GUIDE TO THE RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN DIVORCE DECISIONS IN TURKEY

WHY IS A FOREIGN DIVORCE JUDGMENT NOT AUTOMATICALLY VALID IN TURKEY?

Under the principle of state sovereignty, judgments handed down by the judicial organs of a state are, as a rule, binding only within the sovereign borders of that state. As a natural result of this principle, a divorce judgment given by the court of a foreign country produces no effect of its own in the Turkish legal system.

A foreign court judgment acquires legal validity in Turkey only once it is recognised by the Turkish judicial or administrative authorities. This is the starting point of Law No. 5718 on Private International Law and Procedural Law (PILA).

People who divorced abroad but never had that judgment registered in Turkey keep appearing as married in the Turkish population registry. This is not a simple piece of missing paperwork; it produces the following direct and serious results for a person’s legal status:

• Bar on Remarriage: Because the marriage is still shown as subsisting in the population records, it is legally impossible for the person to remarry in Turkey or before Turkish consulates.
• Serious Risks in Terms of Inheritance Law: A party who appears married in the population records keeps the status of a statutory heir in practice for as long as the recognition procedure is not completed. An unrecognised divorce judgment in an inheritance transfer procedure in Turkey turns into a heavy procedural problem that locks the distribution of the estate.
• Proof of Marital Status in Official Transactions: Failure to prove marital status correctly in the purchase or sale of real estate, in a family residence annotation, or in official transactions before banks and state bodies leads to loss of rights.

HOW DOES A DIVORCE DECREE ISSUED ABROAD BECOME VALID IN TURKEY?

Turkish law provides two separate and independent routes for the recognition of a foreign court’s divorce decree and its registration in the population records in Turkey:

1. Administrative Route: An application for administrative registration made through the Civil Registry Office or Turkish diplomatic missions (consulates) (Civil Registry Services Law Art. 27/A).
2. Judicial Route: A Recognition and Enforcement Action filed before the Family Court (PILA Art. 50 etc.).

Which route is chosen for the recognition and application of a foreign divorce judgment in Turkey depends on the content of the foreign court’s judgment, the secondary heads contained in it (custody, alimony, compensation) and the attitude of the parties during the application.

1- Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree Through the Administrative Route in Turkey (Application to the Civil Registry Office / Consulate)

This method, also known informally as “registration of a divorce without a court case” or “the simple procedure”, entered the Turkish legal system with Article 27/A of Civil Registry Services Law No. 5490. Thanks to this route, foreign divorce decrees that meet the conditions are entered directly in the population registry without any need to file a court case.

Civil Registry Services Law Article 27/A: “Decisions given by the judicial or administrative authorities of a foreign country concerning divorce, the nullity or annulment of a marriage, or the determination of whether a marriage exists shall be registered in the civil registry, provided that the parties apply jointly, in person or through their representatives, that the decision was given by an authority competent in the matter under the laws of the state where it was given, that it has become final in accordance with procedure, and that it is not manifestly contrary to Turkish public policy.

• What Are the Conditions for an Administrative Application to Recognise a Foreign Divorce Judgment in Turkey?

For the administrative registration of a divorce judgment issued abroad to be accepted under Turkish law, the following three basic conditions must be met together (cumulatively):

1. Competent Authority and Finality: The judgment must have been given by a competent foreign judicial or administrative authority and must have become final in accordance with the procedure of the legislation of that country,
2. Public Policy: The judgment must not be manifestly contrary to Turkish public policy,
3. The Joint Application Rule and Its Exceptions: As a rule, the application must be made jointly by the parties.

• Who Can Make the Administrative Application to Recognise a Foreign Divorce Decision in Turkey, and Where?

The persons who may apply for the registration of a foreign court’s divorce decision in the population registry without a court case (administrative recognition) and the conditions of representation are limited by law.

Rule 1: The Joint Application Requirement

The most basic condition for the recognition of a foreign divorce decree through administrative registration is that the divorced former spouses make the application together.

The spouses;

• if they are in Turkey, must go together to the Provincial/District Civil Registry Offices,
• if they are abroad, must apply together to the Turkish diplomatic missions (consulate/embassy) and sign the form.

There is no requirement that the spouses apply at the same moment or on the same day. Spouses living in different countries or cities may also complete their applications by going separately, within 90 days, to the consulate or civil registry office closest to them.

