UK authorities and purposes Turkish → English
Translations for ECAA (Ankara Agreement) extension and settlement
The Ankara Agreement route closed to new applicants at the end of 2020, but ECAA businesspersons and workers already in the UK still extend and settle under Appendix ECAA. The Turkish documents that remain are passports and family records, which we translate with certification.
What the receiving body requires
“…confirm in writing on the translation: that it’s a ‘true and accurate translation of the original document’; the date of the translation; the full name and contact details of the translator or a representative of the translation company.”
Source:
· checked 29 August 2026A closed route with people still on it
The European Communities Association Agreement of 1963, known in the community as the Ankara Agreement, let Turkish nationals set up in business or take employment in the UK on favourable terms. The route closed to new applicants after 31 December 2020. Those who already held ECAA leave did not lose it: they extend under Appendix ECAA and, after five years’ continuous residence, apply for settlement, subject to the knowledge of language and life requirement. The Home Office has issued dedicated guidance on indefinite leave to remain for Turkish ECAA holders, and the appendix covers businesspersons, workers and their partners and children.
By the time an ECAA holder settles, most evidence is British: accounts, tax returns, invoices, tenancy agreements, payslips. Turkish documents come in at the edges, and those edges are where translation enters the process.
The translation standard that applies
Appendix ECAA does not carry a translation paragraph of its own; the standard the Home Office applies is the GOV.UK guidance on certifying a translation, quoted in the box. The translator or company confirms in writing that the translation is a true and accurate translation of the original document, gives the date, and adds their full name and contact details. Our certification includes each of these, together with the signature of the person responsible and the company’s Ankara registry details, on every page. Because ECAA holders often move on to the family or citizenship routes later, we include company credentials as a matter of course, so the same translation satisfies the stricter Appendix FM-SE wording if it is ever needed. No notarisation or apostille is required.
Turkish documents on an ECAA file
- Turkish passports, current and expired, where entry and exit stamps are used to evidence continuous residence and absences over the five years.
- Marriage certificate or a full nüfus kayıt örneği for a partner applying as a dependant.
- Children’s birth certificates where they were born in Türkiye or joined the family later.
- A divorce decree where the family situation changed during the qualifying period.
- For businesspersons trading with Türkiye, occasionally a trade registry gazette entry, invoices or a supplier contract that the business relies on.
- A name-change decision where the name on the passport differs from earlier grants of leave.
Where ECAA settlement files run into trouble
- Absences reconstructed from passport stamps that were never translated, leaving the caseworker to guess at Turkish border stamps.
- Continuity broken on paper because an extension was granted under a name spelt differently from the passport.
- Dependants added late with untranslated family records, so the family application is decided separately.
- Translations done at the start of the route, a decade ago in some cases, that carry no translator details and are no longer acceptable.
- Turkish business documents summarised rather than translated in full, which the Home Office treats as incomplete.
How we prepare an ECAA bundle
Send scans of every stamped passport page and of the family documents your adviser lists. We render the stamps into a single dated table across all passports, translate certificates in full with every seal and margin note, and keep names consistent with the passport and with earlier grants of leave, noting any variant in the Turkish records. Each page carries the accuracy statement, date, signature, company name, Ankara trade registry number and contact details. You receive a PDF for the online application; a courier copy is available but not required. A marriage certificate and a nüfus kayıt örneği cost about £20–40 and take 1–2 working days; stamped passport pages are priced by the page and usually take 2–3 working days. No UK VAT is charged. The route is transitional and its guidance has changed several times, so we recommend applying through a solicitor or regulated adviser; our ECAA settlement guide explains the sequence, and the ILR page covers settlement generally.
What you receive
- Passport stamps from all passports rendered into one dated entry/exit table
- Family records translated in full with stamps and margin notes reproduced
- Certification on every page, including company credentials so the translation also meets Appendix FM-SE wording
- Names kept consistent with your passport and earlier grants of leave
- PDF for the UKVI upload, originals attached
Frequently asked questions
Can I still apply under the Ankara Agreement?
Not as a new applicant; the route closed on 31 December 2020. Appendix ECAA exists for people who already held ECAA leave and want to extend or settle. Anyone else looks at the Skilled Worker, family or other routes.
Do I need my Turkish business documents translated for settlement?
Only if your adviser submits them. ECAA businesspersons are assessed mainly on their UK trading evidence. Where a Turkish supplier contract or registry entry is part of the story, it must be translated in full.
Does the credentials item from Appendix FM-SE apply to ECAA settlement?
Appendix ECAA is a separate route and the general GOV.UK rule applies. We include company credentials on every translation anyway, so you are covered if a later application falls under Appendix FM.
Can I reuse translations from my ECAA extensions?
Yes, if the document is unchanged and the translation carries the translator’s or company’s name, date and contact details. Older translations that lack them should be replaced before you apply for settlement.
My partner joined me on the ECAA route. What does she need translated?
The marriage record (evlenme cüzdanı or nüfus kayıt örneği) if it has not been submitted before, her passport stamp pages if her absences need evidencing, and children’s birth certificates where relevant.