How To Marry In Turkey For Foreigners?

Marrying in Turkey might be a dream for many foreigners, because the country offers many idyllic sites, beaches, mountains, resorts, and great cities depending on your preferences for the places of a wedding. And the good thing is that you can start your honeymoon right after your wedding without losing any time; maybe taking a private tour or a Gulet cruise in the Aegean.

According to the Turkish Marriage Legislation and regulations, a Turkish national and a foreigner or two foreigners with different nationalities can get married in Turkey, which can be done only by the competent Turkish authorities. Two foreigners from the same nationality can marry in Turkey either in the offices of their own Country's Embassy or Consulate, or in the Turkish Marriage Offices run by local municipalities. Please note that religious weddings are not recognized by the State, there has to be a civil wedding.

All the marriages in Turkey, Whether they are foreigners or Turkish, has to be conducted by the Turkish authorities and should be regulated according to the Turkish Civil Code and its related regulations.

Foreigners (or local people) who want to marry in Turkey must provide their marriage licences issued by the proper Civil Status Register of his/her own country and proove that they're not already married at the moment. Otherwise, Turkish relevant authorities do not conduct these marriages. This means that the married couples cannot again be married in Turkey under the Turkish law.

Conditions for a valid marriage

• Capacity to marry: Only those persons who have sufficient mental capacity to make fair judgments are allowed to marry. Mental illness is, therefore, a bar to marriage. In addition, a person must have reached the minimum age of 18 to marry.

• Absence of consanguinity: Marriage between close relatives is prohibited.
• Already existing marriage: Monogamy is one of the essential principles of Turkish family law. A second marriage can not be entered into before the first one is terminated.
• Waiting period: Married women whose marriage has been dissolved cannot marry before the expiration of three hundred days (nine months) from the date of dissolution. The divorce decree may also state a waiting period within which the spouse may not remarry.

• Sickness: Certain sicknesses, such as epilepsy, hysteria etc, constitute a bar to marriage.

Necessary documents for the marriage

• Petition of the marriage. To start an action, the groom and bride must file a petition of the marriage at the Municipality (Belediye), called as "Evlenme Beyannamesi" in Turkish.

• Passport, or official identification card, or birth certificate, which has to be translated in Turkish by relevant authorities.
• Health certificate, which has to be taken from a State medical institution in Turkey.
• Four passport size photos belonging to bride and to groom.

• Certificate of Capacity to Marry, which states if a person is single, divorced, or widow. To be taken from the proper Civil Status Register of his/her own country.