Rule 2: Application Through a Representative or Attorney

If the spouses have no possibility of going to the civil registry office or the consulate in person, the process can be carried out through attorneys:

• Special Power of Attorney: In the power of attorney they give to their lawyers or to the representatives they authorise, the parties must define a special authority “to apply for the registration in the civil registry and the recognition of a foreign court’s divorce judgment”.
• Attorney for One Spouse / Personal Application by the Other: While one spouse applies in person, the other spouse may give a special power of attorney to a lawyer or representative in Turkey so that the application is completed.

Rule 3: Exceptional Situations

Under Law No. 5490, the rule in an administrative application for the recognition of a foreign divorce decree in Turkey is that the parties act together. However, with the amendment made in 2020, where one of the parties is a foreign national or has died, the other party who is a Turkish citizen was given the possibility of applying to the administration alone. In the following cases the application for administrative registration is accepted on the request of a single party or interested person:

1. Death of One of the Spouses: If one of the spouses has died after the divorce before the foreign court, the surviving spouse may make the application for administrative registration alone.
2. One of the Spouses Being a Foreign National: If one of the former spouses is a citizen of a foreign country, the spouse who is a Turkish citizen may alone apply to the Civil Registry Office or to the diplomatic missions and request the registration of the foreign court’s divorce judgment. The foreign spouse does not need to join the application or to give a power of attorney.
3. Statutory Heirs with a Legal Interest: Where both of the divorced parties have died, the statutory heirs (children, for example) whose inheritance rights and lineage are affected and who have not rejected the inheritance in Turkey may request administrative registration.

• Which Documents Are Required for the Administrative Application to Recognise a Foreign Divorce Decision in Turkey?

The compulsory documents that must be submitted in full in the administrative registration of a foreign court’s divorce decision before civil registry offices or consulates in Turkey are as follows:

1. Original of the Text of the Foreign Judgment: The official copy issued by the competent court or administrative authority that gave the judgment, wet-signed and sealed.
2. Certificate of Finality (Document of Finality): The annotation showing that the divorce judgment has become final under the legislation of that country. (In some countries this wording appears on the text of the judgment itself, while in countries such as Germany or Austria a separate “Rechtskraftvermerk” document is required.)
3. Apostille or Consular Certification: An apostille for judgments obtained from countries party to the 1961 Hague Convention; for countries not party to the convention, certification by the Turkish diplomatic mission in the country concerned.
4. Notarised Turkish Translation: The Turkish translation of the judgment, of the finality annotation and of the apostille, made by a sworn translator and certified by a notary public.
5. Identity Documents and Special Power of Attorney: Copies of the applying parties’ Turkish ID card / passport; if the matter is handled through a lawyer in Turkey, a special power of attorney whose text expressly contains the authority of recognition and registration.

• What Are the Limits of Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Judgment Through the Administrative Route in Turkey?

The administrative registration procedure under Article 27/A of Law No. 5490 applies only to judgments that end the marriage bond or determine its existence. The limits of the administrative route are as follows:

1. Judgments Within Scope: Divorce, nullity or annulment of the marriage, or determination of whether the marriage exists.
2. Outside Scope (Enforceable) Heads: Heads contained in the foreign court’s judgment such as custody, maintenance, pecuniary/non-pecuniary compensation or the division of matrimonial property, or a restraining order cannot acquire validity in Turkey through an administrative application.

If the judgment contains such ancillary and enforceable heads and these are to be enforced in Turkey, an enforcement action must be filed before the Family Court. Where a parent to whom custody was not given in the foreign court’s judgment brings the child to Turkey without the other spouse’s consent or contrary to the judgment, the matter may fall within the scope of International Parental Abduction. In such situations the provisions of the 1980 Hague Convention are applied and an action for the return of the abducted child together with administrative and legal procedures come onto the agenda.

• What Can Be Done If the Administrative Application Is Refused?

