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Fatih, Istanbul · Monday–Friday
+90 535 661 15 56info@isteshirni.com
ISTeshirni Group
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Marriage and family reunification

Registering a Turkish marriage

What stops most marriage registration files is not a refusal but a document belonging to the other party: a civil record that still says “married”, an out-of-date certificate of no impediment, or a translation without notarisation. The registry reads the two situations together, not only the situation of whoever came to the office. So we start by reading both records before you prepare a single document, then arrange what the file actually needs — including the health report, which no one is exempt from — and follow it through until the family book is issued.

What is hard for you, we can manage — God willing

Approximate duration
Depends on your case
Core documents
7 items
First consultation
Free
Languages we work in
Arabic · Turkish · English

Who is this service for?

  • You live in Türkiye and want your marriage registered officially with the civil registry.
  • You hold a kimlik (temporary protection card), a residence permit, or a valid entry stamp.
  • You need a Turkish family book to complete other procedures — family residence, registering a birth, family reunification.
  • One of you is outside Türkiye and needs the documents arranged from there.
  • You want to know — before preparing a single document — whether both civil records allow registration now.
  • One of you holds Turkish citizenship and you want to know which route is yours: registering inside Türkiye, or at a Turkish mission abroad.

What we do

  • We review both parties' situation and set out the documents your case needs.
  • Reading both civil records first: if something in them blocks registration we say so before you pay the fee on a single document.
  • Identifying which authority issues the certificate of no impediment for each of you — the provincial migration office (or e-Devlet) for anyone under temporary or international protection, the official authorities of their own state for anyone on a residence permit — and helping you obtain it.
  • Arranging the sworn translation and notarisation of whatever the file requires.
  • Setting out the certification route for documents issued in Syria: Syria is not a party to the Apostille Convention, so the route is a chain of consular certification, not a single apostille stamp.
  • Checking how the name and date of birth are written on every document before the appointment, because the office reads the documents against one another.
  • Booking the appointment at the marriage office and arranging the required medical tests.
  • Accompanying you on the day and interpreting where needed.
  • Following the file through until you receive the family book.

And what we do not do

  • We do not interfere with the office's decision and we promise no guaranteed outcome.
  • We ask for no payment before you know the full cost and agree to it.
  • If either party's situation does not allow registration now, we tell you so directly.
  • We do not issue the health report and have no influence on its result; it is issued by a health institution alone, and our part is arranging the appointment and putting it in the file.
  • We do not provide you with witnesses and we do not hire anyone to act as one; witnessing the marriage is a personal responsibility the couple chooses.
  • We do not represent you in court and do not file a marriage-establishment case on your behalf; where that is needed we refer you to a lawyer.
  • We do not alter information on a document and do not obtain a document outside its official route — not a name, not a date of birth, not a civil status, whatever the reason.

Documents required for registering a Turkish marriage

This is the core list for most cases. Tick them off as you gather your papers — you can print this page and take it with you.

File preparation checklist — for both of you

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The fifth point is what most often stops a file on the day. If either party appears as “married” in the register, the procedure does not move until that is corrected — which is why we check both records before you prepare a single document. And the certificate of no impediment is needed for both parties, not one, because the office reads the two situations together. And why start from the record rather than the papers? Because every document prepared, translated and notarised before the record is read can turn out to be wasted if the record blocks registration.

How the procedure runs for registering a Turkish marriage

  1. We listen to your situation

    The nationality of each party, the type of residence permit or kimlik, and the civil status of both on record. The document list follows from this, and so does the answer to whether your route is registration inside Türkiye or at a Turkish mission abroad.

    our part

  2. We prepare the papers

    The certificate of no impediment for both parties, the photographs, translation and notarisation where required. We check every page before the appointment and make sure the name and the date are written the same way on every document.

    our part

  3. Tests and appointment

    Arranging the health report and the required medical tests, then booking the appointment at the marriage office. The report is issued by the health institution alone; our part is arranging its appointment and putting it in the file before the day.

    the authority’s partThe appointment follows the marriage office's calendar at the municipality

  4. The day of the ceremony

    We accompany you and interpret where needed, with your two witnesses present. Then we follow the issuing of the family book and let you know when it is ready.

    the authority’s part

Cost: we separate what is paid to others from our fee

Paid to others

Fees, tests, translation and certification

Office fees, medical tests, sworn translation and notarisation. These amounts do not pass through us and we give you the receipt. Each item has its own recipient: the health report is paid to the health institution, the translation to the sworn translator, and the notarisation to the noter (notary public).

