Dövizle askerlik: paying the military service fee from the UK

What the scheme is

Every male Turkish citizen has a military service obligation. The foreign-currency option (dövizle askerlik) under the Military Service Law (Askeralma Kanunu, Law 7179) lets a citizen who lives and works abroad discharge that obligation by paying a fee and completing a short training, instead of serving in Türkiye. The scheme is run by the recruitment directorate (ASAL); applications from abroad go through the consulates.

Who qualifies

• You must have spent a total of 1,095 days (three years) outside Türkiye with a status that allows you to work or reside: a visa, leave to remain, settlement or British citizenship. Time as a visitor or student does not count. A dual citizen by birth qualifies on three years' residence abroad.
• You must apply and pay before the age limit, currently 35; the consulates' notes say the whole procedure, including payment, must be completed before the end of the year in which you turn 35.
• You must not have spent more than six months in any calendar year in Türkiye during the qualifying period, and you must keep to that rule until the process is complete.
• You must be resident and working (or with the right to work) in the UK at the time of application.

The fee and the training

The fee is set in Turkish lira twice a year and paid in euros at the Central Bank rate on the day. For the first half of 2026 it is 333,890 TL; for the second half, from 1 July 2026, it rises to 472,653.60 TL, which the consulates put at about €8,822 as of the July 2026 rate. The lira figure changes each January and July and the euro amount moves with the exchange rate, so treat these as the position on the date this page was checked and confirm the current amount with the consulate before paying. Payment is made in euros to the account the consulate names.

The training that used to require a spell in Türkiye is now delivered remotely; applicants complete it online from abroad after payment. Once the fee is paid and the training recorded, the recruitment directorate issues the discharge and the record shows the obligation as fulfilled.

The application at the consulate

Book an appointment at the consulate general for your district. Bring your Turkish passport and T.C. kimlik kartı, your British passport or immigration status document (eVisa share code, BRP, vignette) showing the right to work or reside, evidence of employment such as an employer letter, payslips or P60, or evidence of self-employment, and proof of the 1,095 days, which the consulate reconstructs from entry and exit records and the status documents. The consulate checks the file, confirms eligibility with ASAL and gives you the payment instructions.

The consulate reads British passports and status documents itself and asks for no outside translation of documents obtained from British authorities. Whether it wants a Turkish text of an employer letter or payslips varies; ask when you book, and if it does, the translation for the consulate file should come from a translator on the consulate's register, which we are not on. Our translations are for the cases where the recruitment office or a military recruitment branch (askerlik şubesi) in Türkiye asks for notarised Turkish versions of UK documents, for instance when a question about the qualifying period is examined in Türkiye, or when you have moved back and are completing the file from there.

Timeline

Approval from ASAL and the payment instruction follow within weeks of the appointment, payment is immediate, and the remote training is scheduled after payment. Allow a few months from application to the discharge entry appearing on e-Devlet.

Documents you may need

• UK employer letter translation
• P60, P45 and payslips translation
• UK immigration status documents translation (eVisa, BRP, vignette)
• HMRC tax documents translation for the self-employed

Common pitfalls

• Counting student years towards the 1,095 days.
• A summer in Türkiye that tips a calendar year over six months.
• Leaving the application until the year you turn 35 and running out of time for payment.
• Paying in pounds or in lira; the account accepts euros.
• Losing the deferment while the application is pending; keep tecil current until the discharge is recorded. See military service deferment.

How we help and the cost

Where a Turkish military office asks for notarised translations of your UK employment and status documents, we translate them with any apostille, 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 per document. An employer letter and a year's P60 are two to three pages, about £45 to £70 before courier. PDF by e-mail, wet-sealed originals by courier for £30 to the UK or to the askerlik şubesi's district in Türkiye; no UK VAT, no collection. Our step-by-step guide is on dövizle askerlik step by step from the UK.