The civil registry office or the Turkish consulates may refuse the registration request if their examination leads them to conclude that the divorce judgment given by the foreign court does not meet the conditions in the legislation. Where the administrative application is refused, the following routes are available:

1. Filing a Recognition Action Directly Before the Family Court: Instead of going to the administrative court for the annulment of the administrative decision, taking the matter directly to the Family Court is the most practical and fastest route in Turkish legal practice. The court subjects the decision refused by the administrative authority to an independent judicial examination.
2. Filing a Case Before the Administrative Judiciary: A case may be filed before the administrative courts for the annulment of the administrative act; however, in terms of avoiding loss of rights and reaching a final solution, the Family Court route is always more effective.

2. Filing a Recognition and Enforcement Action Before the Family Court So That a Foreign Divorce Judgment Can Be Applied in Turkey

Where the conditions for administrative registration cannot be met, where the parties do not agree to apply jointly, or where the foreign court’s judgment contains enforceable heads, a foreign divorce decree can acquire validity in Turkey only through the judicial route.

The judicial process is regulated in detail in Articles 50 to 59 of Law No. 5718 on Private International Law and Procedural Law (PILA).

• What Is the Difference Between a Recognition Action and an Enforcement Action?

Although the concepts of recognition and enforcement are often mentioned together in our legal system, they are separated by clear lines in terms of the legal results they produce and the conditions sought:

1. Recognition Action: It ensures that the effect of a final judgment and of conclusive evidence of the foreign court’s judgment is also accepted as valid in the Turkish legal system.
2. Enforcement Action: It ensures that the foreign court’s judgment becomes actually applicable and enforceable in Turkey through the compulsory enforcement organs (enforcement offices).

Where only the divorce part of a divorce judgment given by a foreign court is to be made valid in Turkey, a recognition action is sufficient and no reciprocity research is carried out. However, if the enforcement in Turkey of a head in the judgment such as maintenance or custody is requested, an enforcement action must be filed; when an enforcement judgment is given, the divorce part is recognised automatically and the enforceable parts become enforceable.

• Which Court Has Subject-Matter and Territorial Jurisdiction in Recognition and Enforcement Actions in Turkey?

In actions for the recognition and enforcement of foreign courts’ divorce decisions, the court with subject-matter jurisdiction is the Family Court. In provinces or districts where a separate family court has not been established, the case is filed before the Civil Court of First Instance (sitting as a Family Court).

The court with territorial jurisdiction is determined in stages under PILA Art. 51 as follows:

1. Domicile of the Defendant: The court of the defendant’s domicile (registered address) in Turkey,
2. Residence of the Defendant: If the defendant has no domicile in Turkey, the court of the place where the defendant resides,
3. The Courts of the Three Largest Provinces: If the defendant has no domicile or residence at all in Turkey, or if the defendant is a foreign national, the case may be filed before one of the Ankara, İstanbul or İzmir Family Courts.

• Under Which Conditions Is a Recognition and Enforcement Action Filed?

Under PILA Art. 50 and the following articles, the following conditions must exist for a foreign divorce judgment to be recognised or enforced by the Turkish courts:

1. Nature as a Court Judgment: The judgment must have been given by the court of a foreign state on a matter of private law or family law.
2. Being Final: The judgment must have become final in accordance with the procedure of the legislation of the country where it was given.
3. Reciprocity: (Required only in enforcement actions) There must be a relationship of reciprocity between Turkey and the state where the judgment was given, based on law, on practice or on a treaty.
4. Absence of an Exclusive Jurisdiction Bar: The judgment must not have been given on a matter falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Turkish courts.
5. Compliance with Public Policy: The judgment must not be manifestly contrary to Turkish public policy (to the fundamental principles of public policy).
6. Compliance with the Right of Defence: The defendant must have been duly summoned and represented before the foreign court that gave the judgment, and the right of defence (the right to be heard) must not have been violated.

• Which Documents Are Required for a Recognition and Enforcement Action in Turkey?

The petition must expressly state the identity/address details of the parties, the name of the court that gave the judgment, the date and number of the judgment and a summary of its operative part. If only a certain part of the foreign court’s decree is to be applied rather than the whole of it (for example, recognition of the divorce head and enforcement only of the compensation/property division part), the request for partial enforcement must be expressly stated in the petition. The compulsory documents to be submitted to the court together with the petition in a recognition and enforcement action filed before the Family Court in Turkey are as follows:

1. Certified Copy of the Foreign Court’s Decree: The official copy certified by the authority that gave the judgment, wet-signed/sealed.
2. Certificate of Finality (Document): The official document showing that the judgment has become final.
3. Apostille or Consular Certification: Certification of international validity.
4. Notarised Turkish Translation: Sworn translation and notarial certification of the judgment, of the document of finality and of the apostille.
5. Special Power of Attorney: Where the case is followed by a lawyer in Turkey, a special power of attorney whose text contains the wording “to file and conduct an action for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign court’s judgment” .

