Retiring to Turkey with a UK state pension

Who this is for

British citizens retiring to the Turkish coast, Turkish citizens who worked a career in the UK and are going home, and the spouses of either. In each case the UK pension follows you, but two administrations have to be told and one of them, the Turkish one, wants its paperwork in Turkish.

Telling the UK

The state pension is claimed and managed abroad through the International Pension Centre, whose contact details and forms are on GOV.UK. Tell it before you move, or as soon as you have a Turkish address, and give it a bank account: the pension can be paid into a UK account or, in most countries including Türkiye, into a local account in local currency at the exchange rate on the day, every four or thirteen weeks. Whether you receive the yearly increase depends on where you live; the state pension is uprated only in countries with a reciprocal arrangement or under specific agreements, and Türkiye has, at the time of writing, appeared on GOV.UK’s list of countries where increases are paid, reflecting the long-standing UK–Türkiye social security convention. Check that list on GOV.UK when you move rather than relying on this page, because it is the kind of detail that changes without publicity. The Pension Service also runs periodic life-certificate checks on pensioners abroad; reply to those promptly.

Telling Türkiye: where the pension documents go

Three Turkish processes ask for evidence of your pension, and each wants it in Turkish:

• Residence permit (ikamet izni). A British citizen staying beyond the 90-day visa-free limit applies to the Göç İdaresi for a residence permit, and must show means of support. A UK state or private pension statement is the usual evidence, with a Turkish translation notarised in Türkiye; the residence permit page covers the file.
• Bank account. Turkish banks opening an account for a foreign resident ask for proof of income and address; see the bank account guide.
• Duty-free vehicle import for retirees. The London consulate’s note on this specifically requires the UK pension statement to be translated by a translator on its list and certified at its notary unit; the car guide explains the rest.

The document itself is the annual state pension letter from the Pension Service or a P60-style statement for a private pension, sometimes supported by bank statements showing the payments. Its Turkish translation is short, one or two pages.

Which translation form for which office

Turkish authorities accept two forms: a translation by a translator registered with the Turkish consulate, certified by the consulate’s notary unit, or a translation by a notary-sworn translator in Türkiye, notarised there. For the residence permit and bank purposes, the notarised route from Ankara is the one our clients use, because it is done by scan and post while you are still packing. For the consulate’s own vehicle-import process the consulate route is prescribed, so follow the consulate’s note. Neither form requires an apostille on the pension letter itself in our experience to date, though the Göç İdaresi occasionally asks for one on financial documents; ask the office before you send anything for translation, since an FCDO apostille must be obtained in the UK first.

Costs and timing

• International Pension Centre: no fee; allow several weeks for the change of payment details.
• Notarised Turkish translation of a pension statement: £6.50 for the translation plus the notary tariff (about £13.50 per page plus £5), two to four working days; £30 courier to the UK or delivery in Türkiye. No UK VAT.
• Residence permit fees and health insurance for the permit: set by the Turkish authorities and paid locally.
• Private pensions: check with the provider whether it pays abroad and in which currency.

Things people regret

• Not telling the Pension Service they moved, then facing an overpayment query when the address came to light.
• Assuming the pension will rise every April without checking the current country list.
• Sending a UK-certified translation to the Göç İdaresi and being asked for a notarised one.
• Translating a single month’s bank statement when the permit office wanted a full year of pension evidence.
• Ignoring the life-certificate letter because it went to the old UK address.

What we do

We translate UK pension letters, private pension statements and bank statements into Turkish and have them notarised in Ankara, and we translate Turkish residence permit correspondence into English so you understand what has been asked. Pension entitlement, tax residence and healthcare cover in Türkiye are matters for GOV.UK, HMRC and a financial adviser.