Inheritance in Turkey (veraset) for heirs in the UK

The certificate that unlocks a Turkish estate

Nothing in a Turkish estate moves without a certificate of inheritance (veraset ilamı, also called mirasçılık belgesi). It names the heirs and their shares under the Turkish Civil Code, and the tapu office, banks, the vehicle registry and SGK all act on it. Two bodies can issue it. A Turkish notary issues one in a day when the deceased and every heir are Turkish citizens whose family register (nüfus kaydı) shows the whole family tree. A civil court of peace (sulh hukuk mahkemesi) issues it in every other case: an heir who holds only British nationality, a dual national whose UK birth was never registered with the consulate, a will, a disputed family tree or a death that is not yet recorded in the Turkish register.

The Turkish consulates in the UK do not issue the certificate, but their notary units prepare the power of attorney (vekaletname) that lets a lawyer in Türkiye apply for you.

Why a UK death ends up in court

A death in the UK produces a GRO death certificate, not an entry in the Turkish register. Until the death is recorded through the consulate or a nüfus müdürlüğü, the Turkish system still treats the person as alive. If any heir is a British citizen, the notary cannot check that person's status in the register and declines the file. A Turkish law firm we quote below puts it simply: foreign heirs must obtain a veraset ilamı to exercise their rights, and it is obtained from the sulh hukuk mahkemesi. The court works from documents, so a family in the UK rarely has to attend.

Whether British heirs can take a particular property, and how Turkish and UK succession rules interact where there is a will, are questions for a Turkish lawyer; we translate the papers and do not advise on the outcome.

Order of operations

1. FCDO apostille on the UK death certificate. GRO certificates are excluded from the e-Apostille, so this is the paper service (£45, up to 25 working days). Any UK marriage or birth certificate proving the relationship goes through the same queue at the same time.
2. Turkish translation sworn and notarised in Ankara. We translate each certificate together with its apostille; a notary-sworn translator signs before an Ankara notary. Courts sometimes ask for the notarial certificate itself to be apostilled, which we do at the kaymakamlık for £15.
3. Power of attorney for the Turkish lawyer. Made at the consulate, it needs no apostille or translation. Made before a UK notary, it needs an FCDO apostille and a notarised Turkish translation.
4. Court application, then transfer. Once the certificate is issued, the lawyer applies for intikal at the tapu office and releases bank balances. Inheritance tax (veraset ve intikal vergisi) is declared to the tax office within a deadline an accountant should confirm.

Documents you will need

• UK death certificate, apostilled and translated
• Full birth certificates of British heirs, and a UK marriage certificate for a surviving spouse, where the relationship is not in the Turkish register
• Power of attorney for the lawyer, unless made at the consulate
• UK will and grant of probate, only where the lawyer says the will is relevant to assets in Türkiye
• British passport pages of each heir for the court file
• Nüfus kayıt örneği of Turkish heirs, obtained through e-Devlet

Common pitfalls

• Translating the death certificate before the apostille is attached; the court wants the apostille inside the translation.
• Sending the short-form or interim coroner's certificate; the registered certificate is required.
• A UK will drafted without regard to Turkish forced-heirship shares (saklı pay); a lawyer needs to see it before it is translated.
• Heirs' names spelt differently on the UK passport and the Turkish register; we add a translator's note, and the lawyer may need a court declaration of identity.
• Assuming a consulate POA covers the tapu transfer as well as the court; ask the lawyer for the wording first.

How we help and what it costs

A typical veraset bundle is the death certificate with apostille (1 to 2 pages), one or two relationship certificates and a UK power of attorney of 2 to 3 pages. Translation is £6.50 per page of 1,000 characters, so £30 to £50 for the set; the Ankara notary tariff of about £13.50 per page plus £5 handling is added at cost, and an apostille of the notarised translation is £15 per document where the court asks for it. No UK VAT is charged. Scans arrive by e-mail within 2 to 3 working days; the wet-sealed originals, which the court keeps, go by courier for £30 to you or directly to the lawyer in Türkiye. We have no UK office and cannot hand documents over in person. If the veraset ilamı later has to be shown to a UK bank or probate registry, we translate it into English from £10.00 per page.