• How Long Does a Recognition and Enforcement Action Take in Turkey?

In practice, the most critical factor determining the length of an action for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign divorce decree is the defendant’s address and the service of process:

1. Where Service Within Turkey Is Possible: If service can be made on the defendant at an address inside Turkey, or if the defendant is represented by an attorney, the process is completed on average in 4 to 8 months.
2. Where Service Abroad Is Required: In files where the defendant lives abroad and service must be made under the rules on service abroad (international service conventions/the consular channel), the process may extend to between 6 months and 1.5 years.

• How Much Are the Costs and Fees of a Recognition and Enforcement Action in Turkey?

In recognition and enforcement actions, the costs of the proceedings are determined in Turkish law according to the following principles:

1. Fixed and Proportional Fees: Actions for the recognition of the divorce alone are subject to a fixed fee. However, where the enforcement of performance heads such as compensation or maintenance in the judgment is requested, a proportional fee may come onto the agenda depending on the situation.
2. Court Fees and Costs: Court costs including the application fee, the judgment fee, the advance on costs, domestic service and expert/translation expenses vary on average between 20,000 TL and 25,000 TL.
3. The Difference for Service Abroad: In files where service must be made abroad, court costs may exceed this amount because of consular and service fees.

(Note: The lawyer’s fee is separate from the item of court costs and fees; it is freely determined between the lawyer and the client according to the nature of the file, the number of parties and the service processes.)

• How Does a Party Living Abroad Follow the Case?

Turkish citizens residing or working abroad are under no obligation to come to Turkey for recognition and enforcement matters. The process can be conducted and concluded entirely through a lawyer, without setting foot in the country.

The steps to be followed for remote handling of the process are as follows:

1. Issuing a Special Power of Attorney: A special power of attorney containing the authority of recognition/enforcement is issued by the Turkish consulate in the country of residence or by a local notary public in that country (with an apostille affixed).
2. Document Preparation and Planning: So that no time is lost through missing documents in files conducted from abroad, online lawyer consultancy services in Turkey are obtained at the outset and the basis of the file and the necessary annotations (apostille, finality and so on) are planned.
3. Filing and Following the Case: After the lawyer is authorised, the case is filed in Turkey; all service, hearing and civil registry registration processes are conducted and concluded by the attorney in person within the scope of case follow-up in Turkey.

• How Does the Process Work If the Other Spouse Objects to Recognition?

If one of the parties does not consent to the process in the administrative application, or the joint application condition cannot be met, recognition can be achieved only by filing a case before the Family Court.

At the litigation stage the defendant party has a right of objection, and the process works as follows:

1. Grounds of Objection: The defendant may object to the case by claiming that service was not duly made during the proceedings before the foreign court, that the right of defence was restricted, or that the judgment is manifestly contrary to Turkish public policy.
2. Examination by the Court: The Family Court judge examines the defendant’s objections on the merits within the framework of the PILA provisions. If the objections are found justified, the recognition or enforcement request may be refused.
3. Effect on the Process: In Turkish legal practice, objections concerning the custody arrangement, the amount of maintenance or the division of matrimonial property in particular are the most common matters of dispute, extending the service and evidence-gathering stages of the file.

• Can Foreign Courts’ “Legal Separation” Judgments Be Recognised in Turkey?

The position is different for legal separation judgments, which are often encountered in Arab countries or in Anglo-Saxon law. Under Turkish law, recognition and enforcement concern final judgments that legally bring the marriage bond to an end. Judgments that merely interrupt the marriage bond or order separation without ending the marriage cannot be registered as a “divorce” in Turkey. In that case it must be examined separately whether the legislation of the country concerned converts that separation judgment into a divorce over time.

• Can a Divorce Decision From a Country Without an Apostille Be Recognised?

The rule that an apostille is required in the recognition and enforcement of a foreign court’s decisions before the Turkish courts applies only if the country where the judgment was given is party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention.

