If you own — or are about to own — property in Turkey, or you have inherited assets here, most of what you need to deal with is governed by Turkish law and handled before Turkish authorities: the land registry, the civil courts, the tax office, the population registry. This section of our website collects, in English, the guides most often needed by foreign owners, heirs and spouses. The rest of the site contains more than eighty in-depth guides in Turkish; these pages are not translations but stand-alone guides written for questions foreign clients actually ask.
The Guides
- Buying Property in Turkey — who may acquire real estate, the land registry procedure, the mandatory valuation report, taxes and fees, and the checks that should be made before any money changes hands.
- Turkish Inheritance Law for Foreign Nationals — which law applies, why a foreign probate document is not directly effective in Turkey, the Turkish certificate of inheritance, deadlines and inheritance tax.
- Last Will and Testament in Turkey: Wills and Forced Heirship — whether your own will reaches your Turkish property, the reserved shares and how they are actually enforced, how much you may leave freely, the three forms of Turkish will and when a separate Turkish will is simpler.
- Escrow in Turkey (Tapu Takas) — there is none in the common-law sense: how payment is actually secured, from the land registry appointment to an annotated notarial promise and the statutory protections for off-plan purchases.
- Power of Attorney for Turkey from Abroad — how to grant a valid power of attorney without travelling: notary and apostille route, photograph requirement, and the special powers that must be spelled out.
- Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments — making a foreign court decision (including a divorce decree) effective in Turkey: conditions, documents and procedure.
- Deportation Orders and Removal Centres in Turkey — the seven-day court action that suspends removal, the "voluntary return" form not to sign, a notary inside the centre, the objection against detention, the humanitarian residence permit while the case runs, and what a family abroad can do.
How a Case Is Handled Remotely
Almost every matter described above can be handled without you travelling to Turkey. The working pattern is always the same:
- First contact. You reach us by e-mail or WhatsApp with a short description of the matter and copies of the documents you have. We schedule a video call if needed, at a time that works across time zones.
- Written assessment. You receive a written summary: the legal position, the recommended course, an estimate of duration, and the fee together with the foreseeable costs (court fees, translation, apostille, expert fees).
- Power of attorney. You grant a power of attorney before a notary in your country (with apostille) or at a Turkish consulate. This single document is what allows the case to proceed without you.
- Execution and reporting. The proceedings, registry applications or tax filings are carried out in Turkey; you receive written updates at every significant step, and the outcome is documented with official records you can independently verify.
Attorney fees in Turkey are subject to a statutory minimum tariff; the fee for a specific matter is agreed in writing before work begins, together with a breakdown of third-party costs. Payments can be made by international bank transfer.
Contact
Arif Gölcan Law Office · İstiklal Mah. Belediye Sk. No: 8 D: 5, Merkez / Bilecik, Türkiye
- E-mail: info@arifgolcan.av.tr
- Phone / WhatsApp: +90 542 312 01 02
When writing, a short chronology of events and photographs or scans of the documents you hold (title deed, court decision, death certificate, correspondence) will considerably speed up the first assessment.
Or use the form below; it reaches the office by e-mail.
The guides in this section are provided for general information only and do not constitute legal advice. Turkish legislation and administrative practice change; the position in a specific case should always be verified with a lawyer before acting.