.no stamp
- PhotosFour to six, in colour, taken in the last six months: bareheaded, or a headscarf with forehead, chin and face showing.no stamp
- A sworn translatorIf you don’t speak Turkish: with you when you apply and at the ceremony.no stamp
After the wedding The UK gives no UK certificate for a marriage abroad; it recognises one that was lawful where it took place and is allowed under UK law.
Partner 2 Türkiye 0 of 4 ready
- Turkish ID cardThe original and a copy. A cracked card, or one whose chip has come off, isn’t accepted.no stamp
- Civil-register extract (nüfus kayıt örneği)Nothing to bring: the office pulls it from the system.no stamp
- Health reportFrom a family doctor (aile hekimi) in Turkey, with your photo on it, stamped and signed; valid 180 days.no stamp
- PhotosFour to six, in colour, taken in the last six months: bareheaded, or a headscarf with forehead, chin and face showing.no stamp
After the wedding The office reports the marriage to the nüfus müdürlüğü; your record shows it there.
11 papers in the file. Start with the slowest: Affirmation or affidavit of marital status.
Stamps
- Apostille from an authority in the country that issued the paper
- Translation + notary a sworn translator puts it into Turkish and a Turkish notary certifies the translation
- Multilingual form a multilingual form goes straight into the file: no apostille, no translation
- Kaymakamlık or valilik a paper from a consulate in Turkey is certified by a kaymakamlık or the valilik in that city
- Foreign Ministry a paper from an embassy in Ankara is certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (tasdik.mfa.gov.tr)
- Valilik, kaymakamlık or Foreign Ministry certified where the mission is: the Foreign Ministry for an embassy in Ankara, a kaymakamlık or the valilik for a consulate elsewhere
- Migration office the provincial migration office issues it from your file
The certificate, country by country
- United Kingdom – From home: Affirmation or affidavit of marital status. Living in the UK: fill in GOV.UK’s Turkey template but don’t sign it; swear it before a UK notary or commissioner of oaths (they charge a fee), then get the apostille before you travel. In Turkey: Affirmation of marital status. Already in Turkey: make the affirmation at a British embassy or consulate in Turkey. After the wedding: The UK gives no UK certificate for a marriage abroad; it recognises one that was lawful where it took place and is allowed under UK law.
- United States – From home: Marriage Eligibility Affidavit. Notarised by a US notary, then apostilled in the state where it was notarised. In Turkey: Marriage Eligibility Affidavit. Notarised at the Embassy in Ankara or the Consulate General in İstanbul: book a notarial appointment, pay the 50 USD fee on pay.gov first and sign only at the appointment. Ankara papers then go to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, İstanbul papers to the İstanbul Valiliği. After the wedding: The Embassy doesn’t marry anyone: a marriage in Türkiye must follow the Turkish Civil Code to be recognised, and a religious ceremony alone isn’t.
- Germany – International certificate of capacity to marry (Ehefähigkeitszeugnis): From the Standesamt of your home in Germany, or your last one; Standesamt I in Berlin if you never lived there. German missions in Turkey don’t issue it: in Turkey you sign the application at the consulate or an honorary consul and send it to the Standesamt yourself. Allow several weeks. After the wedding: No step needed: Germany recognises the marriage without registration. You may have it entered in a German marriage register (Nachbeurkundung).
- France – A French paper that you are free to marry: France’s own step comes first: the certificat de capacité à mariage (CCAM) from the French embassy or consulate for the place of the wedding, after a hearing and ten days of banns. France’s guide doesn’t name the paper the Turkish office files, so ask the consulate which one it gives for the evlenme ehliyet belgesi. After the wedding: Transcription in the French registers isn’t compulsory but is recommended: without it the marriage has no effect for third parties in France. There is no deadline.
- Russia – Certificate of marital status from the consulate: Şişli’s list says Russian citizens get it from their consulate in İstanbul. The consulate’s own pages were behind a bot check when we tried, so we can’t give its steps or fee. After the wedding: Russia’s Family Code (article 158) recognises a marriage made abroad under local law unless an article 14 impediment applies.
