QUESTIONS ABOUT APOSTILLE

For a document or decision obtained from a foreign country's official authorities to be valid in Turkey, the foreign decision (e.g., court decision) or document (e.g., notarial deed) must be certified (attested) by the Turkish consulate or authority in the country where it was issued.

For example, for an administrative or judicial document obtained from Cuba to be valid in Turkey, this official document must be certified by the Turkish Embassy or Consulate in Cuba.
The reverse is also true. In other words, for a court decision or document obtained in Turkey to be valid in a foreign country (e.g., Germany), it must be certified by the Turkish consulate of that country. For example, if a notarial document obtained from Turkey is intended to be used in Canada, this notarial document must be certified by the Canadian Embassy in Turkey.
Here are some countries regarding the validity of these foreign documents and decisions in other countries: In order to abolish the requirement for certification by their own foreign missions, they prepared a multinational agreement called the "Hague Convention on the Abolition of the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Official Documents" on October 5, 1961, and they wanted to abolish this legalization (approval) requirement.

WHAT IS REMOVED BY THE APOSTILLE CONVENTION IS: If I have received a document in Germany with an apostille (the apostille will be issued by the issuing country's authority), I am not required to have this document certified by the Turkish Consulate in Germany. It is sufficient to use the apostille document with a notarized translation.
The purpose of this agreement is stated as "to ensure that official documents issued in one of the contracting countries can be used in another contracting country without being certified by diplomatic or consular representatives, i.e., bypassing this procedure." In other words, it has made it easier for citizens to use official documents between contracting countries. According to the Convention, decisions and documents made in the participating countries will be valid in another country only if the competent authority of the country issuing the document or decision issues an apostille (certification) annotation, which is known as an "Apostille" (certification) annotation, without requiring the approval of the country's representative. In this sense, the annotation means, "This document, with this Apostille, is true and accurate, its content is correct, and it can be used internationally."

A. WHICH COUNTRIES ARE INCLUDED IN THE APOSTILLE CONVENTION (The Hague, 1961)?
The current status of the countries party to the convention can be checked at "https://www.hcch.net/de/instruments/specialized-sections/apostille".
This convention, in alphabetical order over time, includes:

United States, Germany, Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Albania, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, United Kingdom (United Kingdom), Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cook Islands, Czech Republic, People's Republic of China (Hong Kong and Macau), and Denmark. Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Armenia, Estonia, Morocco, Fiji, Finland, France, Grenada, Guatemala, South Africa, Georgia, Croatia, India, Netherlands, Honduras, Ireland, Spain, Israel, Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, Iceland, Japan, Montenegro, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Colombia, Republic of Korea (South Korea), Kosovo, Costa Rica, Northern Ireland, Lesotho, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Hungary, North Macedonia, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Moldova, Monaco, Namibia, Nicaragua, Niue, Norway, Uzbekistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia Suriname, Swaziland, Chile, Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Türkiye, Uruguay, Ukraine, Oman, Vanuatu, Venezuela, New Zealand and Greece have become parties.

As can be seen from the list, Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq, and Syria, as well as socialist countries such as Cuba and North Korea, African countries such as Madagascar, Kenya, Chad, and Gambia, and Far Eastern countries such as Thailand and Papua New Guinea, are not party to the agreement.