Paid to us

Our fee

For identifying the documents, checking them, coordinating translation and notarisation, booking appointments, accompanying you and following the file through to the family book. We tell you the full amount before we begin.

Why do we separate the two? Because the most common complaint in this field is a single vague amount. With us the two figures are separate and written down before you pay anything. We also never pay into a personal account and never ask for your bank card details; anything owed to an official body is paid against a receipt in your names.

Read this before you pay any office

What usually stops a file

What delays marriage registration files is usually not refusal but something missing — and most of it is discovered on the day of the appointment rather than before. These are the most common reasons in the files that reach us:

A civil record that says “married”If the kimlik or the record mentions a previous marriage, the procedure does not move until the status is corrected — and the route starts with the marriage eligibility certificate: from your provincial migration office if you are under temporary or international protection, from the official authorities of your own state if you are here on a residence permit. A further document from your home country may be requested depending on your case.
An out-of-date certificate of no impedimentThe certificate has a period of validity; an old one is refused at the appointment and the booking has to be made again.
Translation that is not sworn, or incomplete notarisationThe translation must be by a sworn translator and notarised; an ordinary translation is not accepted.
Irregular entry or an expired residence permitResidence status affects whether the file is accepted. We review it with you before any step.
The health report is missing or incompleteThe health report is a condition of the marriage procedure and no one is exempt from it. A file with every other document in order still stops on the day if the report is not there in the form the office asks for, and no other document stands in for it.
A name written differently from one document to the nextOne spelling in the passport, another in the translation, a third in the register. The office reads the documents against one another, and the difference — even one letter, or the order of the names — holds the file until it is corrected.
A document sent down a certification route that does not apply to itAnyone looking for an apostille stamp on a document issued in Syria is spending time on a route that does not exist: Syria is not a party to the Apostille Convention, and the correct route is a chain of consular certification. The result is arriving on the day with an uncertified document.

Legal periods and the validity of documents change by decision of the authorities; we verify them when we study your case and do not publish figures that may be out of date. And if your file needs a court decision — a marriage-establishment case, for instance — that is a lawyer's work; we refer you and do not take it on ourselves.

Questions people ask about registering a Turkish marriage

Can we register if one party is outside Türkiye?
It depends on their nationality and situation. Usually a power of attorney or documents certified by the Turkish consulate in their country are needed. Send us the details of their situation and we will set out the route.
How many photographs are required?
4 photographs for each party — that is the number set out in the marriage regulation published by the Directorate of Civil Registration. They must be colour, front-facing, and taken within the last six months.
Where do I get the certificate of no impediment?
The answer depends on your status, and this is what most often sends people to the wrong authority. If you are in Türkiye under temporary or international protection — that is, without a residence permit — it is your provincial migration office, and the application is made there or through e-Devlet. If you hold a residence permit, the rule is that you obtain it from the official authorities of the state whose nationality you hold, not from the migration office; and where that is not possible, the marriage office may request it through the Directorate General of Civil Registration. Tell us the status of each party and we will say which authority is yours and which version the marriage office needs.
Is the health report really compulsory, and where is it issued?
It is compulsory, and it is published among the marriage procedures by the Directorate of Civil Registration. It is issued by a public or private health institution, and we arrange its appointment along with the rest of the file. We do not issue it and have no influence on its result, and no substitute document is accepted in its place.
Do we need witnesses?
Yes, the marriage requires two witnesses. We tell you the conditions they must meet when the appointment is booked.
Does registering the marriage give us residence or citizenship?
No. These are two separate files at two separate authorities. The family book is a civil registry document issued by the registry office, while a residence permit is applied for at the migration authority as its own file, with its own documents and appointment. The family book may well be a requirement in later files such as family residence or reunification, but it does not produce them by itself.
We hold the kimlik (temporary protection card) — does that change anything?
The kimlik is accepted as identification in this file. But note two things that have nothing to do with the marriage itself and are asked about constantly: leaving your province requires a travel permit, and leaving for a third country ends temporary protection. So if your route passes through a Turkish mission abroad, ask us before you book any ticket.
When do we receive the family book?
It is issued after the ceremony is completed. We follow the issuing and let you know when it is ready.
All frequently asked questions

Official reference

Directorate of Civil Registration — marriage proceduresLast checked:

Related services

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Not sure about your papers?

Send us the nationality of each party and the type of residence permit or kimlik, and we will tell you the list of documents your case specifically needs — before you pay anything. And if your route is at a Turkish mission abroad rather than inside Türkiye, we say so in the first reply.

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