- Spain – From home: Multilingual certificate of capacity to marry. Spain is on Şişli’s list of countries whose citizens bring the multilingual certificate from home. In Turkey: Certificado de capacidad matrimonial. Registered as a resident with the embassy in Ankara: apply there in person, after a prior file (expediente previo); book through emb.ankara.inf
@maec.es. A multilingual form needs no translation. After the wedding: For full civil effect in Spain, have the marriage entered in the Spanish Civil Registry: at the consulate for the place of the wedding, or at home if you both live in Spain. - Poland – Zaświadczenie: Polish law lets you marry: At the Polish consulate in person, booked through e-konsulat; 71 USD; valid six months. Bring your partner’s civil-status paper, apostilled if it was issued outside Turkey and translated by a sworn translator or the consul. After the wedding: Transcription is optional, but compulsory if you have Polish civil records and want a civil-status step, a Polish ID or a PESEL number. 71 USD at the consulate.
- Italy – From home: Certificato di capacità matrimoniale. From your comune in Italy, on the Munich Convention form that Turkey takes with no apostille and no translation. No banns for a wedding before Turkish authorities. In Turkey: Certificato di capacità matrimoniale. Living abroad and registered in AIRE: from the Italian consulate for where you live, on the same form. After the wedding: Have it transcribed at your comune, through the consulate or directly. The Turkish multilingual extract (Formulario B) needs no apostille or translation.
- Netherlands – From home: Verklaring van huwelijksbevoegdheid. From your gemeente, or the last one you lived in, as a multilingual model form valid six months. In Turkey: Verklaring van huwelijksbevoegdheid. Never lived in the Netherlands: ask by e-mail at the embassy in Ankara (ank-ca
@minbuza.nl) or the consulate-general in İstanbul (ist-ca @minbuza.nl); 30 euros, about ten working days, valid six months, on the multilingual model form. After the wedding: Living in the Netherlands: register the marriage at your gemeente as soon as you are back. Living abroad: converting it at The Hague is optional. - Romania – From home: Certificate that you are free to marry. Romania’s consulate pages in Ankara and İstanbul didn’t load when we checked, so this follows Turkey’s rule for every foreigner: a paper from your country’s authorities, apostilled. In Turkey: Certificate that you are free to marry. From Romania’s embassy or consulate in Turkey. We couldn’t read their pages, so ask them for the steps and the fee. After the wedding: Not checked: Romania’s consulate pages were unavailable.
- Brazil – Declaração Consular de Estado Civil: From the Consulate-General in İstanbul through e-consular: bilingual Portuguese–Turkish, 15 USD. Bring a full Brazilian birth or marriage certificate issued less than six months earlier. After the wedding: Register it at the consulate (20 USD), then have it transferred (traslado) at a Cartório do 1º Ofício in Brazil for full effect there.
- Another country – From home: Certificate of no impediment (evlenme ehliyet belgesi). From your country’s central authorities, showing your name, surname, parents’ names, date of birth and that nothing stops you marrying. Apostilled if your country is in the Apostille Convention. In Turkey: Certificate of no impediment (evlenme ehliyet belgesi). From your country’s embassy or consulate in Turkey. Papers from an honorary consul aren’t accepted. After the wedding: Ask your country’s registry or consulate whether the marriage has to be registered at home.
- Under protection in Turkey – Refugees, conditional refugees, subsidiary-protection holders, international-protection applicants and people under temporary protection who are in Turkey without a residence permit get it from the il göç idaresi müdürlüğü, which checks their file.
Rules from the Evlendirme Yönetmeliği and the lists of Şişli, Kadıköy, Kartal, Çankaya and Bodrum; each country’s step from its own government or consulate page, read 16 October 2026. Offices may ask for more: Kartal wants every paper issued in the last 180 days, Çankaya a notarised declaration filled in with a translator.
