A foreigner, who is a spouse of a Turkish citizen may be able to obtain Turkish citizenship, if he/she meets certain conditions. In other words marriage with a Turkish citizen does not automatically grant Turkish citizenship to the foreigner. Person who has been married to a Turkish citizen for at least 3 years and whose marriage continues, may apply for acquisition of Turkish citizenship. Applicants shall be required to:
live together as a family
refrain from any activity incompatible with being a family
not to be in a situation that poses an obstacle with respect to national security and public order
If the spouse that possess the Turkish citizenship, dies during the application, the condition of living together as a family shall not be required.
Marriage must be valid according to either the parties’ permanent residency law or Turkish law. Applicant needs to present documentation showing the validity of the current marriage, which would include documentation showing the validity of any previous divorce. (i.e. if one of the spouses has already been married with another person, or is mentally ill or not capable of understanding, the marriage is deemed to be null according to Turkish law)
Nullity of the marriage shall not result in loosing the Turkish citizenship, provided that the foreign spouse was in good faith when they entered into marriage. Otherwise he/she shall loose Turkish citizenship at the date of the decision of nullity.
A person who has fulfilled the above conditions does not automatically acquire the Turkish citizenship. The commissions to be established in provinces shall make an examination on whether or not the applicant is eligible to acquire the citizenship, including examination on the validity of the marriage and interview with the spouses whether the marriage is real, valid or not, and the folder of those who fulfill the required conditions is sent to the Ministry of Interior Affairs and after an examination carried out by the Ministry, a decision shall be made on granting the citizenship.
