Getting your UK degree recognised in Turkey (YÖK)

Denklik, tanıma and who needs which

The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) deals with foreign degrees in two ways. Recognition (tanıma) confirms that the institution and programme are recognised; equivalence (denklik) goes further and certifies that the degree is equivalent to a specific Turkish degree, which is what public-sector employment, regulated professions and many private employers require. Most graduates returning from the UK need denklik. For school-level qualifications (GCSEs, A-levels) the process is separate, handled by the Ministry of National Education through provincial directorates or the Education Counsellor’s office in London; see the MEB lise denklik page. Our YÖK denklik page describes the procedure from the Turkish side; this guide is the order of operations from the UK.

Documents YÖK expects

• Degree certificate, the original, apostilled.
• Academic transcript covering every year, apostilled where YÖK or the university’s practice requires it.
• Diploma supplement or HEAR where the university issues one.
• Turkish translations of each, either notarised in Türkiye or certified by a Turkish consulate.
• Passport or kimlik kartı, and evidence of the periods spent in the UK during the studies (entry and exit records, which YÖK checks against the study dates).
• Where a previous degree was the basis for admission, that degree and its own denklik or the Turkish diploma.

YÖK’s guidance is that translations are accepted when notarised or consulate-certified, and that the underlying document must already be apostilled. That sets the order: apostille first, translation second, because the apostille certificate is part of what is translated, and a translation of an un-apostilled certificate is rejected.

Apostille in the UK

The FCDO Legalisation Office apostilles a degree certificate once it bears a signature or seal it can verify. In practice most universities’ certificates are legalised after a UK solicitor or notary has certified the copy or witnessed the document, and the FCDO then legalises the solicitor’s signature; some universities’ signatories are registered directly. The paper apostille costs £45 and takes up to 25 working days plus post; the e-apostille costs £35, takes up to two working days, and is available where a solicitor or notary has certified the document electronically. Our FCDO page explains both and the partner service we can arrange for the submission.

Translation in Ankara

Send us scans of the apostilled certificate, transcript and supplement. Our Ankara office translates into Turkish, has the translations notarised by a Turkish notary (a translation is a notarial act in Türkiye and is signed before the notary by a sworn translator), and, if YÖK or your employer asks for it, apostilles the notarised translation at the kaymakamlık for £15. Translation is from £6.50 per page of 1,000 characters; the notary tariff, about £13.50 per page plus a £5 handling fee, is passed through at cost. A degree certificate is one page; a transcript three to eight; a diploma supplement four to six. Two to four working days, and the paper set is couriered to the UK for £30 or delivered to an address in Türkiye. No UK VAT is charged. The consulate route in London, with a registered translator and the consulate’s certification, is the alternative; YÖK accepts either.

The e-Denklik application

Applications are made through YÖK’s e-Denklik portal with an e-Devlet login. You upload the apostilled documents, the translations and your identity and travel records, pay the fee shown, and submit; YÖK may then require the originals to be presented or posted and may write to the university to verify the award. YÖK indicates two to three months as a typical processing time, longer where verification or a programme review is needed. For some disciplines, YÖK can require additional steps before issuing denklik, such as an examination or a period of supplementary study; this depends on the field and the programme and is decided by YÖK, not by anything in the translation.

Timing and cost in one place

• FCDO apostille: £45 paper or £35 e-apostille; days to weeks.
• Notarised translations in Ankara: from £6.50 per page plus notary tariff; £15 for a Turkish apostille on the translation; two to four working days; £30 courier.
• YÖK fee: shown on e-Denklik at the time of application.
• YÖK processing: typically two to three months from a complete file.

Where files come back

• Translation done before the apostille.
• A UK agency’s certified translation submitted instead of a notarised or consulate-certified one.
• Transcript missing a year or the final classification page.
• Travel records that do not match the study dates, because the student spent much of the course outside the UK.
• A one-year master’s applied for without the underlying bachelor’s degree and its denklik.

The YÖK denklik checklist tracks the items. Whether a particular programme will receive denklik, or on what conditions, is a question for YÖK; we prepare the documents in the form it accepts.