Recognition and enforcement of foreign divorce decrees in Türkiye: direct administrative registration before the civil registry without a court judgment under Article 27/A of Civil Registration Services Law No. 5490, application requirements, the ninety-day rule, cases where a spouse is deceased or a foreign national, the enforcement conditions under MÖHUK Articles 50-59, the public policy exception and the treatment of ancillary provisions, in a comprehensive legal analysis.
For a country whose citizens living abroad number in the millions, giving effect in Türkiye to divorce decrees rendered by foreign courts is an extremely practical and widespread legal need. Being divorced by a foreign court judgment does not automatically mean that a person is also regarded as divorced under Turkish law. So long as the marriage record remains in the Turkish civil registry, the person continues to be considered married in Türkiye, and this produces serious consequences across a very broad field, from remarriage to inheritance, from the matrimonial property regime to parentage. For many years the only solution to this problem was to bring a recognition or enforcement action before the Turkish courts. However, with Article 27/A added to Civil Registration Services Law No. 5490, it has become possible, where certain conditions are met, for foreign divorce decrees to be registered directly before the civil registry through an administrative procedure, without the need for a court judgment. This article first addresses this administrative registration option in full detail, and then comprehensively examines the judicial recognition and enforcement route, the public policy exception, the treatment of ancillary provisions in a divorce decree and the problems encountered in practice.
1. General Framework: The Distinction Between Recognition and Enforcement
In order for foreign court judgments to produce effect in Türkiye, the concepts of recognition and enforcement must be distinguished from one another. Recognition refers to the acceptance in Türkiye of the res judicata and conclusive evidence effect of a foreign court judgment. Enforcement, by contrast, refers to the foreign judgment becoming capable of being executed in Türkiye, that is, acquiring executory force. As regards divorce decrees, the practical consequence of this distinction is as follows: the divorce itself, namely the dissolution of the marital union, does not contain an executable obligation and is therefore in principle a matter of recognition. By contrast, provisions within the divorce decree requiring performance of an obligation, such as maintenance, pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages and litigation costs, require an enforcement judgment in order to be made the subject of execution proceedings in Türkiye. In practice, it is frequently encountered that part of a single foreign divorce decree is a matter of recognition while another part is a matter of enforcement, and this is decisive for the correct formulation of the statement of claim.
2. Consequences of a Foreign Divorce Decree Not Being Recognised in Türkiye
The failure to have a divorce decree rendered abroad recognised in Türkiye is, contrary to what is often assumed, not merely a formal deficiency; it produces extremely serious and concrete legal consequences. Above all, the person continues to appear as married in the Turkish civil registry. The first consequence of this is the impossibility of remarrying in Türkiye, since an existing marriage constitutes an absolute impediment to a subsequent marriage. A marriage contracted despite this impediment is void. The second important consequence arises in the law of succession. So long as the foreign divorce decree is not recognised, the parties retain the status of spouses under Turkish law, and upon the death of one of them the other may claim a share of the estate as a statutory heir. Third, uncertainty arises as regards the liquidation of the matrimonial property regime, claims for participation in acquired property and contribution claims. For our detailed examination of this subject, see our article Matrimonial Property and Succession Issues for Turkish Citizens Living Abroad. Problems may also arise as regards the parentage of children, custody status and civil registry records. Finally, the continuation of the marriage record creates practical obstacles in administrative processes such as social security, widow's pension, taxation and citizenship procedures. For this reason, securing the effect of a foreign divorce decree in Türkiye is a matter that should not be postponed.
3. The Administrative Registration Option: Article 27/A of the Civil Registration Services Law
A fundamental innovation in Turkish recognition law was introduced by Article 27/A added to Civil Registration Services Law No. 5490. This provision was first introduced in 2017 by decree having the force of law and was subsequently made permanent by statute. Under Article 27/A, decisions rendered by foreign judicial or administrative authorities concerning divorce, the annulment or invalidity of a marriage, or the determination of the existence or non-existence of a marriage, are registered directly in the civil registry where the conditions set out in the provision are met. The significance of this provision is considerable: in respect of a foreign divorce decree meeting the conditions, it is no longer necessary to bring a recognition action before the Turkish courts, and the matter can be concluded entirely by an administrative application. For citizens living abroad this is an extremely important convenience in terms of time, cost and the burden of litigation. The implementing rules for this provision are set out in detail in the Regulation on the Registration in the Civil Registry of Decisions Rendered by Foreign Judicial or Administrative Authorities. It should be emphasised that administrative registration is an alternative route replacing judicial recognition, and the judicial route remains available where the conditions are not met.
