Registering a UK divorce in Turkey (Article 27/A)

What Article 27/A changed

Until 2018 a Turkish citizen divorced abroad remained married in the Turkish register until a Turkish family court recognised the foreign decree. Article 27/A of the Population Services Law (Nüfus Hizmetleri Kanunu, Law 5490), added in 2017 and in force since 2018, allows the foreign divorce to be entered by administrative application to the consulate or to a nüfus müdürlüğü in Türkiye, provided the decree meets the conditions. The application is examined by the provincial population directorate, which either records the divorce or refuses, and a refusal can only be overcome in court.

Conditions on the decree

The consulate notes set three conditions for the foreign decision. It must carry a note of finality (kesinleşme şerhi); it must carry an apostille; and it must be accompanied by a Turkish translation. In England and Wales the document is the final order (decree absolute before April 2022) from HMCTS, which states the date the marriage was dissolved. A conditional order or decree nisi is not final and is not accepted. Scotland issues an extract decree of divorce.

The consulates accept the sealed final order as evidence of finality to date; if a registrar asks for a separate certificate, HMCTS can issue a sealed copy with a court stamp.

Who applies and when

Both former spouses apply, in person or through a representative holding a power of attorney, at the same appointment or separately. The rule quoted by the consulates is that where the parties do not apply together, the time between the two applications may not exceed ninety days. If the other party is not a Turkish citizen, that party still applies; nationality is no obstacle, but unwillingness is. A former spouse who refuses to take part leaves you with the court route.

Documents: the apostilled final order with translation, identity documents of both applicants, and, if a representative attends, a power of attorney with express authority for the 27/A application, made at a consulate notary unit or before a UK notary, apostilled and translated. The population directorate decides within weeks; the consulates do not promise a fixed period.

The translation rule and our position

The consulates ask for a translation by a translator on their own register, attested at the notary unit. We are not on that register, so if you apply at the London, Manchester or Edinburgh consulate use the translator search at konsolosluk.gov.tr for the Turkish text.

If you apply at a nüfus müdürlüğü in Türkiye, or if the application is refused and the matter goes to a family court, the translation is done by a translator sworn before a Turkish notary and notarised in Türkiye. That is our service from Ankara. The order of steps is fixed: FCDO apostille on the final order first (court documents qualify for the e-Apostille, £35, usually within two working days), then translation of order and apostille together, then, only if the office asks, an apostille of the notarised translation for £15.

Grounds for refusal

The population directorate refuses where a condition is missing, where the decree was given in default without proper notice to the other party, or where the grounds of divorce conflict with Turkish public policy. A refusal, or a former spouse who will not cooperate, means a recognition case (tanıma) before a Turkish family court under Law 5718, conducted by a lawyer under power of attorney while you remain in the UK. See recognition and enforcement of UK judgments in Türkiye. Custody, maintenance and financial orders are not registered under 27/A at all; they need recognition or enforcement in court.

Documents you will need

• Decree absolute or final order translation
• UK power of attorney translation if a representative applies for you
• UK court orders for custody or maintenance that go to court separately

Common pitfalls

• Presenting the conditional order instead of the final order.
• Translating before the apostille is attached; the translation must include the apostille.
• Missing the ninety-day window between the two applications.
• A power of attorney that does not mention the 27/A application.
• Expecting the registry to deal with the financial order as well.

Our service and prices

For a nüfus müdürlüğü application or a court file we translate the apostilled final order into Turkish, sworn and notarised in Ankara, from £6.50 per page of 1,000 characters plus the notary tariff at cost (about £13.50 per page in 2026) and £5 handling. A final order with apostille is one to two pages, so £25 to £45 in total; a full judgment with financial order runs to four to ten pages. Apostille of the translation is £15. The PDF comes by e-mail, the wet-sealed original by courier for £30, usually to your lawyer in Türkiye. No UK VAT is charged and there is no collection in the UK.