Dealing with a death in Turkey or the UK: certificates and repatriation

Before the paperwork

In the first hours, the practical decisions belong to the family and the funeral director: whether the burial will be where the death occurred or in the other country, and who will handle the transport. The consulates of both countries can point you to funeral directors experienced in international transfers, and a good funeral director will tell you which documents they need and when. The list below is arranged so you can see what to ask for while you are at the hospital, registrar or nüfus office, because obtaining several certified copies at that moment is far easier than requesting them months later from abroad.

If the death occurred in the UK

The death is registered with the local register office, normally within five days, and the registrar issues the death certificate and the certificate for burial or cremation. Order several certified copies of the death certificate: one for the funeral director, one for the Turkish consulate, one for banks and pensions, and one for the Turkish estate. For repatriation to Türkiye, the funeral director obtains the coroner’s out-of-England certificate where required and the Turkish consulate issues the transfer document (cenaze nakil belgesi) on production of the death certificate and the deceased’s identity documents. The consulate’s translation note lists passports, birth and marriage certificates as UK documents it handles without an outside translation; ask the consulate whether it applies the same practice to the death certificate, which the note does not name.

For the Turkish civil record and any inheritance in Türkiye, the death certificate later needs an FCDO apostille (paper only for GRO certificates, £45) and a Turkish translation notarised in Türkiye, which we produce in Ankara; the inheritance guide takes it from there. The death should also be reported to the consulate so that the nüfus record is closed, since an open record complicates everything that follows.

If the death occurred in Türkiye

The hospital or doctor issues the death report, the death is registered with the nüfus müdürlüğü, and the death certificate (ölüm belgesi) follows; a multilingual Formül C extract can be obtained from the nüfus office or e-Devlet and, since December 2023, carries a Turkish e-apostille from the same portal at no state fee. For repatriation to the UK, the Turkish funeral director deals with the local health authority’s transport permit and the embalming and sealing certificates. On arrival in England or Wales the coroner is notified where the death was not natural or the documents are incomplete, and may hold an inquest; the coroner’s office reads Turkish documents through certified translations. A British national’s death can also be registered with the UK authorities through the FCDO’s register-a-death-abroad service; it is optional and carries a fee.

For UK purposes (probate, pensions, banks, HMRC, a surviving spouse’s immigration application) the Turkish death certificate needs a certified English translation. The multilingual extract still needs one for UK bodies, because the UK is not a party to the convention it belongs to; the translation covers the Turkish text, the footnotes and the e-apostille page. See the Turkish death certificate page.

The documents at a glance

The translation rules in play

In the UK direction, GOV.UK’s certified-translation guidance applies: the translation states that it is a true and accurate translation of the original document, is dated, and carries the full name and contact details of the translator or of a representative of the translation company; the probate registry and the coroner’s office both work from that. In the Turkish direction, Turkish authorities want either a translation by a consulate-registered translator certified by the consulate, or a translation notarised in Türkiye; and the English original must be apostilled first. We provide the certified English translation from £10 per page in one to two working days, and the notarised Turkish translation from Ankara from £6.50 per page plus the notary tariff in two to four working days, with a courier copy for £30. No UK VAT is charged.

Where families lose time

• One copy of the death certificate obtained, then needed in three places at once.
• The Turkish nüfus record left open because nobody told the consulate, discovered when a bank freezes an account years later.
• Translating the UK certificate for Türkiye before the FCDO apostille is on it.
• Assuming the multilingual Turkish extract needs no translation for a UK pension provider.
• Not asking the funeral director at the outset which documents they will need for the transfer, and then waiting on a certificate that could have been issued the same day.

For anything involving the estate, tax or a dispute among relatives, speak to a solicitor in the UK and a lawyer in Türkiye. We can translate quickly and respectfully; we cannot advise on the law.