Inheriting property in Turkey from the UK

First, a word about pace

Nothing in the Turkish inheritance process has to be done in the first days after a death, apart from the funeral arrangements themselves. The steps below can be started when you are ready. Where the estate is anything other than simple, a Turkish lawyer who handles succession (miras) will save you time and mistakes, and can act for you under a power of attorney so that you do not have to travel. We describe the procedure and the translations; we do not give legal or tax advice.

The document everything depends on: veraset ilamı

Turkish banks, tapu offices and tax offices act on a certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı, also called mirasçılık belgesi) which names the heirs and their shares under Turkish law. It is issued in two ways. A Turkish notary can issue it in straightforward cases where the heirs are Turkish citizens and the family record is clear. Where an heir is a foreign national, where the deceased died abroad or held foreign nationality, or where the record is incomplete, the certificate is obtained from the civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi). The Turkish consulates in the UK do not issue it; their notary sections say so expressly. A lawyer under a power of attorney granted at the consulate can apply on your behalf. Our veraset page describes the two routes in more detail.

Documents from the UK and how they are prepared

• UK death certificate, where the death occurred in the UK. It must carry an FCDO apostille; GRO certificates are not eligible for the e-apostille, so allow for the paper route (£45, up to 25 working days plus post at the time of writing). Then a Turkish translation notarised in Türkiye.
• Proof of the heirs’ relationship to the deceased where it is not on the Turkish civil record: a British heir’s full birth certificate, a marriage certificate for a surviving spouse, each apostilled and translated.
• UK will and grant of probate, where the deceased left a will covering Turkish assets. Turkish law has its own rules on which law governs property in Türkiye and on reserved shares for close relatives; the lawyer will say whether the will is relevant and how it is presented. If it is, it is apostilled and translated in full.
• Power of attorney for the Turkish lawyer, made at the consulate’s notary section (one act per appointment; interpreter required for non-Turkish speakers) or before a UK notary with apostille and notarised translation.

In each case the order is the same: apostille the English original first, then translate. Courts and notaries in Türkiye do not act on a translation of an un-apostilled foreign document. We translate and notarise in Ankara from £6.50 per page plus the notary tariff (about £13.50 per page plus a £5 handling fee), add a Turkish apostille on the translation for £15 when a court requires it, and courier the set to your lawyer in Türkiye or to you for £30. No UK VAT is charged.

The sequence after the certificate

With the veraset ilamı in hand, the heirs or their attorney file an inheritance and transfer tax declaration (veraset ve intikal vergisi beyannamesi) at the tax office within the period that applies, which differs according to whether the death occurred in Türkiye or abroad; the tax office issues a clearance once any tax is paid. Property is then transferred at the tapu office by intikal, first into the joint names of the heirs and, if they agree, then divided or sold. Bank accounts are released against the certificate and tax clearance. Each of these steps can be done by the attorney. If an heir in the UK wants to renounce their share (mirasın reddi), there is a short statutory period and a court procedure; ask the lawyer about it as soon as possible after the death.

Where the death occurred in Türkiye and the heir is in the UK

The Turkish death certificate is already in Turkish, so the Turkish side needs no translation. What the UK side may need is the reverse: a certified English translation of the Turkish death certificate and, later, of the veraset ilamı, for UK probate, pensions, banks or HMRC. Our certificate of inheritance page covers that translation. The death abroad guide deals with the first weeks.

Costs and time, in outline

• FCDO apostille: £45 per document on paper; weeks rather than days for GRO certificates.
• Consulate power of attorney: roughly £30–40 per page; appointment lead time varies.
• Notarised translations in Ankara: from £6.50 per page plus notary tariff; two to four working days.
• Veraset ilamı: notary fee, or court fees and lawyer’s fee; a court application can take months, longer if heirs abroad must be served.
• Inheritance tax in Türkiye: banded rates on the value of the Turkish assets; the UK may also tax the estate, and the two systems interact, so ask an adviser in each country.

Avoidable errors

• Translating the death certificate before the apostille is attached.
• Applying to a notary for the certificate when a foreign heir means the court route is required, and losing the fee.
• Missing the renunciation period because nobody realised debts came with the estate.
• Assuming a UK will settles a Turkish flat without checking the reserved-share rules.
• Assets in Northern Cyprus treated as if in Türkiye; the TRNC is outside the Hague Apostille Convention and has its own procedure.