Therefore, the validity of judicial, administrative, or commercial documents obtained from these countries (unless there are two agreements in between) will require the approval of the Turkish foreign mission in that country.
Turkey signed this agreement on May 8, 1962, and ratified it with Law No. 3028 dated June 20, 1984. This law was published in the Official Gazette No. 18517 dated September 16, 1984, and entered into force for Turkey on September 29, 1985. (Convention on the Abolition of the Requirement to Legalize Foreign Official Documents, published in the Official Gazette dated September 16, 1984, and numbered 18517.)
B. HOW IS AN APOSTILLATION MADE AND WHERE CAN IT BE OBTAINED?
An apostille is placed on the document itself or on a piece of paper attached to it by the competent authority of the country issuing the document or decision to be used, as specified in Article 4 of the Convention. The annotation can be in any language, but the title of the legalization must be written in French.
IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT A STATE CANNOT ISSUES AN APOSTILLATION FOR A DOCUMENT IT HAS NOT ISSUED. FOR EXAMPLE, TURKISH AUTHORITIES CANNOT ISSUES AN APOSTILLATION FOR A DOCUMENT RECEIVED FROM GERMANY. THE APOSTILLATION IS ISSUED BY THE AUTHORITY OF THE COUNTRY WHERE THE DOCUMENT WAS ISSUED.

IN ADDITION, COUNTRIES THAT ARE NOT PARTIES TO THE APOSTILLE CONVENTION OR DO NOT HAVE A BILATERAL AGREEMENT BETWEEN THEM CANNOT ISSUES APOSTILLATIONS.

The legalization authorities that issue Apostilles vary among countries, and even among states. For example, in Germany, the presiding judge (Landgericht) of the court issuing the decision or the notary public issues the Apostille for court decisions and German notary documents. In Turkey, administrative documents are issued by the governor, deputy governor, or legal affairs director in provinces; district governors in districts; and judicial documents are issued by the heads of the judicial justice commissions in courts with criminal courts.
Turkey issues Apostilles when the documents it issues will be used by foreign states. For example, in the case of district governorships, governorships, etc., I am a Turkish citizen and will study in France. To do so, I must submit my student certificate to France. In this case, the authority of the governor's office or district governor's office in Turkey to issue an apostille becomes a matter of concern. Of course, Turkey, like France, is a party to the Apostille Convention, so it can issue an apostille. If my student certificate were to be used in a country that is not a party to the Apostille Convention, I would need to have it certified by the French Consulate in Turkey.
You can find information on which competent authorities issue an apostille for which type of document at https://www.hcch.net/de/states/hcch-members, which also lists the member countries of the convention.
C. WHICH COUNTRIES DO NOT REQUIRE AN Apostille Certificate?
Over time, Turkey has mutually abolished this apostille requirement through two agreements with some countries, whether they are members of the 1961 Hague Convention or not.
COUNTRIES FOR WHICH AN Apostille Certificate WILL NOT BE REQUIRED DUE TO BILATERAL AGREEMENTS:

1- AUSTRIA

In the letter dated 23 October 2009 and numbered 2009/412955, sent by the Consular Principles Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, it was stated that "In the Note received from the Embassy of Austria in Ankara, it was stated that "Despite the provision in Article 15 of the Supplementary Agreement of 16 September 1988, concluded by the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Austria to the Hague Convention on Civil Procedure of 01.03.1954, to which they are Parties, that "Documents issued or certified by a court or notary in either country need not be certified again in the other country", Turkish authorities and notaries requested an apostille on Austrian documents. In order to obtain their views on the matter and to respond to the Austrian side and to inform our relevant authorities, the Ministry was informed through our letter registered in (a). In the response letter received from the Ministry, registered in reference (b), it is stated in summary that there is no need to seek additional Apostille certification for the documents specified in Article 15 of the Additional Agreement dated 16 September 1988, concluded between Austria and our country. In this context, I respectfully request permission to convey to the members that an apostille is not required for documents issued by Austrian authorities and submitted exclusively to judicial authorities.