4. The Substantive Conditions Required Under Article 27/A
Three fundamental substantive conditions are prescribed for administrative registration. The first condition is that the decision must have been rendered by a judicial or administrative authority competent in the matter under the law of the state in which it was given. This requires the foreign authority to be competent in matters of divorce under its own law. A notable feature of the provision is that it covers not only court judgments but also divorce decisions rendered by administrative authorities. Indeed, in some countries divorce proceedings are conducted before administrative authorities such as municipalities, registry offices or notaries, and such decisions fall within the scope of the provision. The second condition is that the decision must have become final in procedural terms; decisions that are not final and remain open to appeal or objection cannot be registered. For this reason, the certificate of finality or a document evidencing finality must be submitted. The third condition is that the decision must not be manifestly contrary to Turkish public policy. The Law deliberately adopts the criterion of manifest contrariety here, and the examination carried out by the administrative authority is limited and formal in nature; the civil registry cannot examine the merits of the foreign decision or conduct a fresh adjudication.
5. Application Procedure: Joint Application, the Ninety-Day Rule and Cases of Sole Application
The most critical aspect of Article 27/A in practice, and the one that gives rise to the most questions, is the application procedure. As a rule, the parties must apply jointly, either in person or through their representatives. However, the requirement of a joint application does not require the spouses to be physically present at the same time and place. Where one party applies and the other applies within ninety days thereafter, the requirement of a joint application is deemed to have been satisfied. This flexibility is highly functional for spouses living in different countries. Application through a representative is possible; however, the power of attorney must contain special authority for this transaction and must have been drawn up in due form. The issue that causes the greatest difficulty in practice is where one of the spouses refuses to apply or cannot be reached. In its original form the provision entirely blocked the administrative route in such cases; in particular, where the former spouse had died, the surviving spouse was compelled to bring a contentious recognition action against the heirs of the deceased. In order to remedy these serious losses of rights, an important exception was added to the provision by an amendment made in 2020. Accordingly, where one of the parties has died or is a foreign national, the other party who is a Turkish citizen, or that party's representative, may apply alone. This exception has removed the two most frequently encountered obstacles in practice and has significantly broadened the scope of the administrative route.
6. The Authorities to Which Applications Are Made and Competence
Where the application is to be made depends on the applicant's place of residence and on the country in which the decision was rendered. For those abroad, the application is made to the Turkish diplomatic missions in the country in which the decision was given. Within Türkiye, the application is made to the provincial directorate of civil registration and citizenship at the place of residence of one of the parties. Where the parties have no place of residence in Türkiye, the application may be made to any one of the provincial directorates designated by the Ministry, which include Ankara, İstanbul, İzmir, Bursa, Antalya, Adana, Konya, Kayseri, Samsun, Trabzon, Gaziantep, Diyarbakır, Erzurum, Şanlıurfa, Kahramanmaraş, Sivas, Siirt and Van. This arrangement makes the administrative route accessible even for citizens whose factual connection with Türkiye has weakened. Applications are examined by commissions established for this purpose, and where the conditions are found to be satisfied the registration is effected.
7. Documents to Be Submitted and Formal Requirements
The documents to be submitted with an administrative registration application are the point at which the process most frequently breaks down in practice. Together with the application, the original of the foreign authority's decision or a duly certified copy must be submitted. A certificate or document evidencing that the decision has become final must invariably be included. In order for foreign official documents to be usable in Türkiye, an apostille certificate is required where the country concerned is a party to the Hague Apostille Convention; where it is not, certification by the Turkish consulate is required. In addition, a Turkish translation of the decision and its annexes, made by a sworn translator and certified by a notary or consulate, must be submitted. Further documents typically requested include the parties' identity documents, a special power of attorney where the application is made through a representative, and the marriage certificate where available. In practice, the absence of an apostille, the lack of a certificate of finality, or a translation not certified in due form are the most common grounds for rejection of applications. For this reason, complete preparation of the documents from the outset is decisive for the swift conclusion of the process.