Who can marry and where
Turkish law lets you marry at 18 without anyone’s consent, at 17 with your parents’ or guardian’s consent, and at 16 only with a judge’s permission for a very serious reason. When one partner is foreign, only municipal marriage offices and district registry offices (nüfus müdürlükleri) may hold the wedding; the provincial and district müftülük offices, which can be given the power to marry Turkish couples, can’t. Two foreigners of the same country may also marry at their own consulate in Turkey, if their country’s law allows it.
| Couple | Who marries you | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| A Turkish citizen and a foreigner | A municipal marriage office or a nüfus müdürlüğü | Evlendirme Yönetmeliği, articles 7 and 12 |
| Two foreigners of the same country | Their consulate, if their law allows it, or a Turkish office | Article 12 |
| Two foreigners of different countries | A Turkish office | Article 12 |
| Two Italian citizens | Also the Italian consulate: it marries only two Italians | Italian consulate in İzmir |
| Refugees and people under protection | A Turkish office, with the certificate from the provincial migration office | Article 13 |
Whose law decides whether you may marry? Turkey’s private international law (law no. 5718, article 13) says each partner’s capacity to marry follows their own national law, and the form of the wedding follows the law of the country where it takes place. That’s why your own country issues the certificate, and a Turkish office holds the ceremony. Turkish law marries a man and a woman (Civil Code, article 134). Bigamy is a crime: someone already married who marries again faces six months to two years in prison (Penal Code, article 230).
“Aile cüzdanı gösterilmeden evlenmenin dinî töreni yapılamaz. Evlenmenin geçerli olması dinî törenin yapılmasına bağlı değildir.”
Türk Medeni Kanunu, md. 143 (mevzuat.gov.tr)
In English: no religious ceremony may be held before the family booklet is shown, and the marriage doesn’t need a religious ceremony to be valid. A religious ceremony alone is no marriage under Turkish law.
The file: certificates, stamps and translations
The key paper is the certificate that you are free to marry, which Turkish offices call the evlenme ehliyet belgesi (or bekarlık belgesi). The regulation accepts one issued by your country’s central authorities or by its embassy or consulate in Turkey, as long as it shows your name and surname, your parents’ names, your date of birth and that nothing stops you marrying, and is certified the right way (article 20). Papers from an honorary consul aren’t accepted. You should get the certificate yourself; only if that isn’t possible may the office ask for it through the authorities (article 12).
Which stamp does a paper need?
- Issued in your country – it needs an apostille from that country; all eleven countries in the file tool are in the Apostille Convention, as is Türkiye (in force since 29 September 1985). Then a sworn translation into Turkish, certified by a notary.
- Issued by your consulate in Turkey – certified by a kaymakamlık or the valilik in that city: in İstanbul, Şişli sends you to any kaymakamlık. Then the translation.
- Issued by your embassy in Ankara – certified by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (book at tasdik.mfa.gov.tr). An apostilled paper doesn’t go to the Ministry.
- A multilingual form – goes straight into the file, with no apostille and no translation. Şişli lists Germany, the Netherlands, Austria, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland, Moldova, Belgium, Spain, Greece and Luxembourg.
| Paper | Where it comes from | How long it lasts |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate that you are free to marry | Your country, or its embassy or consulate in Turkey | Usually six months: the Netherlands and Poland say so on theirs; Kartal takes nothing older than 180 days |
| Birth certificate | Your country; only if the certificate lacks your parents’ names, place and date of birth (Şişli, Kartal) | Kartal: 180 days |
| Passport and its translation | A sworn translator and a notary in Turkey | The passport must be valid |
| Health report | A family doctor in Turkey | 180 days (Şişli, Kartal, Çankaya) |
| Photos | Four at Kartal and Çankaya, five at Şişli and Bodrum, six at the US consulate’s list | Taken in the last six months |
| Proof of legal stay | A visa, a visa-free entry, a residence or work permit | Valid on the day you apply |
| Interpreter | A sworn translator you bring | At the application and the ceremony |
Your stay has to be legal when you apply. Şişli says an expired residence permit, work permit or visa stops the wedding; Çankaya’s list names a residence permit, a work permit or a visa exemption and takes no foreigner without one; Kartal looks at your last entry date if you have no permit. The address you write in the declaration is accepted as it is, with no proof asked (article 20). The Turkish partner brings the ID card, original and copy; the office pulls the civil-register extract from the system itself.
The health report: a family doctor and a blood test
There is no wedding without a health report showing no illness that stops you marrying (articles 15 and 20). Get it from a family doctor (aile hekimi) in Turkey: it carries your photo with the doctor’s stamp and signature and is valid for 180 days. Offices differ on where else it may come from. Şişli also takes health centres and state hospitals, and wants a private clinic’s report approved by the district health directorate; Çankaya takes only family doctors’ reports, and for people with no family doctor in Ankara names three centres that issue them.
