Glossary
İkametgâh — meaning and English translation
İkametgâh means place of residence; the ikametgâh belgesi was the residence certificate issued by the muhtar, now replaced by the yerleşim yeri belgesi.
İkametgâh is the legal word for the place where a person lives. Until the address register (Adres Kayıt Sistemi) was introduced, proof of residence came from the neighbourhood muhtar as an ikametgâh belgesi or ikametgâh ilmühaberi, and older files still contain these. The word survives in other documents: the İkametgâh Nakil Belgesi issued by the Turkish Consulate to a citizen moving back permanently after at least 24 months abroad, which allows household goods to be imported duty-free, and ikametgâh tezkeresi, the former residence permit for foreigners.
We translate ikametgâh as “residence” or “place of residence” and the certificate as “certificate of residence”, with the issuing body named, because “domicile” has a technical meaning in English law that the Turkish word does not carry.
UK bodies ask for proof of address in Türkiye when a person's past residence is in question, and Turkish customs meet the consular version. See kesin dönüş: moving back to Türkiye.