The procedure to be followed for judgments obtained from countries that are not party to the convention is as follows:

1. Consular Certification (Chain Certification): After certification by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country that gave the judgment, certification of the judgment by the Turkish diplomatic mission (embassy or consulate general) in that country is accepted as sufficient.
2. Translation Requirement: In both cases, a notarised Turkish translation made by a sworn translator of the text of the judgment, of the finality annotation and of the certification documents must be submitted.
3. Risk of a Procedural Defect: A missing apostille or consular certification is a ground for procedural refusal both in the administrative application and in the court proceedings before the Family Court.

IS THERE A TIME LIMIT FOR THE RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN DIVORCE DECREES IN TURKEY?

One of the matters on which citizens who divorced abroad most often hesitate is the obstacle of a limitation period or an application deadline. This is assessed under two different legal regimes, in terms of the recognition of the judgment and in terms of the ancillary rights attached to the divorce:

1. In Terms of Recognition and Enforcement Requests (There Is No Time Limit)

There is no limitation period or forfeiture period laid down in Turkish legislation for the administrative registration in Turkey of a foreign court’s divorce decision or its recognition/enforcement before the Family Court.

Even if 5, 10 or 20 years have passed since the divorce judgment, the parties may at any time make an administrative application to the Civil Registry Office/consulate or file a recognition action before the Family Court, provided that the judgment meets the conditions.

2. In Terms of the Ancillary Rights Attached to the Divorce (A 1-Year Limitation Period)

Although recognition and enforcement are not themselves subject to a time limit, a critical limitation period exists for the additional cases to be filed after the divorce decree is registered in Turkey:

Cases for pecuniary/non-pecuniary compensation or alimony to be claimed separately in Turkey after the recognition of the divorce, which are not contained in the foreign court’s judgment, are subject under Turkish Civil Code (TCC) Art. 178 to a 1-year limitation period running from the date the recognition/enforcement judgment becomes final.

Warning on Loss of Legal Rights:

If the foreign court’s judgment contains no head on compensation or alimony and no case is filed in Turkey with these claims within 1 year of the recognition of the divorce in Turkey, those rights to pecuniary/non-pecuniary compensation and alimony become time-barred.

CAN A TITLE DEED TRANSFER BE MADE IN TURKEY WITH A FOREIGN DIVORCE DECREE?

Where a divorce decree given by foreign judicial authorities orders the transfer to one of the parties of immovable property located within the borders of Turkey (a flat, a plot of land, a business premises and so on), the sharing of its ownership, or the creation of a right in rem over it (usufruct, mortgage and so on), special procedural rules come into play under the Turkish Land Registry Law and the principles of private international law.

The basic points to be observed in the process of making the real estate heads in a foreign court’s judgment valid under Turkish law and having them entered in the land registry are as follows:

1. Review of the Exclusive Jurisdiction of the Court in the Enforcement Judgment in Turkey

Heads concerning the transfer of real estate contained in a foreign court’s judgment cannot be entered in the land registry through administrative registration (an application to the Civil Registry Office/consulate). Since such heads are enforceable in nature, they necessarily require an Enforcement Judgment to be obtained from the Family Court.

However, there is a critical legal limit here:

• Rights Concerning the Ownership of Immovable Property: Under the Turkish Law on Private International Law and Procedural Law (PILA Art. 44), in cases concerning the ownership of immovable property located in Turkey the Turkish courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
• If the foreign court has directly decided to cancel the ownership of the immovable property in Turkey and to register it in the name of the other spouse, the Turkish court may refuse the enforcement of that head on the ground of a breach of exclusive jurisdiction.
• By contrast, if the head contained in the foreign court’s judgment is framed not as a “transfer of ownership” but as an obligation of compensation / liquidation creating a debt of the parties towards each other (for example: “One of the spouses undertakes to transfer / pays for his or her share in the real estate to the other”), enforcement becomes possible.

2. The Final Enforcement Judgment and the Land Registry Registration Process in Turkey

After the enforcement judgment given by the Family Court becomes final, the registration, cancellation or transfer transactions to be carried out before the land registry offices are subject to the general provisions of Real Estate Law and Land Registry Legislation in Turkey:

• Finality Annotation: Land registry offices do not carry out a change of ownership on the basis of enforcement judgments that are not yet final or that carry no finality annotation.
• Registration Request: The entitled spouse submits the final enforcement judgment, its certified translation and, if necessary, the annotation of enforceability obtained from the court to the competent Land Registry Office and requests registration.