The two screenings
- Thalassaemia and sickle cell – the family doctor tests the groom first when the couple asks for the report; if he is a carrier, the bride is tested too. The programme runs in all 81 provinces since November 2018.
- SMA – carrier screening for spinal muscular atrophy before marriage is free and run by family doctors, in all 81 provinces since 27 December 2021. Results come within two weeks on e-Nabız.
- If a result shows a carrier – for SMA, the other partner is referred to a medical geneticist at no charge, and carrier couples are offered genetic counselling.
Applying: the day at the marriage office
You apply together, in person, during office hours: Şişli takes applications on weekdays from 09:00 to 12:30 and 13:00 to 15:00. The Civil Code says you apply where one of you lives, but Şişli notes that an Interior Ministry circular of 29 December 2020 removed that duty, so you may choose the office. Either of you may send a proxy with a special power of attorney naming both partners (article 17); the wedding itself can’t be by proxy.
- Hand in the file. Both of you sign the declaration (beyanname). Çankaya wants two copies filled in with a translator and certified by a notary if you don’t speak Turkish.
- The officer checks it. The certificate is compared with your identity document; anything missing has to be completed. There are no banns: the office gives you a day and time in the order of applications (article 21).
- The objection window. Anyone concerned may object in writing, with proof of an impediment, until the end of office hours on the day before the wedding (article 24).
- Marrying somewhere else? Ask for an izin belgesi: it lets you marry before any competent office in Turkey or abroad without a new file, for six months from the day it is issued (article 22).
Date check · Evlendirme Yönetmeliği, Civil Code and municipalities, read 16 October 2026
How old may each paper be?
- Health report180 days (Şişli, Kartal, Çankaya)issued on or after 19 April 2026
- Photossix months (Evlendirme Yönetmeliği, article 20)taken on or after 16 April 2026
- Your certificate and other papers180 days at Kartal; six months at Bodrum and Çankayaissued on or after 19 April 2026
- İzin belgesi, to marry at another officesix months from the day it is issued (article 22)valid until 16 April 2027
- The 300-day waitCivil Code, article 132: ends early with a birth or a court decisionadd the date above
Handing in the file on 16 October 2026: nothing in it may be older than 19 April 2026.
Dates count back from the day you hand in the file, on the rules read 16 October 2026. Offices check the papers that day; if the wedding is weeks later, ask yours whether a paper may expire in between.
The 300-day wait is in the Civil Code: a woman whose marriage ended can’t remarry for 300 days, unless she gives birth in the meantime, or a court lifts the wait because she isn’t pregnant from the earlier marriage or the former spouses want to marry each other again (article 132). Men have no waiting period, as Çankaya’s page puts it.
The ceremony: two witnesses and two yeses
Weddings take place in the municipality’s halls; on request the officer can also marry you at a home, in a private building or a hall (article 26), and an outside wedding costs more. A civil wedding is never held in a place of worship. Bring at least two witnesses: adults of sound mind who know the person they stand for. Şişli accepts two to four, all at least 18.
- Everyone in place. Both of you, in person, the two witnesses and, if you don’t speak Turkish, the interpreter you brought: the officer may use an interpreter of the first language of a state Turkey recognises (article 27).
- The question, to each of you. The officer asks each of you separately whether you want to marry the other. The marriage is formed the moment you both say yes out loud (Civil Code, article 142).
- Signatures. You and the witnesses sign the marriage register; the officer adds the date and time.
- The family booklet. The officer hands it over as soon as the ceremony ends (article 143). Ask for the multilingual marriage certificate too: a foreign spouse gets one on request (article 34).
Guests are welcome but not needed: the regulation says a wedding without guests is still public. If the foreign spouse’s country belongs to the International Commission on Civil Status, the office sends a notice of the marriage to the registry of their birthplace (article 34). In Turkey, the office reports the marriage to the registry office within ten days (article 32).
Costs: what the wedding costs a foreigner
Each municipality sets its own wedding prices; Ümraniye’s list cites the municipal revenue law (no. 2464, article 97). Most add a surcharge when a partner is foreign, and some also when you live outside the district. The family booklet costs 1,202 TL in 2026, a price set by the Treasury and Finance Ministry for every booklet; some lists include it, others add it on top.