8. The Limits of the Administrative Route and the Course to Follow Where Registration Is Refused
Although the administrative registration option is broad, it is not unlimited. First and foremost, the provision covers only decisions concerning divorce, the annulment or invalidity of a marriage, or the determination of the existence or non-existence of a marriage. Accordingly, decisions concerning solely absence or presumed death fall outside the scope of the provision; however, where such decisions contain a ruling that the marriage has been dissolved, registration may be possible. In addition, administrative registration is not sufficient in respect of provisions within the divorce decree requiring execution, such as maintenance or damages; an enforcement judgment must additionally be obtained in order for such provisions to be executed in Türkiye. Finally, where a registration request is refused on the ground that the conditions set out in the Law have not been met, the route of applying to the courts for recognition of the decision under the Act on Private International Law and Procedural Law remains open. The administrative route is therefore not one that eliminates the judicial route, but one that exists alongside it and may be preferred where the conditions are satisfied.
9. The Judicial Route: Recognition and Enforcement Actions Under MÖHUK
Where administrative registration is not possible, the effect of a foreign divorce decree in Türkiye is secured by a recognition or enforcement action brought under the Act on Private International Law and Procedural Law No. 5718. The competent court in such actions is the family court. Venue lies with the court of the respondent's place of residence in Türkiye; where there is no place of residence, the court of the place where the respondent is present. Where the respondent has neither a place of residence nor a place of presence in Türkiye, the action may be brought before the courts of Ankara, İstanbul or İzmir. Although a recognition action is subject to the provisions governing enforcement actions, the condition of reciprocity is not required for recognition. This is of great practical importance, since divorce decrees obtained from countries with which Türkiye has no reciprocity may nevertheless be recognised. The proceedings are subject to the simplified procedure, and the court does not review the merits of the foreign judgment. This principle means that it cannot be argued whether the foreign judgment is correct in terms of substantive law, whether the evidence was properly assessed, or whether the ground of divorce conforms to Turkish law.
10. Enforcement Conditions and Differences in Respect of Recognition
Under MÖHUK, the conditions required for an enforcement judgment are as follows: the judgment must have been rendered by a foreign court in a civil matter and must have become final under the law of that state; there must exist between Türkiye and the state in which the judgment was given an agreement based on reciprocity, or a provision of law or de facto practice in that state enabling the enforcement of judgments rendered by Turkish courts; the judgment must have been rendered in a matter not falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of the Turkish courts; the judgment must not be manifestly contrary to public policy; and the rights of defence of the defendant must have been observed. As regards the rights of defence, where the defendant was not duly summoned before the foreign court, was not represented, or a judgment was rendered against the defendant in absentia, and objection is raised on these grounds in Türkiye, the enforcement request will be refused. In respect of recognition, reciprocity is not required among these conditions; the remaining conditions apply equally to recognition actions. This difference facilitates the effect in Türkiye of the great majority of divorce decrees through recognition.
11. The Treatment of Ancillary Provisions in a Divorce Decree
Foreign divorce decrees are often not confined to the dissolution of the marriage; they also contain provisions on custody, access, maintenance, pecuniary and non-pecuniary damages and the liquidation of the matrimonial property regime. The treatment of these provisions in Türkiye must be assessed separately for each. Provisions concerning custody are in principle a matter of recognition; however, enforcement may arise where the actual implementation of custody, namely the handing over of the child, is required. As regards the wrongful removal of a child abroad, see our article International Child Abduction and Return Proceedings; as regards a custodial parent's request to relocate, see our article Relocation Disputes and the Hague Convention. Provisions concerning maintenance, damages and litigation costs require the performance of an obligation and therefore require an enforcement judgment in order to be made the subject of execution proceedings in Türkiye. As regards provisions on the liquidation of the matrimonial property regime, the question of the exclusive jurisdiction of the Turkish courts may arise in respect of rights in rem over immovable property; the enforcement of foreign judgments concerning rights in rem over immovables situated in Türkiye may not be possible. For this reason, in respect of a comprehensive foreign divorce decree, it must be determined at the outset which provision is a matter of recognition and which of enforcement, and the relief sought must be formulated accordingly. Partial recognition and partial enforcement requests are also possible in practice.
