Renouncing Turkish citizenship with permission (izinle çıkma)

Why people renounce, and why fewer do now

Britain has never required a naturalising Turkish citizen to give up Turkish nationality, so most British Turks hold both. Renunciation with permission (izinle çıkma) is nonetheless chosen by some: to end a military service obligation, to take a public post in a country that bars dual nationals, to simplify a foreign security clearance, or for personal reasons. Because the Mavi Kart preserves residence, work, property and inheritance rights, renunciation no longer means losing the practical connection with Türkiye. It is a serious and largely irreversible step all the same, even though re-acquisition exists, and this page is written to help you do it in an orderly way, not to encourage it.

Conditions under Article 25

Article 25 of the Turkish Citizenship Law (Law 5901) allows the Ministry of the Interior to grant permission to a person who is an adult with capacity, who has acquired another citizenship or has credible indications of acquiring one, who is not wanted in connection with any offence or in connection with military service, and against whom there is no financial or criminal restriction. A minor child is included in a parent's renunciation only with the consent of both parents or of the guardian, and the child's own foreign citizenship must be secured.

The military service condition is the one that matters most for men. An applicant of military age must have completed service, hold a valid deferment, or have paid the fee under dövizle askerlik; a man who is in default (yoklama kaçağı or bakaya) is refused until the position is regularised. See dövizle askerlik.

The two-stage procedure

The application is made at the consulate general for your district. For a person who already holds British citizenship the ministry issues the renunciation document (çıkma belgesi) directly once the conditions are met. For a person who is still waiting for British citizenship, the ministry first issues a permission document (çıkma izin belgesi) valid for a fixed period, the applicant completes naturalisation in the UK, and the çıkma belgesi is issued on production of the certificate of naturalisation. Citizenship is lost on the date the çıkma belgesi is delivered, and the Turkish passport and identity card are surrendered. The family record is closed and the person is transferred to the Mavi Kart register, from which the Mavi Kart can be applied for at the same consulate.

The consulate file

• Application form and photographs; the Turkish passport and T.C. kimlik kartı.
• The British passport and the certificate of naturalisation or registration, or the Home Office decision letter where naturalisation is pending.
• Evidence of military service status for men: terhis belgesi, current tecil or dövizle askerlik receipt, which the consulate checks against the records.
• For children: both parents' consent given at the notary unit, and the child's British passport.

The consulate reads the British passport, naturalisation certificate and Home Office letter itself; its notes ask for no outside sworn translation of documents obtained from British authorities. Translation enters only for documents from another country, which are apostilled and translated, and for anything you later present inside Türkiye.

Timeline

The consulate forwards the file to NVİGM. Straightforward cases with the naturalisation certificate in hand have taken a few months; a permission-first case runs as long as the UK naturalisation takes plus the Turkish processing at each stage. There is no statutory deadline.

What changes on the day

You become a foreign national in Türkiye with Mavi Kart rights. You keep your property and inheritance rights and your entitlement to Turkish social security under the scheme's rules. You lose the vote, the right to a permanent public post and the duty-free import allowance, and a son born after that date is not a citizen by descent. Entry to Türkiye is on the British passport, visa-free for tourist stays within the 90-in-180-day rule, and longer stays rely on the Mavi Kart rather than a residence permit.

Where we come in

Little, and honestly so. The consulate needs no translation of British documents for the renunciation itself. Our work is for the Turkish offices you meet afterwards as a Mavi Kart holder: a British passport for the tapu office or a bank, a certificate of naturalisation for a court or a notary examining your nationality history, a deed poll or marriage certificate reconciling names. Each is translated by a translator sworn before an Ankara notary and notarised, with the FCDO apostille attached first. Prices are 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; apostille of the translation £15; courier of the wet-sealed original £30; PDF by e-mail; no UK VAT; no collection. See certificate of naturalisation translation and British passport translation.