Wedding fees · 2026 tariffs of five municipalities, read 16 October 2026
What the wedding costs with a foreign partner
Şişli İstanbul · 2026 tariff
- Wedding fee4,000 TL
- Foreigner surcharge16,000 TL
- Family booklet (aile cüzdanı)1,202 TL
Total21,202 TL
A Turkish couple would pay 5,202 TL: the foreigner part is 16,000 TL.
Şişli’s list: the international family booklet (1,202 TL) is added to every wedding.
Şişli · In the hall, weekday: 21,202 TL in all, 16,000 TL of it because one of you is foreign.
Each municipality’s own 2026 list, read 16 October 2026. Not included: translations and notary fees, your consulate’s fee, the health report, the venue’s own price if you marry outside the hall, and the izin belgesi if you marry elsewhere (1,500 TL at Kadıköy and Ümraniye, 3,000 TL at Şişli, 700 TL at Melikgazi).
| Municipality | Foreigner surcharge, 2026 | Living outside the district |
|---|---|---|
| Kadıköy (İstanbul) | 30,000 TL | Higher weekend salon prices |
| Şişli (İstanbul) | 16,000 TL, one or both foreign | No surcharge |
| Ümraniye (İstanbul) | 10,000 TL per foreign partner | 8,000 TL |
| Kartal (İstanbul) | 60,000 TL if one is foreign, 75,000 TL if both are, as the list puts it | 10,000 TL on weekdays, 7,000 TL at weekends or after hours |
| Çankaya (Ankara) | 30,000 TL | 5,000 TL |
| Melikgazi (Kayseri) | The wedding fee plus 50 percent | No surcharge |
Turkey’s Human Rights and Equality Institution (TİHEK) has ruled against such a surcharge once. In 2024 Uşak raised its wedding fee for foreigners from 705 TL to 15,000 TL; on 16 October 2024 TİHEK found that this was discrimination on grounds of race and ethnic origin and fined the municipality 141,934 TL (decision 2024/1127). The tariffs above were still on the municipalities’ pages for 2026 when we read them.
Beyond the municipality: your consulate’s fee (50 USD for a US affidavit, 71 USD for the Polish certificate, 30 euros for the Dutch one, 15 USD for the Brazilian declaration), the apostille at home, and the sworn translations and notary certifications in Turkey. We give no price for those: translators set their own, and we didn’t find the 2026 notary tariff in the sources we read.
After the wedding: papers at home, residence and citizenship
Keep the family booklet and ask for the multilingual marriage extract. Turkey’s consulate in Houston notes that the multilingual Formül A, B and C documents can be downloaded with a barcode on e-Devlet, and that they are valid between member countries of the International Commission on Civil Status, not with US authorities. Italy’s consulate calls the marriage one Formulario B.
| Country | At home after a Turkish wedding |
|---|---|
| United Kingdom | The UK gives no UK certificate for a marriage abroad; it recognises one that was lawful where it took place and is allowed under UK law. |
| United States | The Embassy doesn’t marry anyone: a marriage in Türkiye must follow the Turkish Civil Code to be recognised, and a religious ceremony alone isn’t. |
| Germany | No step needed: Germany recognises the marriage without registration. You may have it entered in a German marriage register (Nachbeurkundung). |
| France | Transcription in the French registers isn’t compulsory but is recommended: without it the marriage has no effect for third parties in France. There is no deadline. |
| Russia | Russia’s Family Code (article 158) recognises a marriage made abroad under local law unless an article 14 impediment applies. |
| Spain | For full civil effect in Spain, have the marriage entered in the Spanish Civil Registry: at the consulate for the place of the wedding, or at home if you both live in Spain. |
| Poland | Transcription is optional, but compulsory if you have Polish civil records and want a civil-status step, a Polish ID or a PESEL number. 71 USD at the consulate. |
| Italy | Have it transcribed at your comune, through the consulate or directly. The Turkish multilingual extract (Formulario B) needs no apostille or translation. |
| Netherlands | Living in the Netherlands: register the marriage at your gemeente as soon as you are back. Living abroad: converting it at The Hague is optional. |
| Brazil | Register it at the consulate (20 USD), then have it transferred (traslado) at a Cartório do 1º Ofício in Brazil for full effect there. |
Marriage gives no residence permit by itself. The foreign spouse of a Turkish citizen, or of a foreigner with a residence permit, can get a family residence permit for up to three years at a time (law no. 6458, article 34). The sponsor needs a monthly income of at least the minimum wage, and at least a third of it per family member, suitable housing, health insurance for the whole family, no conviction for a crime against family order in the last five years and an address registration; the one year of residence that other sponsors need doesn’t apply to Turkish citizens’ spouses. Both spouses must be 18, and the marriage must not be made for the permit (article 35). The residence permit card costs 964 TL in 2026.