It was understood that an apostille should not be required for documents issued by Austrian authorities and submitted exclusively to judicial authorities, and therefore to notary publics. This matter was discussed at the meeting of our Board of Directors on December 4, 2009, and it was decided to inquire with the General Directorate of International Law and Foreign Relations of the Ministry of Justice as to whether there are other countries for which an apostille is not required. The aforementioned General Directorate, in its response letter dated December 21, 2009 and numbered 1557/129430, specifies the following countries for which an apostille is not required:

2- POLAND

The agreement concluded between Poland and the Republic of Turkey on April 12, 1988, is based on the following: Article 13 of the Convention on Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters between the People's Republic of Poland and the Polish People's Republic states:

3- HUNGARY

Article 13 of the "Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Legal and Commercial Matters between the Republic of Turkey and the People's Republic of Hungary" concluded with Hungary on June 6, 1988 states:

4- KUWAIT

Article 7 of the "Agreement on Mutual Assistance in Legal, Commercial, and Criminal Matters" concluded with Kuwait on February 7, 1990 states:

“1. A document drawn up in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties or certified by its competent authority in accordance with its legislation shall be recognized in the territory of the other Party without further certification. This also applies to private documents certified in accordance with the legislation of both Contracting Parties.

2. The provisions of paragraph 1 also apply to copies of documents duly certified by the competent authorities of the Contracting Parties.

3. A document drawn up within the authority of the authorities of one of the Contracting Parties and considered official shall also be considered official in the territory of the other Contracting Party.” If there are serious doubts about the authenticity of a document, its authenticity will be investigated through the competent authorities.

5- UZBEKISTAN
Article 14 of the "Legal Assistance in Civil, Commercial and Criminal Matters Agreement" concluded with Uzbekistan on June 23, 1994 states:

6- ALBANIA
Article 14 of the "Legal Assistance in Civil, Commercial, and Criminal Matters Agreement between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Albania," concluded with Albania on March 15, 1995;

7- GEORGIA
Article 14 of the "Legal Assistance in Civil, Commercial, and Criminal Matters Agreement between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Georgia," concluded with Georgia on April 4, 1996;

8- TAJIKISTAN
Article 14 of the "Legal Assistance in Civil, Commercial, and Criminal Matters Agreement between the Republic of Turkey and Tajikistan," concluded with Tajikistan on May 6, 1996;

9- RUSSIA
Article 14 of the "Legal Assistance in Civil, Commercial, and Criminal Matters Agreement between the Republic of Turkey and the Russian Federation," concluded with Russia on December 15, 1997;

10- CROATIA
Article 12 of the "Agreement on Legal Cooperation between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Croatia in Civil and Commercial Matters," signed with Croatia on February 10, 1999;

11- LITHUANIA
Article 7 of the "Agreement on Legal Assistance between the Republic of Turkey and Lithuania in Civil and Commercial Matters," signed with Lithuania on September 19, 1999;

12- UKRAINE
Article 13 of the "Agreement on Legal Assistance and Cooperation between the Republic of Turkey and Ukraine in Legal Matters," signed with Ukraine on November 23, 2000;

13- FYROM
Article 14 of the "Agreement on Legal Assistance between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Macedonia in Civil and Criminal Matters," signed with North Macedonia on July 11, 2001;

Generally, there is a regulation stipulating that documents drawn up, issued, or approved by authorized authorities in the country of one of the contracting parties and bearing an official seal, as well as their certified copies, will not be subject to legalization in the country of the other contracting party.

14- KAZAKHSTAN (only for documents to be used in courts)

According to Article 8 of the "Mutual Assistance Agreement between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Kazakhstan on Legal Matters," signed between Turkey and Kazakhstan on July 17, 1997, "Documents drawn up or certified by the competent authorities of one of the Contracting Parties for use in the courts of the other Contracting Party will not be subject to certification, provided that they are duly signed and sealed with an official seal."

15- AZERBAIJAN (only in proceedings before judicial authorities)

This provision is included in the "Mutual Assistance in Legal, Commercial, and Criminal Matters Agreement" between Turkey and Azerbaijan, signed on November 2, 1992. According to Article 12, "Documents issued or certified in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties and bearing an official seal shall be exempt from legalization in proceedings before a judicial authority of the other Contracting Party."

