Applying to Turkish universities from the UK (YÖS)

Who counts as an overseas student

The Council of Higher Education (YÖK) sets the framework for admitting students from abroad (yurt dışından öğrenci kabulü) and leaves the selection to each university. The framework covers foreign nationals and students who completed the whole of their secondary education outside Türkiye, and in practice that means three groups from the UK: British citizens, dual British-Turkish citizens who went to school in the UK, and Turkish citizens who finished secondary school in the UK. A Turkish citizen who did part of secondary school in Türkiye falls under different rules, and YÖK's page notes that from 2026 anyone registered at or graduated from a Turkish secondary school must enter through the national YKS exam whatever their nationality.

YÖK's wording on the mechanism is short: the candidate applies directly to the university concerned and is evaluated by that university. There is no central application service. Each university publishes an overseas-student prospectus (yurt dışından öğrenci kabul kılavuzu) with its own quotas, deadlines, accepted exams and minimum scores, usually in spring for the autumn intake.

Exams and school documents

Universities may ask for a score from exams such as TR-YÖS, Abitur, SAT or IB, in YÖK's words. TR-YÖS is the national overseas-student exam run twice a year by ÖSYM and is sat at centres in Türkiye and abroad; university entrance exams of this type are valid for two years, while school-leaving qualifications such as A-levels have no expiry. Many universities accept A-levels directly, with the grade requirements set per programme, so a UK student may not need TR-YÖS at all. Medicine, dentistry and pharmacy are the most competitive and often specify TR-YÖS or SAT scores.

The document that trips up UK applicants is the lise denklik belgesi. Turkish universities enrol students who hold a Turkish secondary-school diploma or an equivalence certificate for a foreign one, issued by the Ministry of National Education (MEB). A student with GCSEs and A-levels applies for that certificate to the provincial education directorate in Türkiye or through the Education Counsellor's office at the London embassy, and the university will want it by registration if not at application. Our page on MEB lise denklik describes that step; start it early.

Where translation and legalisation enter

1. For the university application. Most universities accept A-level and GCSE certificates, school transcripts and a passport in English, sometimes with a simple translation. Read the prospectus; some want notarised translations at this stage, most only at registration.
2. For MEB denklik. The provincial directorate wants Turkish translations of the certificates and year-by-year school reports; an FCDO apostille on exam-board certificates is asked for by some directorates and not others. The translation is made after any apostille so that the apostille appears in the Turkish text.
3. At registration. The notarised translations of the diploma or certificates, the denklik certificate, the passport translation for foreign nationals and, for a British student, the documents for the student residence permit (öğrenci ikamet izni) applied for through the Göç İdaresi after arrival.

Documents you will need

• GCSE and A-level certificates from the exam boards
• School reports and a leaving letter covering each year of secondary school
• British passport translation for foreign nationals
• UK degree certificate and transcript for postgraduate applicants, who may also need YÖK denklik
• TR-YÖS, SAT or IB result documents, usually accepted as issued
• English-language proficiency certificate where the programme is taught in English, and a Turkish proficiency (TÖMER) certificate or a preparatory year for Turkish-medium programmes

Common pitfalls

• Applying as an overseas student when part of secondary school was in Türkiye; the university will move the file to the YKS route.
• Leaving MEB denklik until August, when the directorates are busiest and registration deadlines are close.
• Sending the school's own certificate of results rather than the exam-board certificates; MEB and universities want the board documents.
• Translating predicted-grade letters as if they were results; we mark them as predicted and universities treat them accordingly.
• Assuming Turkish citizenship exempts you from a Turkish-language requirement; it does not.

How we help and what it costs

A UK school file is typically the A-level certificate (1 page), GCSE certificate (1 to 2 pages) and five years of reports (5 to 10 pages): £6.50 per page of 1,000 characters, so £45 to £85 for the translations, with the Ankara notary tariff of about £13.50 per page plus £5 handling per document added at cost when the directorate or university wants notarised copies. Apostille of a notarised translation is £15 where asked. No UK VAT is charged. Scans arrive within 2 to 3 working days; the notarised originals go by courier for £30 to you in the UK or to the university city. We have no UK office and no collection. We do not advise on course choice or handle applications; university international offices and the UK students applying to Turkish universities guide cover the sequence.