Guidance

Turkey: Knowledge Base profile

Published 26 March 2025

© Crown copyright 2025

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About: Turkey

This document contains useful information about Turkey which will assist His Majesty’s Passport Office staff process passport applications.

Contacts

If you have any questions about the document and your line manager or senior caseworker cannot help you or you think that the document has factual errors then email HM Passport Office’s Guidance team.

If you notice any formatting errors in this document (broken links, spelling mistakes and so on) or have any comments about the layout or navigability of the document then you can email the Guidance team.

Publication

Below is information on when this version of the document was published:

  • version 4.0
  • published for Home Office staff on 21 March 2025

Changes from last version of this document

This document has been updated with minor formatting changes.

Turkey: names

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about names in Turkey.

Names in Turkey consist of:

  • up to 2 forenames
  • a surname

On official documents the child’s middle forename may be shown before the first forename.  

Change of name

A woman must take her husband’s surname after marriage if she is a Turkey citizen.

Change of name (other than marriage) can only be done through a court order in Turkey.

Changes of name can be shown on a person’s registration extract “NÜFUS KAYIT ÖRNEĞİ”.

Turkey: nationality

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about nationality in Turkey.

Dual nationality is allowed in Turkey.

Turkey: legitimacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about legitimacy  in Turkey.

Legitimacy

Turkey recognises a difference between legitimate and illegitimate births.

Children are considered:

  • legitimate if the parents:
    • are married at the time of the birth
    • marry after the birth and both parents sign a paternity declaration
  • illegitimate if the parents never marry

If the mother is married when she has a child with a new partner, her husband will be named as the legal father on the birth registration and the child will take the husband’s surname. This is also the case if a child is born within 9 months of divorce.

Turkey: adoption

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about adoption in Turkey.

Adoptions is legal in Turkey.

Turkey: surrogacy

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about surrogacy in Turkey.

Surrogacy is illegal in Turkey.

Turkey: gender recognition

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about gender recognition in Turkey.

Transgender citizens are recognised in Turkey.

Turkey: civil partnerships and marriage

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about civil partnerships and marriage in Turkey.

Civil partnerships and same sex marriage are not legal in Turkey.

Only civil marriages are legally recognised in Turkey.

Turkey: documents

This section gives HM Passport Office operational staff information about documents in Turkey.

In Turkey, all births, deaths, marriages, and changes of name are recorded with the Turkish Registrar Office.

Birth certificates

The Registry Office will issue a birth certificate known as a Formul A, this is internationally recognised, and confirms the birth has been correctly registered. 

Turkey issue a Record of Identity Register (Nüfus Kayit Örnegi) document which includes personal and family information.

Births must be registered within 15 days. Late registrations are allowed.   

Birth records are created using the hospital issued Dogum Bildirim Formu. If the child is born at home, the place of registration may be recorded as the place of birth.

The Identity Office will reissue a Formul A if an error is found, the correction will be recorded on the Identity Registration System and show on the Record of Identity Register extract.

When the exact date of birth is unknown a birth record may show 01/01 followed by the year of birth.

Hospital birth records exist and are issued to the parents. If the parents are married both mother and father’s names appear on the certificate.

Marriage certificates

Civil marriages are automatically registered as part of the marriage ceremony.

Turkey issues 2 types of marriage document:

  • a family book (Aile Cuzdani) which records the marriage (acceptable for change of name purposes but not for nationality purposes)
  • a Formul B marriage certificate, issued by the Identity Office (acceptable for all passport purposes)

Death certificates

The Turkish Identity Office issue Formul C death certificates.

Identity documents

There is a mandatory identity card for Turkey citizens, which may be laminated. Foreign national residents do not have identity cards.

In Turkey, the Foreigners Police issue identity documents regionally.

The Turkish Identity office will use a court order to issue a:

  • Bosanmar which is a divorce document
  • Evlat Edinme or Evlatlik which are adoption documents
  • Velayet for custody documents
  • Isim Degisikligi which are documents that confirm a customer has changed their name

The wording and spelling of these documents may vary.

Divorce, adoption and changes of name will appear on a customer’s registration extract (‘Nufus Kayit Ornegi’).

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