16- CYPRUS

Furthermore, pursuant to Article 27/2 of the Justice and Home Affairs Cooperation Agreement between Turkey and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), which is not a party to the 1961 Hague Convention, and Turkey, which entered into force upon publication in the Official Gazette on January 7, 2003, mutual exemptions from legalization are also provided.

Of these countries, Tajikistan, Kuwait, Uzbekistan, and Iraq are not parties to the 1961 Hague Convention on Cyprus. Accordingly;

1.) Documents issued, issued, or certified by the competent authorities of Albania, Austria, Georgia, Croatia, Kuwait, Lithuania, Hungary, North Macedonia, Uzbekistan, Poland, Russia, Tajikistan, and Ukraine bearing an official seal, as well as their certified copies, should not be subject to an apostille. (For Kuwait: An apostille is not required; it is not a party to the law, and it could not obtain one even if it wished to do so.)

2.) Documents issued or certified by Kazakhstani authorities for use in courts in Turkey are not subject to legalization, provided they are duly signed and officially sealed.

3.) Documents issued or certified by Azerbaijani authorities bearing an official seal are exempt from legalization in proceedings before judicial authorities in Turkey.

4.) Documents issued by Syrian citizens from their countries for legalization: In the response letter dated 12.05.2016 and numbered 53597, it was stated:

Syria is not a party to the Convention on the Abolishing of the Requirement for Legalization of Foreign Official Documents, to which our Country is a party, and therefore, official documents issued in Syria and to be presented in our Country are required to be certified by diplomatic or consular representations, however, due to the current developments in Syria, the activities of our representations in the said Country have been temporarily suspended and for this reason, in accordance with Article 192 of the Notary Law, it is not possible for our foreign representations in the said country to carry out notary transactions, on the other hand, the ‘Agreement on Legal Assistance between the Republic of Turkey and the Syrian Arab Republic in Legal and Commercial Matters’ was signed between Syria and our Country on 09.04.2009, and in Article 12 of the said Agreement titled ‘Validity of Documents’, it is stated that: ‘1. Documents issued or certified in the territory of one of the Contracting Parties and bearing an official seal shall be exempt from legalization in proceedings before a judicial authority of the other Contracting Party. 2. Documents issued by the official authorities of one of the Contracting Parties shall have the same force as official documents in the territory of the other Contracting Party. However, in the letter dated the same date and numbered 87016113019.00-2013/205798 received from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs regarding the entry into force of the said agreement, it was stated that the agreement entered into force on 20.10.2011 in accordance with the relevant articles after the notification of the ratification procedures to the other party, that the necessary process for issuing a Council of Ministers Decree within the framework of Article 3 of Law No. 244 for the determination of the entry into force dates of the agreements was initiated. In addition, attention was drawn to the provision in paragraph 2 of Article 3 of Law No. 244, which states that ‘An international agreement shall gain the force of law on the date of entry into force specified in the decree regarding the determination of the entry into force date in question in the above paragraph.’ and again, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs In the letter dated 28.04.2016 and numbered 87016113-40Ö.18.03-2016/1Ö852213 and its annexes, it is stated that due to the current situation in Syria, Syrian citizens who wish to have their documents done in our country are facing difficulties in certifying the documents they have received from the relevant Syrian authorities, and that our citizens who have applied are being directed to the Syrian Consulate General in Istanbul, which is still active, and that the process initiated to issue a Council of Ministers Decree regarding the determination of the entry into force date of the ‘Legal Assistance Agreement between the Republic of Turkey and the Syrian Arab Republic in Legal and Commercial Matters’ signed between Syria and our country on 09.04.2009 has not yet been concluded.