After a divorce, a foreigner who has held a family permit for three years as a Turkish citizen’s spouse can get a short-term permit; a victim of domestic violence, proved by a court decision, needs no three years (article 34). Marriage doesn’t make you a Turkish citizen either: after at least three years of marriage, still married and living together, you may apply (citizenship law no. 5901, article 16).
Surnames: the Civil Code rule that a wife takes her husband’s surname (article 187) was annulled by the Constitutional Court on 22 February 2023, with effect nine months after its publication on 28 April 2023 (decision 2022/155, Resmî Gazete 32174). The Code on mevzuat.gov.tr still shows no new rule in its place, so ask the marriage office which surname choices it records for you. Some countries take a separate name declaration: Germany’s missions hand out a Namenserklärung form with the certificate application, and Poland takes name declarations with the transcription.
Questions about marrying in Turkey
Can we marry in Turkey on a tourist visa?
Yes, if your stay is legal on the day you apply: Şişli asks for an unexpired visa or permit, while Çankaya’s list names a residence permit, a work permit or a visa exemption. You still need the whole file, including the certificate from home and a family doctor’s health report.
How long does it take?
There are no banns in Turkey, so the office gives you a date once the file is complete. The slow part is at home: Germany’s certificate takes several weeks; the Dutch one about ten working days; France’s CCAM needs a hearing and ten days of banns.
Can we marry at a hotel or a venue we choose?
On request the officer can marry you at a home, in a private building or a hall, and it costs more: at Şişli a restaurant or hotel wedding is 13,000 TL on weekdays and 16,000 TL at weekends in 2026, before the foreigner surcharge, and the hotel or restaurant’s own price comes on top.
Is a religious ceremony enough?
No. Turkish law recognises only the civil wedding, and a religious ceremony may be held only after it, once the family booklet is shown (Civil Code, article 143).
Do we both need to be in Turkey?
For the wedding, yes: both of you in person, as there is no marriage by proxy. The application can be handed in by a proxy with a special power of attorney.
Can two foreigners marry in Turkey?
Yes, before a Turkish office, with each partner’s certificate. Two citizens of the same country may also marry at their consulate if their law allows it.
Does the marriage give me a residence permit or citizenship?
Neither by itself. A family residence permit is applied for separately, and citizenship can be applied for after three years of marriage.
Can same-sex couples marry in Turkey?
No: the Civil Code provides for a man and a woman to marry each other (article 134), and the marriage offices follow it.
What is the izin belgesi?
A permission certificate from the office that checked your file: with it you can marry before another competent office in Turkey or abroad within six months, without a new file. It costs 1,500 TL at Kadıköy and Ümraniye and 3,000 TL at Şişli in 2026.
Sources and limits
We read the Turkish laws and the marriage regulation on mevzuat.gov.tr, the Constitutional Court’s surname decision in the Resmî Gazete, the 2026 wedding tariffs and rules of Kadıköy, Şişli, Ümraniye, Kartal, Çankaya and Melikgazi and Bodrum’s list for foreigners, the Health Ministry’s screening pages, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ note on certification, TİHEK’s decision, the Apostille Convention’s status table, and each country’s own government or consulate page, on 16 October 2026. Romania’s consulate pages didn’t load and Russia’s were behind a bot check, so for those two the file tool follows Turkey’s general rule. Municipalities change their tariffs every year and offices can ask for more: check your office’s page before you book.