3. Registration Through the Enforcement Office in Turkey

Where the debtor spouse does not comply of his or her own accord with the head on the transfer of immovable property in the foreign judgment and avoids giving a voluntary transfer at the land registry:

• After the enforcement judgment is obtained, an annotation of enforceability is obtained from the court.
• The judgment is put into enforcement based on a court judgment through the Turkish enforcement offices.
• Even if the debtor party does not come to sign at the land registry, ownership is officially transferred to the entitled spouse under Turkish law thanks to the registration letter (official letter) written by the Enforcement Office to the relevant Land Registry Office.

IN WHICH CASES IS THE RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF A FOREIGN DIVORCE DECISION REFUSED?

Under the PILA provisions, the Family Court judge cannot go into the substance (content) of the foreign court’s decision (the prohibition of révision au fond). In other words, the judge cannot examine whether “the foreign judge decided correctly”; he or she investigates only whether the statutory grounds of refusal exist.

The main grounds leading to the refusal of a recognition and enforcement request are as follows:

1. Failure to Prove Finality: Failure to submit the annotation or document showing that the foreign court’s decision has become final under the legislation of the country concerned.
2. Violation of the Right of Defence (the Right to Be Heard): Failure to serve the petition/summons duly on the defendant party during the proceedings, or a judgment given in the defendant’s absence without any possibility of defence.
3. Manifest Contrariety to Public Policy: The judgment being manifestly contrary to the fundamental principles of the Turkish Constitution, to the mandatory rules of the Turkish legal system or to the general understanding of morality in society.
4. Absence of Reciprocity: (Only in enforcement actions) The absence of reciprocity based on law, on practice or on a treaty between Turkey and the country concerned.

In practice, the claim of contrariety to public policy is frequently misunderstood:

❌ Situations Regarded as Contrary to Public Policy: The judgment concerning a type of marriage/divorce that is not recognised in Turkish law, or the defendant’s right of defence being taken away because he or she was never informed of the proceedings.

✅ Situations NOT Regarded as Contrary to Public Policy: The fact that the foreign court accepted as a ground of divorce a reason different from that of the Turkish Civil Code (for example the uncontested “no-fault” divorce principle of Western law) does not in itself amount to contrariety to public policy. The Turkish court takes as its basis the result of the divorce, not the reasoning relied on by the foreign judge.

ADMINISTRATIVE APPLICATION OR COURT ACTION? WHICH ROUTE SHOULD BE USED FOR THE RECOGNITION OF A FOREIGN DIVORCE JUDGMENT IN TURKEY?

The point on which citizens who divorced abroad hesitate most in practice is whether an administrative application is sufficient for the registration of the foreign divorce judgment, or whether it is compulsory to file a case before the Family Court.

Choosing the wrong route leads to losses of rights that are hard to repair, for example being content with an administrative application alone and the maintenance or custody heads in the judgment never becoming applicable in Turkey.

Which route should be followed can be summarised in the Decision Guide below:

THE DISTINCTION BETWEEN ADMINISTRATIVE REGISTRATION AND COURT ACTION IN THE APPLICATION OF A DIVORCE DECREE ISSUED ABROAD, WITH PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

Whether a divorce decree given by a foreign judicial authority can acquire validity in the Turkish legal system depends on the citizenship situation of the parties, on whether the content of the judgment contains enforceable heads (custody, maintenance, compensation) and on the attitude of the spouses during the process. The 5 concrete scenarios most often encountered in practice and the legal routes to be followed are as follows:

1. A couple who divorced in Germany by agreement, without any property or maintenance claim:

   Since the uncontested divorce judgment given in Germany contains only a divorce head and the parties can act together (or can give a special power of attorney in Turkey), an administrative application to the nearest Turkish consulate or to a civil registry office in Turkey is sufficient; there is no need to file a case.

2. The situation of a Turkish citizen whose former spouse is a citizen of a foreign country:

   Under Article 27/A of the Civil Registry Services Law, the foreign spouse does not need to join the application or to give a power of attorney. The party who is a Turkish citizen may, with the certified and apostilled judgment, make an administrative application alone and have the divorce registered in the population registry.