12. The Scope of the Public Policy Exception and the Approach of the Court of Cassation
The most critical criterion common to both administrative registration and judicial recognition and enforcement is the public policy exception. The Law requires that the decision not be manifestly contrary to public policy. The emphasis on manifest contrariety indicates that the exception must be construed narrowly. According to the settled understanding, the mere fact that foreign law differs from Turkish law, that the grounds of divorce are regulated differently from those in the Turkish Civil Code, or that no finding of fault was made in the decision does not in itself constitute contrariety to public policy. Intervention on public policy grounds arises only where the decision produces results manifestly contrary to the fundamental values of Turkish law, to public morals, to constitutional fundamental rights or to fundamental procedural safeguards. In the practice of the Court of Cassation, decisions lacking reasoning are assessed with particular care, and judgments rendered in proceedings in which the rights of defence were entirely eliminated, as well as forms of divorce based on a unilateral declaration of will contrary to the principle of equality and affording the wife no legal protection, are regarded as problematic from the standpoint of public policy. By contrast, divorce procedures that are religious or administrative in character but produce official effect under the law of the state concerned and duly reflect the will of the parties are not refused merely by reason of that character.
13. Principal Problems Encountered in Practice
The most frequently encountered problems in the process of giving effect to foreign divorce decrees in Türkiye are as follows. The first is deficiency of documents; the absence of a certificate of finality, the lack of an apostille or consular certification, and translations not certified in due form are the most common causes of delay in applications and proceedings. The second is the existence of pending divorce proceedings in Türkiye; in such a case the relationship between the request for recognition of the foreign judgment and the proceedings in Türkiye, and the objection of lis pendens, come into play. The third is the problem of conflicting judgments; where judgments have been rendered both in Türkiye and abroad in respect of the same marriage, it is contentious which judgment is to prevail. The fourth is the uncertainty of the scope of the judgment; in judgments where ancillary provisions are expressed vaguely, the scope of the recognition or enforcement request must be clarified. The fifth is the parties' refusal to cooperate; although the 2020 amendment made a sole application possible where a spouse is deceased or a foreign national, where a spouse who is a Turkish citizen and alive refuses to apply, the administrative route cannot be pursued and recourse to the courts becomes necessary.
14. Comparison of the Administrative and Judicial Routes and Criteria for Choosing Between Them
Which route is to be preferred in a given case is decisive in terms of the speed and cost of the process. The administrative registration route is clearly advantageous in that it concludes more quickly, involves no burden of litigation costs or attorney fees, does not require hearings and can be conducted from abroad through diplomatic missions. However, this route is not applicable in every case, since it requires a joint application by the parties, covers only provisions concerning the dissolution of the marriage and is insufficient in respect of provisions requiring execution. The judicial route, by contrast, is more comprehensive in that it can be pursued unilaterally, can produce effect in respect of the entirety of the judgment including ancillary provisions, and provides executory force through enforcement. On the other hand, it takes longer and is more costly. The practical approach is as follows: where the judgment concerns only the divorce and the other party is willing to cooperate, or is deceased or a foreign national, the administrative route should be preferred. Where the judgment contains maintenance, damages or other provisions requiring execution, or where the other party refuses to apply, proceeding directly by the judicial route avoids loss of time.
15. Conclusion and Practical Recommendations
Giving effect in Türkiye to foreign divorce decrees is a legal step that should not be postponed by Turkish citizens living abroad. The administrative registration option introduced by Article 27/A of the Civil Registration Services Law offers a swift and economical solution where the conditions are met, without the need for a court judgment; and the amendment made in 2020, permitting a sole application where a spouse is deceased or a foreign national, has removed the most significant obstacles in practice. The practical considerations to be observed in this field are as follows: obtaining the certificate of finality of the judgment at the outset; completing the apostille or consular certification without omission; ensuring that the translation is made by a sworn translator and certified in due form; directing the application to the correct authority; monitoring the ninety-day period in respect of the joint application requirement; correctly structuring the distinction between recognition and enforcement where the judgment contains ancillary provisions; and verifying in advance whether proceedings are pending in Türkiye. A correct legal assessment at the outset of the process will prevent both unnecessary litigation costs and losses of rights extending over many years.
For advisory services on the recognition and enforcement of foreign divorce decrees, administrative registration applications under Article 27/A of the Civil Registration Services Law, recognition and enforcement actions under MÖHUK, matrimonial property and succession disputes abroad, and cross-border custody and maintenance matters, you may contact us at info@guzeloglu.legal.