Birth registration in Turkey for a child born abroad

If your child is born outside Turkey and one parent is a Turkish citizen, the birth is registered by notifying the Turkish embassy or consulate. Turkish Civil Registration Services Law No. 5490 (Nüfus Hizmetleri Kanunu) gives sixty days from the birth, and the notification is made with the birth certificate issued by the foreign authority (Art. 15(1) and (6)). Registration does not create Turkish citizenship. As a rule, a child of a Turkish mother or father acquires it at birth, wherever the birth takes place; the registration records it in the Turkish civil register (nüfus kütüğü). Only for a child born outside marriage to a Turkish father and a foreign mother must parentage be established first.

Is a child born abroad a Turkish citizen? Citizenship by descent

Under Article 6 of Turkish Citizenship Law No. 5901 (Türk Vatandaşlığı Kanunu), citizenship by birth is acquired automatically and takes effect from the moment of birth. Article 7 sets out the rules on descent:

A child born in or outside Turkey within a marriage to a Turkish mother or a Turkish father is a Turkish citizen (Art. 7(1)).
A child born outside marriage to a Turkish mother and a foreign father is a Turkish citizen (Art. 7(2)).
A child born outside marriage to a Turkish father and a foreign mother acquires Turkish citizenship once the procedures establishing legal parentage (soybağı) are completed (Art. 7(3)).

Whether a child born in Germany or the Netherlands also acquires German or Dutch citizenship depends on German or Dutch law; please ask the competent authority there or a lawyer admitted in that country. Once a foreign citizenship is documented, a note on multiple citizenship is added to the Turkish register (Art. 44 of Law No. 5901).

If both parents hold the Blue Card (Mavi Kart), meaning they gave up Turkish citizenship with permission, the child is not a Turkish citizen. The child is, however, among the descendants who enjoy Blue Card rights under Article 28 of Law No. 5901, and the child's civil status events are recorded in the Blue Card holders' register (Art. 8/A of Law No. 5490). See Blue Card (Mavi Kart) rights.

How birth registration at the Turkish consulate works

The birth of every child born alive must be notified within sixty days to the Turkish mission abroad (Art. 15(1) of Law No. 5490). The notification abroad is made by handing in the official document or report obtained from the foreign authority (Art. 15(6)); in Germany that is the birth certificate from the Standesamt, in the Netherlands the certificate from the gemeente.

The notification is made by the parent or guardian; if there is none, by the child's grandparents, adult siblings or the person caring for the child (Art. 15(5)). A child may be given no more than three first names, written out in full (Art. 15(5)).

If you cannot go to the consulate in person, the law allows another route: the foreign certificate, a petition stating the child's name and documents showing both parents' identity details may be sent to the mission (Art. 15(6)). Ask your consulate how it handles this in practice.

The documents consulates request can differ. As an example, an information sheet of the Turkish Consulate General in Düsseldorf dated December 2019 lists, for a child born within marriage, the international birth certificate (Formule-A), the parents' Turkish identity cards and, if the child is a German citizen, the child's ID card; it states the child does not need to be brought along. If one parent is a foreign national, the Turkish parent applies. The sheet is several years old, so check the current list on your consulate's page and on konsolosluk.gov.tr.

If the parents' marriage has not yet been entered in the Turkish register, that may have to be done first, since otherwise the marital status on record does not match the child's registration. The law does not set out this order expressly; it is my assessment based on how the register entries depend on each other. On registering the marriage, see registering a marriage abroad in Turkey.

What if the 60 days have passed?

Late notification is still possible. The law then regulates how the date of birth is established: for a child under six, the parent's statement is used; from age six, a public health institution determines the age, unless an official birth document is presented (Art. 16 of Law No. 5490). For children born abroad, a foreign birth certificate is normally available.

The current text of Article 68 of Law No. 5490, which deals with administrative fines, contains no fine for parents who report a birth late. One consequence of the deadline is written in the law: if the birth is notified within the legal period, no fee for the identity card (kimlik kartı) as a security document is charged (Art. 41(11)).