3. A parent who divorced in the United Kingdom, whose judgment contains a custody arrangement:

   Since the judgment contains an enforceable head such as custody, the administrative route is closed under Turkish law. In that case it is compulsory to file an enforcement action before the Family Court. Otherwise neither the custody arrangement nor the divorce is binding before the Turkish authorities (school registration, passport transactions, administrative bodies).

4. A divorce granted in the United States of America ordering alimony and property division, where the parties object:

   Since the judgment contains financial heads that must be enforced, such as compensation, alimony or property division, and no agreement could be reached between the parties, filing an enforcement action before the Family Court is essential; indeed, civil registry offices in Turkey have no power to enforce financial heads.

5. A Turkish citizen whose former spouse died after the foreign court’s decision:

   If the former spouse dies after the divorce decision is obtained, the surviving Turkish citizen spouse (or the statutory heirs with a legal interest in the registration) may, alone, make an administrative application and have the judgment registered in the population registry. This convenience was granted to heirs by the legislature in order to ensure the correct determination of the estate in Turkey.

CAN A DIVORCE CASE BE FILED IN TURKEY WHILE A FOREIGN COURT’S JUDGMENT EXISTS?

While a divorce case filed in a foreign country is ongoing, or where a judgment has been given but has not yet been recognised in Turkey, it is a situation frequently encountered in practice that one of the spouses also files a divorce case before the Family Court in Turkey. In such situations, the regime of “the objection that the case is already pending” and of “conflicting cases” comes into play under Turkish law.

1. Filing a Case in Turkey While the Divorce Case Before the Foreign Court Is Ongoing

Where a divorce case filed in a foreign country has not yet been concluded and one of the spouses files a fresh divorce case in Turkey, two different possibilities arise:

• Objection of a Pending Case Under PILA Art. 41: The defendant party may raise the objection that the case is already pending before the Turkish court by documenting that a case between the same parties and on the same subject was filed earlier before the foreign court and is still ongoing.
• Treatment as a Preliminary Issue: If the Turkish court establishes that the case running before the foreign court has the potential to be recognised/enforced in Turkey and that the foreign court validly established its jurisdiction, it may treat the conclusion of the case before the foreign court as a preliminary issue (CCP Art. 165). When the foreign judgment becomes final, the case in Turkey loses its subject matter.

2. Filing a Case Where the Foreign Divorce Judgment Has Become Final but Has Not Yet Been Recognised in Turkey

Where the foreign court has given the divorce judgment and the judgment has become final, but it has not yet been registered with the Civil Registry Office in Turkey and no recognition action has been concluded before the Family Court:

• Objection of a Final Judgment (Res Judicata): From the moment the foreign court’s judgment becomes final (even if it has not been registered in Turkey), the marriage bond between the parties has legally come to an end. In a divorce case filed later in Turkey, the defendant spouse may raise the objection of a final judgment by submitting to the court the final foreign court’s judgment (with the apostille and a certified translation).

• The Case Before the Turkish Court Losing Its Subject Matter: If, while the case in Turkey is ongoing, a recognition/enforcement action is filed for the foreign judgment and is accepted, or the judgment is entered in the population records through administrative registration, the Turkish Family Court rules “that the case has lost its subject matter because the former spouses are already divorced” and that there is no need to give a judgment.

3. What Happens If the Divorce Case in Turkey Becomes Final Earlier?

If the divorce case filed before the Turkish Family Court is concluded and becomes final before the recognition/enforcement process of the foreign court’s judgment in Turkey; then, once the divorce judgment given by the Turkish court has become final, the recognition in Turkey of a foreign court’s judgment given on the same matter is refused on the ground of PILA Art. 54/1-c (public policy). This is because legal validity cannot be conferred on a foreign judgment on a dispute that has already been settled by the Turkish judicial system.

CAN A PERSON REMARRY IN TURKEY BEFORE A FOREIGN DIVORCE DECISION IS RECOGNISED?

For as long as a divorce decision given by foreign judicial or administrative authorities is not registered with the Civil Registry Office in Turkey or recognised by the Family Court, the marriage bond is deemed to continue legally in the eyes of Turkish law. Having divorced in a foreign country does not on its own produce any effect within the borders of Turkey or before the Turkish diplomatic missions.