 States implementing e-Apostille
a.) Republic of Moldova:
Following the letter sent to our Union from the Ministry of Justice, General Directorate of Legal Affairs, dated 08.05.2015, numbered 6673, and from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, dated 06.03.2015, numbered 7553879;

Referring to the Moldovan Embassy's Note, it is stated that Moldovan citizens in our country are experiencing problems due to the lack of knowledge of the Moldovan e-apostille application by some of our authorities. The Republic of Moldova has switched to a digitally signed e-apostille application as of October 1, 2013. This application will consist of a PDF format containing the electronically signed apostilled portion of the document and a copy of the original document subject to apostillization. The document in question will have two separate codes: an apostille code and a security code. Furthermore, the authenticity of these codes can be verified via the website "www.apostila.gov.md" and can also be downloaded in PDF format. A copy of the e-apostille application for this country is also attached to the letter. Therefore, the apostille of a document issued in the Republic of Moldova must be sought in accordance with the digitally signed e-apostille application. b.) Republic of Colombia:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, General Directorate of Consular Affairs, in its letter dated May 27, 2015, numbered 7912525, stated that "In the Note received from the Embassy of Colombia in Ankara, a copy of which is attached, the apostille certification certificates submitted by the Colombian Ministry of Foreign Affairs within the framework of e-Apostille applications will begin to be used and will be attached to the documents subject to certification." A copy of the e-Apostille application for this country is also attached to the letter.

Therefore, the apostille certification certificate for a document issued in the Republic of Colombia must be sought in accordance with the digitally signed e-Apostille application.

IN LIGHT OF ALL OF THESE;
1.) REGARDING THE USE OF DOCUMENTS OBTAINED FROM FOREIGN COUNTRY PUBLIC AUTHORITIES IN TURKEY.
For official documents prepared by foreign state authorities to be used as official documents in Türkiye, certain conditions must be met.

These conditions are stipulated in Article 224 of the Civil Procedure Code, which states:
(1) The validity of official documents prepared by foreign state authorities in Türkiye depends on their certification by the competent authority of the state in which the document was issued or the relevant Turkish consular authority. (Although, in practice, both the competent authority of the foreign country and the Turkish Consulate are required together.)
(2) The provisions of international agreements to which Türkiye is a party regarding the certification of foreign official documents are reserved.
Accordingly; For an official document issued or approved by the competent authorities of a foreign country to be valid in Türkiye, it must be approved by the competent authority of the issuing state or the relevant Turkish consular authority. The procedure for approval is left to the legislature to determine the relevant country's legislation and international agreements.

The Apostille Convention eliminates the requirement for documents issued by foreign authorities to have them certified by a Turkish Consulate in the country where the document was issued. With the Apostille Certificate, an official document issued in the country of one of the contracting states becomes usable in the country of the other contracting state. Official documents issued by a foreign country will only be valid in Türkiye with the Apostille Certificate of the competent foreign authority in which they were issued.

First, there are three criteria to consider:
 Whether the foreign country where the document will be received is a party to The Hague Convention.
 Whether there is a bilateral agreement between the foreign country where the document will be received and Turkey regarding the Apostille Convention.

 In addition, a review will be conducted to determine whether there are any additional agreements between the country where the document will be received and Turkey regarding the removal of the apostille or the simplification of the certification procedure. (For example, a country that is a party to the Hague Convention will issue an apostille, making it easier to use the documents in Turkey. However, the parties may also agree to remove this agreement and directly agree that the document issued by a foreign country will be recognized without any certification, and that an apostille is not even required.)
a.) IF THERE IS AN APOSTILLE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COUNTRY WHERE THE DOCUMENT WILL BE RECEIVED AND TURKEY, OR IS A PARTY TO THE HAGUE:

1. Let's explain with an example. A birth certificate must be obtained from Germany, which is a party to the Apostille Convention.

2. Since this document obtained from Germany is a party to the convention, the authority authorized to issue an apostille in Germany must obtain an apostille on the birth certificate. (This procedure cannot be performed in Turkey, as Turkey can only issue apostilles for documents it issues.)

