ECAA (Ankara Agreement) holders: extension and settlement guide

Where the route stands

The European Community Association Agreement (ECAA) route, known to most Turkish people in the UK as the Ankara Agreement, allowed Turkish nationals to establish a business or to work in the UK under the standstill clause of the 1963 agreement. Following the UK’s departure from the EU it was closed to new applicants after 31 December 2020. People already holding ECAA business person or ECAA worker leave continue under Appendix ECAA of the Immigration Rules, which provides for extensions of leave and for indefinite leave to remain after a period of continuous residence. If you are on this route, nothing about the closure removes what you hold; it means the rules you follow are those written for existing holders, and that a gap in leave cannot be repaired by a fresh ECAA application. The ECAA settlement page sets out the translation format; this guide is the sequence.

Extension or settlement: which comes next

ECAA holders who have not yet completed the qualifying period apply to extend under Appendix ECAA, showing that the business is continuing and viable (business persons) or that employment continues (workers), and that the other conditions of the route are met. Holders who have completed five years’ continuous lawful residence in the route apply for indefinite leave to remain under the same appendix, meeting the knowledge of language and life requirement (Life in the UK test and B1 English) and the absence limits, and satisfying the Home Office on character and, for business persons, that the business is still operating. The Home Office publishes separate guidance for ECAA indefinite leave to remain; read the current version, since fees and evidence lists have changed more than once since 2018.

The evidence, and where Turkish documents appear

The bulk of an ECAA file is British and financial: accounts, tax returns, bank statements, invoices, contracts, payslips, tenancy or mortgage documents. Turkish documents enter in a few predictable places.

• Turkish passports covering the whole period, for absences. The data page needs no translation; a schedule of stamps is translated where the electronic record is incomplete. Details.
• Dependants’ family records. A partner joining or settling with you proves the relationship with the marriage record or a vukuatlı nüfus kayıt örneği; children with birth certificates. Each is translated in full.
• Funds held in Türkiye where they are part of the business or maintenance evidence: Turkish bank statements, translated for the whole period submitted.
• Turkish trade documents for businesses importing from Türkiye: invoices, certificates of origin, supplier contracts, where they evidence trading activity.
• Qualifications where the business relies on a professional skill and the Home Office or a regulator wants the diploma.

The translation rule

Appendix ECAA has no translation paragraph of its own; the general GOV.UK guidance on certifying a translation applies. The translator or translation company confirms in writing that the translation is a true and accurate translation of the original document, gives the date, and their full name and contact details. Our certification states that on every page, with the signatory’s signature and the company’s Ankara registry number so the Home Office can verify it. No notary or apostille is required for the translation.

Timing, fees and absences

Apply for the extension before current leave expires; apply for settlement once the five years are complete and within the window the guidance allows. The settlement fee for ECAA holders is set separately from other routes and has changed; check GOV.UK for the current amount, and note that ECAA extensions have historically carried their own fee too. Absences are counted across the whole qualifying period against the limit stated in Appendix ECAA, and business persons should also expect scrutiny of whether the business has been active throughout. Translation costs on this route are usually small: a partner’s nüfus record £10–30, a child’s birth certificate £10, a schedule of passport stamps priced by page, ready in one to two working days, no UK VAT.

Pitfalls particular to ECAA files

• Letting leave lapse in the belief that a new ECAA application can be made; the route is closed to new applicants.
• Absences from the business for long periods in Türkiye, which count against continuous residence and raise questions about the business.
• A partner added late with an untranslated Turkish marriage record.
• Accounts prepared in Turkish by a family accountant; the Home Office expects UK accounts in English.
• Relying on an old ECAA guidance document; the current Appendix ECAA and its guidance are the reference.

After settlement

ILR under Appendix ECAA leads, after the usual period, to naturalisation, where the Turkish passports and family records appear again; our citizenship guide covers that stage, and the ILR guide describes the general settlement checks that apply across routes. Whether you meet the ECAA conditions, and how to present a business that changed shape during the five years, are questions for an immigration solicitor or OISC adviser with ECAA experience; we translate the Turkish documents and do not advise on the route.