The basic legal obstacles and practical risks a person who still appears as “married” in the Turkish registry will face if he or she acts without completing this process are as follows:

1. The Bar on Making a New Official Marriage

Under TCC Art. 145/1, a second marriage made while an existing marriage subsists is defective with absolute nullity (invalid). Even where the person has divorced in fact and in law abroad, for as long as the recognition/registration procedure is not carried out, it is impossible to make a new official marriage in Turkey or before the Turkish consulates. The moment the marriage registrar sees the entry “married” in the population records, the marriage application is refused.

2. Major Risks in Terms of Inheritance Law (The Former Spouse as an Heir)

If one of the parties dies before the foreign divorce decree is recognised in Turkey, because the marriage continues on paper the former spouse keeps the status of a statutory heir under Turkish inheritance law. This leads to the (former) spouse taking a share from the assets and statutory inheritance rights of the deceased person and creates irreparable grievances. The former spouse who is a statutory heir may, through an action to end joint ownership (izale-i şuyu), request the sale of the immovable properties of which he or she is an heir without needing the consent of the other heirs. The former spouse may even file an action for hiding assets from the estate against the other heirs for unlawful transfers.

3. Being an Obstacle to a Marriage Contract

If the person wishes to draw up a separation of property or a marriage contract (matrimonial property agreement) before a new relationship, a notary public or the official authorities cannot carry out a transaction with a person whose existing marriage has not been dealt with in the registry. The primary legal condition under Turkish law is that the old marriage is officially removed from the population records.

4. Confusion of Surname and Civil Registry Record

For as long as recognition or registration is not carried out, the wife continues to bear her former spouse’s surname on her Turkish identity card and passport. A contradiction between the foreign divorce decree and the Turkish identity records in official transactions abroad (identity card, passport renewal, visa) causes serious blockages in international bureaucracy.

THE ROLE OF A SPECIALIST DIVORCE LAWYER IN THE RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN DIVORCE JUDGMENTS IN TURKEY

The process of recognising a foreign court’s divorce judgment is, despite its apparent simplicity, an area open to more than one procedural mistake. Conducting the process with the support of a divorce lawyer in Turkey allows the following risks to be identified at an early stage.

1. Overlooking Heads on Maintenance, Custody or the Division of Matrimonial Property

Failure to determine correctly whether the judgment contains not only a divorce head but also heads concerning child support, custody of the child or the liquidation of the matrimonial property regime may lead to being content with an administrative application and overlooking the enforceability dimension.

Where the foreign court’s decree contains a head on spousal alimony, this risk becomes even more pronounced; the later claiming of that receivable within the scope of enforcement and bankruptcy law depends on an enforcement judgment having been duly obtained beforehand under Turkish law. In a file where an administrative application was considered enough but the support payments head was never enforced, the creditor party may notice this gap years later and be forced to file a separate case.

2. Procedural Mistakes in the Apostille, Translation and Power of Attorney Process

A missing apostille, a translation that does not carry the certification of a sworn translator, or a power of attorney drawn up abroad that does not meet the formal conditions required by Turkish law may result in the refusal of both the administrative application and the petition. Defects of this kind are capable of being identified and remedied at the preparation stage, before the file is submitted to the official authority; if the defect emerges after the application, however, the process may have to be repeated from the beginning.

3. Correct Management of the Public Policy Assessment

Assessing in advance whether the judgment amounts to contrariety to Turkish public policy can prevent the case or the administrative application from dragging on. That assessment requires many elements to be examined together, from the nature of the proceedings in which the judgment was given to the content of the heads in the judgment, and it usually forms the stage of the case before the Turkish courts that takes the most time and requires the most careful preparation.

In conclusion, securing the guidance of an English-speaking divorce lawyer in Turkey is essential when navigating the recognition and enforcement of foreign divorce judgments. Turkish private international law involves strict procedural formalities, strict evidentiary standards, and rigorous translation requirements where even minor oversights can lead to severe loss of rights or prolonged court delays. Partnering with a specialist who understands both the legal mechanics and language eliminates potential communication barriers, prevents costly procedural mistakes, and ensures a seamless transition of foreign judgment into the Turkish legal order.