Registering a UK birth at the Turkish Consulate

Why registration matters and who does it

A child born to a Turkish citizen parent is a Turkish citizen from birth, but the child does not exist in the Turkish family register (nüfus kütüğü) until the birth is reported. Until then there is no T.C. kimlik number, no Turkish passport and, for a boy, no military service record to defer later. The report is made to the consulate general for your district, London, Manchester or Edinburgh, and the consulate forwards it to the nüfus müdürlüğü where the parent's family record is kept. The consulate's note asks for the birth to be reported within two months (60 days) of the birth; a late report is still accepted but is treated as a late notification and the process is slower.

What to bring

• The full birth certificate (Full Birth Certificate, the long form naming both parents). The consulate's note states that short certificates and hospital letters are not accepted. In Scotland this is the full extract, in Northern Ireland the GRONI full certificate.
• Both parents' identity documents: T.C. kimlik kartı or passport for the Turkish parent, passport for a British or other foreign parent.
• The parents' marriage record. If the marriage has not yet been entered in the Turkish register, register it first or at the same appointment; see registering a UK marriage at the consulate.
• An apostilled deed poll if the mother's surname on the child's certificate differs from her surname in the Turkish record, because she changed it in the UK. The consulate asks for the FCDO apostille on the deed poll.

No translation for this step

Parents often arrive with a translated birth certificate they did not need. The London consulate's own note says that no outside sworn translation is requested for any document obtained from British authorities, naming the passport, birth certificate and marriage certificate. The consular officer reads the English certificate and completes the Turkish birth report (doğum bildirimi) from it. We would rather tell you this than sell you a translation you will not use.

The one document that can need a Turkish version is the deed poll, where the consulate wants a translation from a translator on its own register. We are not on that register. If you register the birth directly at a nüfus müdürlüğü in Türkiye instead, for instance because you are there for an extended stay, the office will want the full certificate apostilled by the FCDO and translated by a notary-sworn translator in Türkiye, which is our service.

Names: Q, W, X and Turkish characters

The Turkish alphabet has no Q, W or X. A child named Quinn or Maxwell is recorded in the Turkish register with an adapted spelling, and the consulate will explain the options at the appointment. Conversely, a Turkish name written on the UK certificate without ç, ş, ğ, ı, ö or ü is entered in the Turkish register with the Turkish letters. Neither is a mistake, but the two spellings will follow the child on two sets of documents, and it helps to decide now which you prefer. Our explainer on names and Turkish characters goes into the detail.

Timeline

Book the appointment as soon as the full certificate is in hand, which in England and Wales is usually within a week of registering the birth locally. The consulate enters the report on the day and transmits it; the child appears in the family register and the T.C. kimlik number is issued within a few weeks, after which the first Turkish passport and identity card can be applied for.

Common pitfalls

• Bringing the short certificate or the hospital's notification letter.
• Missing the two-month window and then discovering the marriage was never registered either.
• A mother's changed surname with no apostilled deed poll to explain it.
• Ordering a translation of the birth certificate for the consulate.
• Living outside the consulate's district, for example registering in London when you live in Manchester's district.

Where we do help

Our work on a UK birth certificate is for the offices inside Türkiye that read only Turkish: a nüfus müdürlüğü when the birth is registered there rather than at the consulate, a school on return to Türkiye, a court dealing with custody or inheritance, and the citizenship file of a British parent. That translation is sworn and notarised in Ankara, from £6.50 for the one-page certificate plus the notary tariff at cost and £5 handling; the FCDO paper apostille (£45; no e-Apostille for GRO certificates) must be on the certificate first. Details, prices and delivery are on UK full birth certificate translation. Deed poll translations for use in Türkiye are on deed poll translation. Both arrive as a PDF first and as a wet-sealed original by courier (£30); no UK VAT is charged and there is no collection.