Foreigners Law

Foreigners Law

No government can eliminate the right to live for foreigners, who live within the boundaries of their own country. In the scope of the services provided by us as the Istanbul Foreigners Law Attorney, the government has duties and obligations to provide necessary opportunities to allow the foreigners to live in their country, just like their own citizens. Therefore, the rules related to the foreigners must also be set by the government. Such rules are generally based on the equality of citizens. However, the government may impose certain restrictions on foreigners under certain circumstances, especially if public order is concerned. Nevertheless, such restrictions can never be enforced severely to the extent that the person’s continued right to live regularly is abolished.

The Constitution is one of the principal sources that provide an order by considering the legal status of the foreigners. It is possible to introduce a limitation in accordance with Article 13 of the Constitution in a way to ensure compliance with international resources for foreigners in terms of certain rights. Other than such restrictions, the foreigners and citizens have the same equality.

In the context of the Foreigners Law Attorney, it is possible to say that: More laws, statutes and regulations constitute the internal source of the foreigners law. The legal status of foreigners should be examined separately in terms of the public law and private law.

In the public law, the situation of the foreigners is very limited with the idea of governmental security. Any different regulations have been made by the governments on whether the foreigners will have political rights or not. After articles 55, 56, 58, 60 and 62 of the Turkish Constitution are examined in the scope of the services provided by us as the Istanbul Foreigners Law Attorney, it is possible to say that the political rights to the foreigners, who live in the boundaries of Turkey, are not recognized. Pursuant to such articles, it is revealed that the rights such as rights to elect and to be elected, to join the political parties, to establish a political party and to work in any public service, etc. are only granted to Turkish citizens.

Whether the foreigners are obliged to participate in homeland defense in terms of military service or not is subject to the different rules compared to certain situations. Many governments have exempted foreigners from compulsory military service or even introduced a ban on foreigners’ military service. This rule applies equally in peacetime. In case of war, any exceptional circumstances that would provide some flexibility are introduced.

Pursuant to such rules, it is possible to say that the foreigners do not do military service, as well as a military obligation for them in emergencies. This situation is called as the “transvaal rule.” However, in the scope of the services provided by us as the Istanbul Foreigners Law Attorney, there is no rule in respect to the voluntary military service. A rule of doing mandatory foreign affairs or a military service voluntarily is not accepted by Turkey.

Legal Limitations on Acquisition of the Real Properties By the Foreigners in Turkey

• Article 35 of the Land Registry Law No.2644 is amended by the Law No. 6302, which entered into force on May 18, 2012. Accordingly, the reciprocity requirement was abolished for acquisition of the real properties by the foreigners in Turkey.
• Upon such amendment, the right to acquire the real properties is granted upon the citizens of 183 countries without seeking the reciprocity requirement in Turkey. Such 183 countries are kept secret to prevent any political upheaval. Those, who require any relevant information, must contact us in the scope of the services provided by us as the Istanbul Foreigners Law Attorney.
• The foreigners can acquire any real properties, provided that the legal restrictions are observed
• The foreign nationals can purchase maximum 30 hectares (300 decares) of real properties. This volume can be doubled at most by the President’s decision. Accordingly, the foreigners can acquire maximum 60 decares of real property by the decision.
• The foreigners can acquire any real property and the limited rights in kind up to 10% of the area of the district subject to the personal property.

Employment of the Foreigners in Turkey

Based the knowledge and experience obtained by us on our Istanbul Foreigners Law Attorney service, we can say that the foreigners can apply for employee and employer work permit. The Employee candidates, who have a residence permit, a passport valid for at least 6 months and a legal contract with the employer, are entitled to obtain a temporary or permanent work permit. The employer completes all required application forms and sends all documents to the Ministry of Labor and Social Security. Those, who live abroad, can apply to the consulates in their own country. The employee candidate can begin to work when his/her work permit application is approved. It is the employer’s responsibility to arrange the social security and tax payments. The work permit is specific to the organization. His/her work permit is cancelled as soon as a foreign worker leaves the job.

You can find more information about Turkish visa at the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Turkey. As the regulations can change over time, the website must be visited or the consulate must be contacted.

You can review our letter titled “Work and Residence Permit” for any relevant details.

Marriage of the Foreigners in Turkey

In the scope of the services provided by us as the Istanbul Foreigners Law Attorney and Foreigners Law Attorney, it must be stated that both parties must turn 18 years old, because the age limit for marriage is age of 18 in Turkey. If one of the parties is Turkish, the other is a foreigner or both are foreign, the parties may get married before the Turkish authorities.

Two foreigners, who citizens of the same country, can get married before the Turkish authorities as well as before the agents of that country in Turkey, if they are authorized by their national legislation.

Among the foreigners under the Law of Foreigners and International Protection dated of 04/04/2013 and numbered 6458, the applications of the stateless ones, refugees, conditional refugees, those with secondary protection status, applicants for international protection and foreigners under temporary protection, who have no residence permit in Turkey, are accepted by the marriage officers.

Documents required from Turkish citizens:-

• A birth certificate of the Republic of Turkey;
• Number of passport photos specified by the applied municipality; and
• A health report certified by a family physician.

Documents required from a foreign spouse:-

• An Identity Card/Passport;
• A visa;
• A photo;
• A Health Report;
• A certificate of no impediment to marriage; 
• A single status certificate; and
• A  certificate of birth.

Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Turkey

The decrees of the foreign courts are recognized by a Turkish court to take effect in Turkey, to make any changes in the Turkish administration authority and to create a final judgment. In the scope of the services provided by us as the Istanbul Foreigners Law Attorney, there is the provision “The acceptance of a foreign court decision as final evidence or final decision depends on the court’s decision that the foreign decree meets the enforcement requirements.” in Article 58 of the International Private Law and Procedural Law. In the article regulating recognition, it is stated that the decisions of the foreign courts must meet the enforcement requirements in order for them to be recognized by the courts. Unless the provisions specified in Article 54, which regulates the execution conditions in the International Private Law and Procedural Law, are examined and decided by the Turkish Courts, the foreign court decision will not constitute final judgment and conclusive evidence and will not make any changes to the Turkish administrative records. The recognition decisions are the decisive decisions that do not have any executive character. The decisions that enable recognition decisions to be transformed into enforcement decisions are the sanction decisions. The fact that recognition can emerge as a means of defense or as an independent request without enforcement shows that it is an institution separate from enforcement.

Founding A Company by the Foreigners in Turkey

Basically, the title, field of activity, general manager, manager/representative, capital and shares of the company to be established for each company must be determined. The company documents must be recorded in the central registry system (MERSIS) and an application must be made to the relevant trade registry directorate with the requested documents. You can review our article titled “Corporate Law” on this subject.

Conditions for Foreigners to be Turkish Citizens

In the scope of the services provided by us as the Istanbul Foreigners Law Attorney, we can say that we offer any attorney or legal advice services to the foreign nationals, who want to become Turkish citizens. Based on the services provided by us as the Istanbul Foreigners Law Attorney, we can say that there are more than one way and condition for foreign nationals to become Turkish citizens. Therefore, the most accurate information will be presented to you after you contact us and request any attorney or legal advice services. You can find detailed information on this subject in our article titled “Citizenship and Immigration Law.”