Divorce Procedures at the Consulate in Turkey
WAYS TO DIVORCE IN TURKEY WHILE LIVING ABROAD – CONSULAR PROCEDURES
According to the Turkish Civil Code, Turkish citizens who are married and living abroad, as well as foreigners who are married under Turkish law and living abroad, have various ways to obtain a divorce that will be valid in Turkey. Consular divorce procedures are important. Specifically, a Turkish consulate in any foreign country is authorized to issue a power of attorney for divorce to a lawyer in Turkey for those who wish to divorce in Turkey. This means that a person living abroad who wants to divorce in Turkey can finalize it by granting authority to a lawyer through a power of attorney arranged via the consulate.
You can read our article on Arranging a Power of Attorney from Abroad for a Lawyer in Turkey.
IS DIVORCE POSSIBLE AT THE CONSULATE?
Divorce is not possible at the consulate. Individuals married under the Turkish Civil Code can only divorce through a court decision made after a trial in Turkey. For this, a divorce case must be filed. The divorce case can be filed as a contested or uncontested divorce. You can read our articles on these topics below.
A lawsuit can be filed in Turkey with a power of attorney issued from abroad. The divorce process can be conducted without the party wanting a divorce coming to Turkey. Based on the decision of the Family Court in contested divorce cases filed this way, the parties can divorce. You can read our article on contested divorce cases here.
If the parties are abroad and want to divorce in Turkey, the uncontested divorce case process can be carried out. After filing a lawsuit with the submission of the petition and completion of other procedural actions, the parties can present their uncontested divorce protocols to the court. By expressing their intent to divorce, they can divorce by appearing at the court hearing on the date determined by the court.
CONSULATE AND VALIDATING THE DIVORCE
If a divorce is granted abroad according to the laws of the country of residence, the couple can go to the consulate to complete consular procedures amicably. After scheduling a consulate appointment, they can submit the divorce decree issued by the foreign authorities and the necessary documents to the Turkish consulate to validate the divorce.
DIVORCE RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT CASE
Individuals living abroad and married under Turkish law can file a lawsuit in Turkey, and they can also make the divorce decree obtained abroad valid and enforceable in Turkey through a recognition and enforcement case. For this, they need to submit the decision received from the foreign authorities and the necessary documents to the lawsuit they will file in Turkey. After filing a recognition and enforcement case and obtaining a court decision, the divorce will be valid in Turkey. You can read our article titled Divorce Recognition and Enforcement on this topic.
For more information on this topic, please contact us.
Divorce Procedures at the Consulate