- Evlendirme Yönetmeliği (marriage regulation) – mevzuat.gov.tr, checked 16.10.2026
- Türk Medeni Kanunu 4721, md. 124, 132, 134, 141–143, 187 – mevzuat.gov.tr, checked 16.10.2026
- MÖHUK 5718, md. 13 (law applying to marriage) – mevzuat.gov.tr, checked 16.10.2026
- Türk Ceza Kanunu 5237, md. 230 – mevzuat.gov.tr, checked 16.10.2026
- Yabancılar ve Uluslararası Koruma Kanunu 6458, md. 34–35 – mevzuat.gov.tr, checked 16.10.2026
- Türk Vatandaşlığı Kanunu 5901, md. 16 – mevzuat.gov.tr, checked 16.10.2026
- Anayasa Mahkemesi E.2022/155 K.2023/38 (surname) – Resmî Gazete 28.04.2023, checked 16.10.2026
- Değerli Kağıtlar Tebliği 2026 (family booklet, permit card) – Hazine ve Maliye Bakanlığı, checked 16.10.2026
- Kadıköy 2026 nikah ücretleri – Kadıköy Belediyesi, checked 16.10.2026
- Kadıköy 2026 nikah ücret tarifesi (breakdown) – Kadıköy Belediyesi, checked 16.10.2026
- Şişli Nikah Hizmetleri – Şişli Belediyesi, checked 16.10.2026
- Ümraniye 2026 ücret tarifesi – Ümraniye Belediyesi, checked 16.10.2026
- Kartal Evlendirme Hizmetleri – Kartal Belediyesi, checked 16.10.2026
- Çankaya Evlilik Başvurusu – Çankaya Belediyesi, checked 16.10.2026
- Melikgazi Nikah Ücret Tarifesi 2026 – Melikgazi Belediyesi, checked 16.10.2026
- Documents required from foreigners (EN) – Bodrum Belediyesi, checked 16.10.2026
- TİHEK Kurul Kararı 2024/1127 (Uşak) – TİHEK, checked 16.10.2026
- Tasdik bilgilendirme (certification) – Dışişleri Bakanlığı, checked 16.10.2026
- Evlilik Öncesi Hemoglobinopati Tarama Programı – Halk Sağlığı Genel Müdürlüğü, checked 16.10.2026
- Evlilik öncesi SMA taraması – Sağlık Bakanlığı, checked 16.10.2026
- Nüfus kayıt örneği (Formül A, B, C) – T.C. Houston Başkonsolosluğu, checked 16.10.2026
- Apostille Convention status table – HCCH, checked 16.10.2026
- Turkey: affirmation or affidavit of marital status – GOV.UK, checked 16.10.2026
- Getting your marriage certificate (abroad) – GOV.UK, checked 16.10.2026
- Marriage – U.S. Embassy & Consulates in Türkiye, checked 16.10.2026
- Getting married in the İstanbul consular district – U.S. Consulate General İstanbul, checked 16.10.2026
- Ehefähigkeitszeugnis – Deutsche Vertretungen in der Türkei, checked 16.10.2026
- Personenstand (registration) – Deutsche Vertretungen in der Türkei, checked 16.10.2026
- Mariage d’un Français à l’étranger – Service-Public.fr, checked 16.10.2026
- Семейный кодекс РФ, ст. 158 – КонсультантПлюс, checked 16.10.2026
- Certificado de capacidad matrimonial – Embajada de España en Ankara, checked 16.10.2026
- Inscripción de matrimonio – Embajada de España en Ankara, checked 16.10.2026
- Zaświadczenie… można zawrzeć małżeństwo – Polska w Turcji, checked 16.10.2026
- Transkrypcja aktu małżeństwa – Polska w Turcji, checked 16.10.2026
- Rejestracja małżeństwa zawartego za granicą – powroty.gov.pl, checked 16.10.2026
- Matrimonio – Consolato d’Italia a Smirne, checked 16.10.2026
- Verklaring van huwelijksbevoegdheid (Turkije) – Nederland Wereldwijd, checked 16.10.2026
- Buitenlands huwelijk registreren – Nederland Wereldwijd, checked 16.10.2026
- Declaração de estado civil – Consulado-Geral em Istambul, checked 16.10.2026
- Transcrição de casamento – Consulado-Geral em Istambul, checked 16.10.2026
The three illustrations were made for this page and show no real person, emblem or flag. The earlier version’s cost estimates for translations and notaries, which we couldn’t match to a source, are left out.
