Turkish students applying to UK universities: documents

Who this is for

You are finishing lise in Türkiye and applying through UCAS, or you hold a Turkish bachelor’s degree and are applying for a master’s, or you are a parent in London trying to work out what your daughter in İzmir needs to send. The document side of a UK application is smaller than it looks, but it has to be right the first time, because admissions offices close their windows and do not reopen them for a missing translation.

The sequence in brief

Choose courses and read each one’s entry requirements; gather the Turkish academic documents; have them translated; apply, through UCAS for most undergraduate courses or directly for postgraduate; respond to offers and meet conditions; then, once the university issues a Confirmation of Acceptance for Studies, assemble the visa file. Translation belongs at step three, before the application, not after an offer. The UCAS page and the Student visa page set out each side.

The Turkish documents

• Lise diploması — the high school diploma. Where it has not been issued yet, a school letter confirming expected completion. See the diploma page.
• Lise transkripti — the transcript covering all four years, with the grading scale printed on it. If the scale is not printed, ask the school to add it; without it a UK admissions officer cannot read a 78 correctly.
• YKS or AYT sonuç belgesi — the university entrance examination result, which some universities ask for as evidence of national ranking; see exam results.
• Öğrenci belgesi — the student certificate, where you are still enrolled.
• For postgraduate applicants, the lisans diploması and the transkript, plus the diploma eki where the university issues one.
• English test results from IELTS, PTE or similar are issued in English and need no translation.

Whether a Turkish lise diploması admits you directly to the first year, or whether a foundation year, A-levels or the international baccalaureate is expected, varies from university to university and even between departments. Read the international entry pages rather than relying on an agent’s summary.

What UCAS and universities expect of a translation

UCAS asks that documents not in English be accompanied by a translation from a recognised translator or translation service, submitted alongside the original, and translations produced by the applicant or a family member are not accepted. Universities apply the same principle in their own words. We certify every academic translation with the statement that it is a true and accurate translation of the original, the date, our company details and a signature, which is the form UK bodies look for and which the same documents will need again for the visa. Grades are reproduced as printed with the Turkish scale intact; we do not convert a Turkish average into a UK classification, because that is the admissions office’s decision and a translator who does it is overstepping.

UK ENIC: when a statement is needed

Some universities, and many employers and professional bodies later, ask for a UK ENIC Statement of Comparability placing a Turkish qualification on the UK framework. ENIC requires certified translations of the documents it assesses, and its translation waiver service covers fourteen languages, of which Turkish is not one; so a certified translation is needed whichever route you take. Do not order a statement speculatively. Ask the university whether it wants one; most assess Turkish qualifications themselves. The UK ENIC page covers the process and the fees.

The Student visa file

Once the CAS is issued the documents change character, because the Home Office reads them rather than an admissions tutor. The file typically includes the qualifications named on the CAS, financial evidence held for a consecutive 28-day period ending shortly before the application, a tuberculosis test certificate from an approved clinic — Türkiye is on the list of countries where applicants for stays of more than six months need one, so check the current list and clinics — and, for applicants under eighteen, parental consent and evidence of the relationship. Turkish bank statements and a parent’s income documents need certified translations; a muvafakatname serves as the consent document and is translated with the birth entry showing the relationship. Maintenance figures and the fine detail of the rules change, so read the current guidance or ask an adviser; we translate, we do not advise on eligibility. The Student visa guide goes through the file in order.

Timing and fees

• From £10 per page of 1,000 characters, certification included. A diploma is one page at £10; a four-year lise transkript usually comes to two or three pages; a university transcript three to six pages at £30–60.
• One to two working days as certified PDFs, which is what universities and the Home Office accept. Urgent handling adds 60 per cent; the economy option is 20 per cent cheaper over twice the time.
• Printed sets by courier from Ankara, £30, only where a university insists on paper. No UK VAT is charged.
• Notarisation and apostilles are not normally required for UK academic use, and add cost without adding weight.

Mistakes we see

• Translating a transcript without the grading scale, so the marks cannot be interpreted.
• A name spelled with Turkish characters on the diploma and anglicised on the passport, with nothing to link the two; tell us and we add a note.
• Ordering an ENIC statement no university asked for.
• Leaving financial evidence until the CAS arrives, then finding the 28-day period has not yet run.
• Using a friend’s translation for the university and paying for a proper one later for the visa.