Applying for ILR with Turkish documents

What ILR looks at

An application for indefinite leave to remain asks the Home Office to confirm that you have completed the qualifying period in your route, usually five years, that your absences from the UK stayed within the limits for that route, that you have passed the Life in the UK test and hold English at B1 or above (the knowledge of language and life requirement), and that the conditions of the route are still met: for a partner, that the relationship subsists and the financial requirement is satisfied; for a Skilled Worker, that the sponsorship and salary continue; for the ECAA route, its own residence and knowledge rules, covered in our ECAA guide. Most of the file is British: payslips, council tax, the test certificates, letters from employers. The Turkish part is smaller than at the first application, but it is where translation questions arise. The ILR page sets out the certification; this guide is the walk-through.

Turkish documents that come back at ILR

The credentials rule and why it matters here

For applications made inside the UK for leave to remain or indefinite leave to remain under Appendix FM, paragraph 1(j)(iv) of Appendix FM-SE requires certification by a qualified translator and details of the translator or translation company’s credentials, in addition to the accuracy statement, date, name, signature and contact details required for every application. Translations bought at the entry-clearance stage from a provider that supplied only a name and a signature can fall short of this item. Ours carry the company’s legal name, Ankara trade registry number, address and the signatory on every page, which is the information the item describes, so a translation we produced five years ago serves at ILR without being redone. For work routes the general GOV.UK certification rule applies and the same translation format satisfies it.

Reusing what you already have

A certified translation does not expire; the question is whether the underlying document has changed. A marriage certificate or a birth certificate has not, so the original translation and the original document go in again. A nüfus kayıt örneği is a living record and caseworkers expect a recent one, so that is translated afresh. Bank statements are by definition new. Our explainer on whether a certified translation expires gives the reasoning; in practice we keep copies of translations we have produced and can reissue a PDF if yours is lost.

Timing, fees and absences

Apply within the window the Home Office allows before your current leave ends, and after the qualifying period is complete. The ILR fee is published on GOV.UK and is among the higher immigration fees; there is no health surcharge at this stage. Standard processing is measured in months, with priority services sometimes available for a further fee. Before applying, list every absence from the UK across the five years, because the limits differ by route and a translated set of passport stamps can be needed where the electronic travel record is incomplete. Translation of a fresh nüfus kayıt örneği costs £10–30 with us and six months of Turkish bank statements £30–80, in one to two working days; no UK VAT is charged. The ILR checklist mirrors the steps.

Where ILR applications stumble on the Turkish side

• An old nüfus kayıt örneği reused when a fresh one was expected.
• A Turkish divorce or name change during the five years not disclosed or not translated with its finality note.
• Entry-clearance translations without company credentials, so item (iv) is unmet.
• Bank statements for savings that do not cover a continuous six months.
• A child’s Turkish birth certificate submitted as a Formül A extract without translation.

Eligibility, absences and the choice of route are matters for a solicitor or OISC adviser. We translate; we do not advise on whether to apply.