Institutions

Civil Registry (Nüfus ve Vatandaşlık İşleri)

The register that every other Turkish institution reads. If a marriage, divorce or birth abroad has not been recorded here, it has not happened as far as Türkiye is concerned.

Council of Higher Education (YÖK) — diploma recognition

Recognition of foreign higher education qualifications is decided here, and its document rule is strict: notarised sworn translation, with the apostille obtained in the country that issued the diploma.

Courthouse apostille for judicial documents

Court decisions and criminal record certificates are apostilled by the judicial commission at the courthouse, not by the governorship. Sending them to the wrong authority is the most common wasted journey in this field.

e-Devlet — the Turkish e-government portal

A great many Turkish documents are now obtained here in minutes, verified by a code rather than a signature. Inside Türkiye that is normal; abroad, whether such a document can be apostilled is the question to settle first.

Governorship apostille office

Where Turkish administrative documents are apostilled for use abroad. It handles Turkish documents only — no office here can apostille a paper issued by another country.

Land Registry (Tapu ve Kadastro)

Property ownership is transferred here, at a single appointment. Almost nothing in the file is translated — but a buyer who does not speak Turkish cannot complete without a sworn interpreter present.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs — legalisation

Where the apostille is unavailable because a country is outside the Hague Convention, documents travel through a longer chain that passes through foreign ministries and missions. This is the slowest route in document work.

Ministry of Labour — work permits (ÇSGB)

Work permits are granted here, on an application made by the employer. Its legislation accepts a sworn translator's certification or an official authority's — which means notarisation is not required on every item.

Ministry of National Education — school equivalence

Where a child transfers from a school abroad, this ministry decides which Turkish year they enter. The assessment reads the grading scale, which is why the reverse sides of school records matter so much.

Presidency of Migration Management (Göç İdaresi)

The authority behind every residence permit file. Its published wording asks for a Turkish translation by a sworn translator, certified by a notary — a stricter standard than the work permit regime.

Social Security Institution (SGK)

Registration is a Turkish procedure with Turkish documents. Translation arises in one place only — certificates of coverage and contribution records crossing a border under a bilateral agreement.

Trade Registry Directorate

Companies are formed and recorded here. Turkish company documents are never translated; the certification work sits entirely on documents brought in from a foreign parent or shareholder.

Turkish consulates abroad

The most underused institution in this whole section. A document drawn up at a Turkish consulate is a Turkish official document — valid here directly, with no apostille and no translation.

Turkish notaries and sworn translators

Sworn translator status arises before a notary, and the oath record works only at that one office. There is no national register and no state examination — which changes the question you should be asking.

Turkish university admissions offices

Many Turkish universities state that translation is required only where documents are in a language other than English or French. That exception is theirs alone — the migration authority does not repeat it.