3. Once the apostille is obtained, there is no requirement for the document to be certified by the Turkish Consulate in Germany (since it is a party to the convention) for it to be used in Turkey. If a transaction conducted abroad has an apostille certification, there is no need for a separate certification for states party to the Hague Convention. Any transaction with an apostille certification will be considered as having been conducted in Türkiye.

4. You can directly use an apostilled birth certificate (both the document and the apostilled one) by having it translated and notarized in Turkey. Alternatively, you can have a sworn translation (both the document and the apostilled one) made in Germany and have the translations certified by the Turkish Consulate in Germany. The only procedure required for using apostilled documents in Turkey is to have the translation certified by the Turkish Consulate, and if the translation is being done outside the country, the translation is not certified. Note that the original document is not the one being certified; since the original document is already apostilled, certification is not required. The most reliable method is said to be the second method, in which the original document and the apostilled translation are made in the country of origin, and then these translations are certified by the Turkish Consulate.

b.) IF THERE IS NO APOSTILLE AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE COUNTRY OF THE DOCUMENT AND TURKEY,
It is not possible for states that are not party to the Apostille Agreement to apostillize documents they issue. Apostilles are only intended for those countries that are party to the Apostille Agreement. Therefore, if there is no apostille approval, the approval of the Turkish Consulate where the transaction is carried out is required.

Let's explain with an example:

For a Birth Certificate Obtained from a State Not Party to the Apostille Convention (Kuwait, Iraq, etc.) to Be Valid in Turkey

1. A birth certificate must be obtained from the Iraqi authorities.
2. Since an apostille cannot be affixed to the birth certificate, the birth certificate must be signed and sealed by the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs to verify its authenticity as an official document issued by Iraq. (Seal + signature of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the country.)
3. The birth certificate must then be authenticated by the Turkish Consulate in Iraq. In other words, the official document must be authenticated by the Turkish Consulate in the foreign country where the transaction was conducted. Otherwise, these documents will not be valid in Turkey.
4. If the applicant is to obtain a sworn translation of a document bearing the foreign affairs seal and Turkish Consulate certification in their country, they must have the translation certified by the Turkish Consulate in their country. If the translation is to be performed in Turkey, a notarized translation will be required. There is no problem in using these documents thereafter.

2.) REGARDING THE USE OF DOCUMENTS RECEIVED FROM TURKISH PUBLIC AUTHORITIES IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES:

If a person wishes to send documents obtained from Turkish authorities to a country that has not signed the Hague Convention (e.g., Iraq), what steps should they follow to send these documents to the relevant country?

For example, Iraq is not on the list of countries that have signed the Hague Convention.

For documents to be recognized in the country of destination:

1. First, they must visit a notary public and obtain the name, address, and phone number of the sworn translator. The applicant must have the sworn translator translate the documents into the language of that country. The translated documents are returned to the notary office. The translation is then certified by the same notary office.

2. This translation, certified by the notary office, is taken to the Governor's Office of the Province where the Notary Office is located (or the District Governor's Office in districts), where the Governor's Office or their deputy verifies the document's validity, etc. The Governor's Office issues an apostille if there is an apostille agreement; otherwise, it simply issues a certification. (According to Article 6 of the agreement, the Turkish authorities authorized to issue an apostille are governor's offices for administrative documents and the presidencies of the judicial justice commissions in centers with criminal courts for judicial documents.)
3. After the governor's office approves the authenticity, in accordance with Article 195 of the Notary Law, the translation must be taken to the nearest consulate general or consulate of the destination country (in our example, Iraq) for diplomatic certification. Certifications by Honorary Consuls are not valid.
4. If Iraq were among the countries that signed the Hague Convention, the process would be completed with the Governor's Office's apostille (certification), without the need for approval from the Iraqi consulate in Turkey. The apostille saves the applicant from having to travel to the consulate of the country that is a party to the convention (for example, Iraq) and have their documents diplomatically legalized there.

ATTORNEY AYŞEGÜL ÖTER
U&T Law - U&T Law Consulting