The 2019 Düsseldorf information sheet also states that persons born to Turkish parents who were not registered by the age of 18 can no longer have their birth registered and must instead apply for citizenship through their parents. The sheet does not cite a legal basis. If an adult child is concerned, confirm the current practice with the consulate.

Children born outside marriage and acknowledgment of paternity

Legal parentage between the child and the mother arises from birth; between the child and the father it arises from marriage to the mother, acknowledgment (tanıma) or a court judgment (Art. 282 of Turkish Civil Code No. 4721, TMK).

Acknowledgment is made by the father's written application to the registrar or the court, or by a declaration in an official deed or a will (Art. 295(1) TMK). A child who already has legal parentage with another man cannot be acknowledged until that link is removed (Art. 295(3) TMK). Acknowledgments made abroad can be notified to the Turkish mission or, translated into Turkish and certified, to a civil registry office in Turkey (Art. 28(5) of Law No. 5490). A child acknowledged or declared by judgment is transferred to the father's family register with the father's name and surname (Art. 28(4)).

According to the 2019 Düsseldorf sheet, where paternity has been acknowledged both parents apply together and the acknowledgment deed is required; a deed issued by German authorities needs a notarised Turkish translation. Without acknowledgment, the Turkish mother applies alone and the child is registered with her surname in her family register.

Whether an acknowledgment of paternity made before a German or Dutch authority establishes parentage under Turkish law depends on the law designated by Article 16 of the Turkish Private International Law Act No. 5718 (MÖHUK). This question is disputed. For a child born outside marriage to a Turkish father and a foreign mother, citizenship depends on parentage (Art. 7(3) of Law No. 5901), while Article 16 MÖHUK looks first to the child's national law. The law does not say expressly how this circle is resolved, and this article does not rely on any verified court decision. How the registry and the courts will proceed in a specific case is uncertain.

Birth within 300 days and the mother's earlier marriage

The husband is the father of a child born during the marriage or within three hundred days after it ends (Art. 285(1) TMK). This directly affects registration. The husband, the mother or the child can rebut this presumption with an action to contest paternity (soybağının reddi davası) (Art. 286 TMK). The mother must bring it within one year of the birth; for the husband, the year runs from when he learned of the birth and that he is not the father (Art. 289 TMK).

If the mother's foreign divorce has not been recognised and registered in Turkey, the marriage still appears in the Turkish register. The law does not say expressly how this is treated under the 300-day presumption; my assessment here is an opinion and may differ in a specific case. Usually the first step is to have the divorce recognised in Turkey.

Frequently asked questions

How long do I have to register a birth abroad with the Turkish consulate?

Sixty days from the birth (Art. 15(1) of Law No. 5490).

Is a child of a Turkish parent born abroad a Turkish citizen by descent?

Yes, if born within marriage to a Turkish mother or father, or outside marriage to a Turkish mother (Art. 7(1)–(2) of Law No. 5901). With a Turkish father and a foreign mother outside marriage, parentage must first be established (Art. 7(3)).

Does the child have to come to the consulate?

The law does not require it; the foreign birth certificate is what counts (Art. 15(6)). The 2019 Düsseldorf sheet also says the child does not need to be brought.

Is there a fine for late registration?

The current Article 68 of Law No. 5490 provides no fine for parents who report a birth late. If the birth is notified on time, no fee is charged for the identity card (Art. 41(11)).

Sources

Questions about your case

If something is unclear in registering your child, for example whether an acknowledgment of paternity made in Germany or the Netherlands is effective in Turkey, why the mother's earlier marriage still appears in the register, or how an adult child can be registered, you can choose an online video, telephone or in-person meeting in Düsseldorf on the appointment page. You can also send your question in writing through the contact form. Meetings are held in Turkish and cover Turkish law only (§ 206 BRAO); questions on the child's German or Dutch citizenship belong with the competent authority or a lawyer admitted in that country. It helps to have ready:

the child's birth certificate from the foreign authority (Formule-A, if available),
both parents' citizenship details and Turkish register extracts,
for a birth outside marriage, the acknowledgment of paternity; if the mother was married before, the divorce judgment.

Other topics are listed under family law.